A Sense of Belonging

I have never been one to openly discuss religion and for most of my life, I was almost insulted when others would "preach" to me.  Insulted isn't really the right word - I was just put off by it.  I'd never been to any church, whether it be Catholic (the religion in which I was raised) or any other denomination that I had attended, where I didn't feel like an outsider.  I believed in God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the Bible as the word of God, etc; I prayed; but I never got anything out of going to church.  I never felt uplifted; never really felt like I learned anything.  I was just there because someone told me to go or someone I wanted to make happy wanted me to go.

Then I met Steve who had always gone to church & who was usually involved in whatever church he attended and for whom continuing to go to church  "belong" to a church was very important.  He, however, was Baptist and all I knew about Baptist churches was that those I had attended didn't really pull me in either.  What Steve knew about Catholic churches (which really wasn't much) didn't appeal to him either.  Now there's a dilemna because for once I actually wanted to go to a church & feel like I belonged there - to feel anything other than bored during a church service & not just because it was important to Steve.  I was at a place in my life where it was important to me - possibly from the influence of Steve & his friends & family & how at peace they seemed with their lives & how clearly that was impacted by their religion & fellowship.  Regardless of what impacted me that way, I was at this place now what were we going to do?  I didn't want to attend a Baptist church & Steve didn't want a Catholic church but we wanted one church to attend as a family - not one church for each of us.  So what did we have in common besides this desire to find a church to belong to - an overall Christian set of beliefs.

We tried one non-denominational Christian church in Lexington & the opening worship music was more uplifting than some I'd heard.  However, I didn't get an overall positive vibe from the church.  Then during the Christmas (or maybe Easter? - a major religious holiday anyway) service at this church, rather than talking about Jesus our savior's birth (or death if it was Easter), the minister spouted on about the politics of the war & the soldiers fighting (& no this wasn't just suggesting we pray for the soldiers - that part almost seemed like an after thought).  This was a major turn off to me - political discussion was not going to make me feel uplifted.  Steve was done with that church, too, for the same reason.  The minister can talk all he wants about politics & war but not as his sermon - the sermon should be about the Bible - the word of God, etc. 

Still, I wasn't done - this was only one church - surely they weren't all like this - surely I could find peace & spiritual uplifting somewhere in Lexington.  We then ventured to Tates Creek Christian Church.  The opening music pulled me in right away - no stuffy hymns - this was upbeat music that not only sounded great but which had lyrics that actually spoke to me.  Not only did I sing the songs but I listened to them & understood.  I should also backtrack & tell you that we sat in the back & as usual, I tried to hid so I wouldn't have to talk to anyone - no such luck.  The senior minister, Tommy Simpson noticed us & introduced himself & welcomed us at that very first meeting (as did a few others).  Then the singing - then Tommy did his sermon.  It was the first time I had EVER listened to an entire sermon without daydreaming (which could explain why I'd never learned anything before) & actually understood it & felt energized when we left church that day.  That was almost 6 years ago & since that time, I've been baptized in the church & Steve transferred his membership, had Ethan & Alex "dedicated" in this church & will be doing the same with Cameron.  We've also started regularly attending a Sunday school class for which I read & study the Bible passages so that I can participate in class.  We attend church "Oasis" classes on Wednesday nights when offered & I don't feel it's an obligation - I actually look forward to going to church in the middle of the week.  I dreaded church growing up & was afraid even when we were looking for a church that we'd find one but have to struggle to get the boys up to go.  Not the case - the boys would go to church daily if we'd let them - they love it, too. 

I've even become involved in other aspects of our church.  Last year I helped in Ethan's class during the church service one month out of three & in his Oasis classes when needed as well (which was choir for him).  This year I'm teaching Alex's class during the early service every other month meaning I willingly get out of bed even earlier on Sunday mornings and teach for 90 minutes, attend Sunday school for an hour and then attend church service for 90 minutes at the 2nd service.  I'm also now on the preschool ministry team to help organize & structure the preschool groups for the church.  I'm looking forward to attending family functions with the elementary & preschool groups as well as our own Sunday school classes & looking forward to starting our next Oasis class in a week or so. 

