Here, There and Everywhere! (Plus a garden update...)

First - a quick garden update. Things are exploding! Beans are up, and we got lots of garlic (Nick threw some leftover cloves in a couple of years ago, and we got quite a harvest!). Potatoes and beets are chugging along, and zucchini, squash and pumpkins all look good.

Whew! The past few weeks were packed with happenings. Nick and I wrapped up the end of the school year, and Brendan finished his time at his old daycare when they closed at the end of May.

Nick kicked off our family travels when he headed to New Mexico for an IB conference. Brendan and I had a fun few days at home without Dada, then headed off to Florida to visit Aunt Shirl. Brendan did great on the plane, and got a tour of the cockpit from the pilots when we landed. We spent a few days at Disney, seeing where Aunt Shirl works. Brendan spent most of the time just staring at everything - trying to take it all in. He loved Finding Nemo: The Musical, and It's a Small World was probably his favorite - he loved all of the colors and moving figures, and the music got him giggling and dancing! He met many of the characters during an afternoon at Epcot, and got to see Pooh and Tigger just before we left Magic Kingdom - he was very curious to reach out and touch Tigger's nose and paw. We also got to visit my cousins Melissa and Angie, and we got to meet Melissa and Amine's son Aiden! Brendan and Aiden had fun getting acquainted and playing. Brendan is about 7 months older, so he got to show Aiden some new tricks to try in the coming months.

A couple of weeks after getting back from Florida, we hit the road for our next trip. We drove out to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, to spend some time with Nick's family. On our way there, we decided to break the drive into two days and stopped at Gettysburg. We took Brendan to the new visitor center (it's about 3 years old, but the first time that we had been there) and to the battlefield and National Cemetery. We did not do the entire tour (we'll leave him in suspense until next time), but did get to see and reflect a little bit.

We had a wonderful time at the beach. Our entire Kator family was there, as well as Nick's Gaspard relatives. There were 5 kids who were 4 or under there, so Brendan had a ball exploring a new place and playing with new people. The crashing of the waves on the beach puzzled him at first, but he enjoyed putting his feet in the waves and exploring the sand.

So, some general observations after all of this traveling. Packing for any number of days seems to require the same massive amount of stuff for a little one. Putting your son's bedtime cd in mp3 format on your cell phone can really help a hotel room feel like home. Sand looks good, but tastes pretty yucky. And the best part of being anywhere new - the airport, Florida, Gettysburg, Delaware - is seeing your son take everything in. Watching him study Tigger's paw, or a bottom drawer in the hotel room. Watching him take in ocean waves crashing near his feet. Watching him make sense of these new experiences, this ever-expanding world. Listening to his giggle in response to your laugh, a crawling race, or passing a dog on the street. Feeling his head rest on your shoulder after a long afternoon of play. It has all been wonderful. But the best part of the best part? It's not over.