I've been trying to write this blog for about 6 months now but something kept stopping me.  Then I realized it was because everytime I started writing, I sounded like I was trying to justify why I joined this church & that's not really my point.  My point isn't why did I join - it's why was I looking.  I was looking because something in my life was missing.  I was missing that inner peace you find when you finally belong to something.  I finally have that.  I have a husband who loves me & three wonderful & rambunctious boys that we love immensely & who love us - I belong to this family and I belong to the Tates Creek Christian Church family.  The sense of belonging I was missing - I've finally found. 

A couple of final points:
1)  Don't call on Wednesday nights between 6:00 & 8:00 or on Sundays until after 12:30 - we'll be in church so if you do call, we'll call back later. 
2)  If anyone wants to join us for church anytime, just give us a call.  You're more than welcome!

Lullabies

I have always made up little twists on standard lullabies to sing to the boys.  Most involve adding their names in and some have completely fabricated lyrics of my own with just the tune of the original lullaby as I am not nearly crafty enough to create the melody as well.  Both boys like it and have their own favorites. 

With Cameron's birth only a couple of weeks away, the boys are more and more anxious (ok, we all are but they are more vocal) to meet him.  They slept with me the past 2 nights - Friday's excuse was they "missed me" to the point of extreme whining & I was too tired to continue refusing.  They both took turns putting their hands on Cameron - as Alex says "me put my hand Camwin?" ... impossible to resist...followed by "Camwin kick MY hand!" with excitement.  Ethan then wanted to do the same thing and looked like he wanted to say something - I told him it was ok to talk to Cameron.  He started telling Cameron how he was the big brother & Alex was the middle brother and they wanted to see him "on June 7, right Mama?" and then looked at me and asked if we could sing Cameron a lullaby.  I agreed and asked what he wanted to sing.  Ethan didn't know so I asked Alex and he wanted "his song" which means he wanted the one I make up the words to the tune of "Are you sleeping"...Cameron's version now goes like this:

Cameron James
Cameron James

Our baby
Our baby

Mama loves you so much
Daddy loves you so much

Ethan, too.
Alex, too.

We then sang "You are OUR sunshine" and then Ethan remembered he wanted to sing "Hush little baby"....so after those 3 songs, it was time to sleep. 

Last night right at bedtime, there was a thunderstorm - Alex is terrified of thunder.  They slept with me again - Alex would crawl into my skin if he could.  Every crack of thunder had Ethan asking again if Mickey was still bowling or maybe Grandma Recktenwald was bowling now.  While that doesn't make Alex any less afraid of the thunder, it at least distracts him for a minute. 

When the thunder died down, Ethan wanted to sign more lullabies to Cameron.  This time we started with "Hush little baby" and then Alex started singing "Cameron James" - really sweet.  Time for sleep.

Tonight the boys were playing upstairs and all the sudden I heard them singing all by themselves and it went something like this:

Cameron James
Cameron James

Mama's ba-by boy
Daddy's ba-by boy

Mama & Daddy loves you
And Ethan does, too
And don't forget, and Alex does, too

While it's not totally in the melody of the song, it was one of the cutest things I've ever heard.

Spare Time

I have been, as you've probably noticed, very lax in blogging and it's really been bugging me.  I do have a valid reason though.  Anyone with young children, active children, knows how little spare time you have left at the end of the day.  I had been using that little bit of spare time to keep you updated on the cute little stories and events of the boys' lives.  Somehow though, that little bit of spare time seems to have evaporated lately and I can't wait for it to come back.  I have a little bit right now and the energy to put it to use so here's a few stories for the past few days/weeks.

First, most of you know by now (or are finding out as you read this) that Ethan & Alex are going to have a new brother or sister next June (maybe that's why I've had no energy in the little spare time I've had to blog lately).  Trying to gauge Ethan's reaction to this news, I've talked to him lately at bedtime about how much we love him and Alex and how wonderful they are.  Then talking about how much he likes his brother and asking him if he wants another brother or maybe a sister one day - to have even more fun with.  He agreed that might be a good thing.  He's apparently pretty perceptive though or a really good guesser. 

He's in children's choir at church on Wednesday nights.  The teacher doesn't have a helper right now so the parents take turns helping out.  It was my turn to be the teacher's helper the night after this discussion.  After they sang, the kids each got to go up and sit with Miss Anne and tell something they wanted to share.  One little girl got up and said that she was going to have a new brother or sister.  Ethan got up next and said, "My mama is going to have another baby, too and I want it to be a brother.  That would be pretty cool."  I was shocked.  I said, "Ethan, who said that?"  Miss Anne looked at me as Ethan said with a grin and a shrug, "well isn't that what you said at bedtime that night?"  I just laughed it off and said, that wasn't exactly what I had said (which is true and yet not a denial).  Miss Anne just laughed and put me out of my misery by going to the next child.  I didn't discuss it with Ethan again until we were ready for him to really know.

That was this past weekend as we planned to tell our parents and then everyone else on Sunday.  Ethan was super excited.  Alex didn't know what to really think but followed his brother's lead on getting excited.  I asked Ethan if he remembered when Alex was a baby in my stomach and he used to give the baby kisses.  He didn't and wanted to kiss this baby so he & Alex both kissed my belly.  That night at prayers, we got to the end and Ethan added "and make the baby in Mama's tummy healthy, too."  So sweet.

Tonight was even cuter.  I got home from work and the boys came down to see me.  Alex had Ethan's toy tweezers from his medical kit and Ethan had the shot dispenser (whatever that's called) - both of them naked except diaper and underwear.  Alex came over to me and showed me his tweezers and then put it to his leg and giggled.  I said, "don't pinch my baby."  He looked right at me and pointed to my belly with the tweezer and said "baby" and giggled again.  Then Ethan came up and said, "can we kiss the baby again?"  They both did and Alex giggled again.  Alex now is fascinated with my stomach, pointing at it all night tonight and coming over to kiss it.  So cute.  This is a good sign.

So that's my update for tonight.  Hopefully I'll get the energy back soon to blog more because I really do miss it and now that Alex is talking more, there are even more things to share each day. 

More Vacation Stories

2 Adults & 2 Kids @ a Buffet...
This may seem like a good idea because you don't have to wait for your food after you order and everyone gets enough to eat. Here's the flaw: if the buffet is a seafood buffet, the adults have to crack open the seafood for the kids before they can eat. When we went to the Giant Crab, I really thought I'd have to punch the waitress if she came over to us even 1 more time telling us how sorry she was for us that we were still cracking crab claws for the boys. Seriously chick, if you feel that bad for us, grab a chair and a crab and start cracking. It wasn't really that bad though cause these are big crabs, not little blue crab, so you get a lot more crab for the effort and it doesn't take long for these boys to get tired of eating the same thing (ie, crab & shrimp) and want some fruit or dessert thereby letting Mama & Daddy get a shot at the crab. We took full advantage - at the Giant Crab and at Captain Benjamin's (that's right, we didn't learn after the first "feed the boys first" adventure in seafood buffets so we did it more than once).

The great alligator hunt

We decided after some waffling not to do a Dolphin tour while in Myrtle Beach and not to do the Aquarium either. The Aquarium decision was mine based on the fact that Ethan was very pre-occupied with the idea of a shark getting him in the ocean. I didn't think it would be a good idea to go show him a big shark that was housed very near the ocean he was swimming in as a result. The Dolphin tour we wanted to do but couldn't find a good time to do it and with the seas being a little unpredictable due to Earl, we nixed that idea as well. We pacified Ethan (who wanted to see Dolphins) with the idea that we could go see alligators instead. Everytime I've ever been to Myrtle Beach, we've seen several small alligators in the water around the docks at Barefoot Landing. So we went in search of alligators while shopping at Barefoot Landing. We looked in every set of weeds, along every section of the boardwalk and found absolutely no alligators. Now what?

Well, the great "Alligator Adventure" of course. The sign outside says it's 15 acres and I asked Steve if we were going to get tickets at this place and go somewhere else for this "adventure" since surely there couldn't be 15 acres right there between Barefoot Landing, the House of Blues and Kings Highway. He wasn't sure either but we knew we had to find Alligators because there was no way Ethan was going to stop asking when he'd see them until we saw them and had pictures to prove it. We go in and all 15 acres are right there and goodness, gracious, Great Balls of Fire are there a lot of alligators at this "adventure." If you don't believe, just check out my facebook album with a mere 60 pictures all taken from our outing. Ethan and Alex both loved it - running from side to side of the bridges, etc, yelling "look at that one ova thea, Mama!" "DAT!" at every step. They also had huge tortoises, some funky wild cats, lots of birds with beautiful colors - including one that kept telling us "hello". Alex even got to pet a huge Ball Python (which apparently gets it's name because when it's threatened it will literally coil up into a ball) and only after the trainer walked away did Ethan decide it might be ok to touch it as well. So he walked over to the guy and tapped his arm so he'd turn around and let Ethan touch it, too. I think in hindsight that Ethan only touched the snake because he wanted to use the hand sanitizer that was there in a cool dispenser and only the kids who touched the snake got to use it. The hand sanitizer alone wasn't enough to make me want to touch it, I can tell you that right now. But the boys touched snakes, saw alligators, crocodiles, tortoises, birds & cats and got toys in the gift shop and we got pictures to prove it so life was good.

Putt Putt anyone?

You can't really go to Myrtle Beach without at least one putt putt adventure, right? We went early in the day so that we wouldn't hold anyone up behind us cause we knew it would take a while. We even let Alex try to play and quickly realized that the next time we go, Alex will be in the stroller and can have a ball but that's it. He wanted to hit the ball like a baseball rather than golf and when that wasn't working, he started trying to hit everything around him with the club which, of course, revoked his golf club privileges for the duration of the game and that was on the 4th hole.

Ethan was actually pretty good. We'd let drop the ball wherever he wanted and hit it. Everytime he actually hit the ball with the club facing the right way, he had pretty good aim. He even got a hole in 1 on a hole. He would hit the ball and then go to it and if it was in an acceptable spot for him, he'd hit it again. If he wasn't happy with where it landed, he's just pick it up and move it. He was always so excited when it went in the whole though and when he got his hole in 1, he turned out with his club in the air and said "YES!" just like anyone else does when they get a hole in 1 but somehow it was so much cuter when he did it.

After the boys hit (ok, after Ethan hit and Alex threw his ball), Steve and I took our turns and I was actually doing well and winning for about the first 6 holes. Then I remembered, or my body did, that I am not good at putt putt and I started getting 6 strokes a hole so Steve ended up beating me by at least 10 maybe more, I don't remember but the score sheet is still in the van so if you ask him, I'm sure Steve will tell you.

Poor Alex only got to throw his ball around on the first 9 holes - maybe it was 11. He went to look at the stream in the wrong spot - right above where the stream picks up momentum and goes down hill into a little waterfall. Yep, he dropped his ball (maybe he threw it, but same result) and before I could grab it, it shot down the hill, down the waterfall into the big (gross) lagoon - bye bye golf ball. He didn't really seem to notice though since the water spots were closer to us in this portion of the game so he was pretty wrapped up trying to decide if he could go swimming in that water. Thankfully, he decided against it and we all ended the game dry - other than the sweat, this was afterall the beach on a very muggy day.

Kites & Walks on the Beach

The only real impact we felt from Earl was the wind on the beach. This wasn't a negative impact though as it was great for kite flying. It helps that we have some pretty fantastic kites. We took Ethan's plastic Spiderman kite to the beach with us but the wind was so strong it was going to be ripped apart so Ethan decided it would be ok for him to just fly his vinyl frog kite instead. Meanwhile I was getting Mama & Daddy's big rainbow kite with the pinwheels (that actually spin) in the air. Alex wanted to fly the kite, too, though and wanted to do it by himself. One of 2 things was going to happen if we let him do it alone - 1) he was going to take flight along with the kite or 2) the kite was going to be ripped from his grasp and fly far, far away. The compromise was that he held the reel of string and I held the actual string above his head where he didn't notice that I had it. He was downright giddy over being able to fly the kite. I tried to get a good picture of his face when he was doing it all by himself because it was sheer joy - here's what I got on my phone (Steve had the camera at this point):

He loved it!  Ethan was loving it, too, but I didn't get as good a picture of him up close.  I do have this one.

If you look closely, you can see his smile, too. After a bit, the boys took turns running between Mama & Daddy to fly the other kites and then grew bored.

Alex went with me to take the kites back to the room, then we all took a beautiful walk along the beach. The boys were so cute holding hands with each other and then me or Daddy and running in & out of the surf and chasing the birds. The also had to check out remnants of sandcastles more industrious people had built during the day. That's also when we got a nice group of college aged kids (I think) to take our picture. The boys "flirted" a bit with smiles and giggles and they jumped at the chance to take our picture. When we turned back around to walk back towards the hotel, it took some convincing and then distracting to get Alex to go turn around as well. He wanted to keep walking (evidenced by his standing there saying "walk, walk" and pointing the opposite direction) and knew that if we turned around, we'd be going back to the room to bed. Ethan helpfully saw another sandpit (it wasn't a castle) up the beach a bit and Alex went with Ethan to check it out and by then forgot he hadn't wanted to walk that direction until it was too late and we were back at the hotel.

Amusement Parks & Shark Petting
There were several small "pavilions" with kiddie rides perfect for Ethan & Alex. Another plus to going to the beach at the end of summer, no lines. The boys got to ride everything they wanted as many times as the tickets would hold out, with no lines at all. Perfect for a 4 year old and 21 month old with no patience (which I admit they come by naturally). The got to ride the Dinos, the teacups, Thomas the Train, the carosel and Ethan even rode the racecars with Mama and another ride that goes up and comes down slowly in such a way as to give you butterflies in your stomach....unless you are Ethan. If you are Ethan, you announce to the world while giggling that it is "tickling my pee pee"...I thought the guy running the ride would spit his drink out laughing about this. He's quite a character to say the least.

Well that's the amusement park portion of the story but what about this shark petting? Surely I must be joking, right? Nope - we took a walk down the Cherry Point Fishing pier where a guy probably around 20 had just caught a 1 foot baby shark which both boys were over the moon excited to see. When the fisherman learned that not only did Ethan want to pet the shark but his Daddy was there with a camera, the guy helpfully offered "let's come over here into the light so your Dad can get a good picture"....it was awesome. Nice guy. he then took the shark over to Alex in the stroller so he could pet it as well. Alex at this point was too tired to walk but that didn't mean he didn't want to pet the shark, too, afterall.

As you can see, Alex wanted in on the action, too. We stayed around for 3 other catches (1 fish & 2 other small sharks) which the boys got a chance to see up close as well, before heading back home.

The last day
On our last morning, we got up early (Mama & Daddy had packed the night before) and headed out to the beach. We took a long walk on the beach and collected a bunch of great shells (which we plan to replace the rocks in the boys fishtank with) and then headed back towards the hotel. The goal for the boys was to spend some more quality time in the awesome kiddie pool with the great big ship to play in. Unfortunately, the pool didn't open until 9 and we had to check out by 11 so we had to get some good beach time in first. Steve went to get the boys floats so we could do a few laps in the lazy river before the kiddie pool & put our shells in the room while the boys and I waited for 9:00am to roll around by spending a little more quality time in the surf & sand. Finally, it was 9:00 and we did a few laps in the lazy river (which Ethan started the week afraid of and ended the week liking as long as he was with Mama because he trusted me but Daddy flipped him the first try so he would only come in with me). Off to the kiddie pool where the boys enjoyed some last minute quality time before heading to our room at 10:00 for showers. After showers & packing the van, we checked out at 10:55 - they said 11 and we wanted to get as much in as we could so leaving early wasn't in our plan :)

We headed to Broadway at the Beach for a few last souvenirs and got a caricature of the boys. We had tried to get one several times but Alex was always tired so not his normal smiley self. The last day it was still mid-morning so we thought we were ok to get lots of smiles ... sadly, Alex fell asleep on the way to the shops and had just awakened before we tried to do it so still wasn't his smiley self. It's still a cute picture but not what it could have been if he'd been our normal dimpled smiling munchkin. Ethan did make up for it a bit by being extra happy - he'd just gotten his picture taken on a T-rex and then fed some fish so he was on cloud nine at this point.

We truly had a fantastic vacation - we did a little bit of everything and had great weather and relaxed. It was really wonderful and I highly recommend Longbay Resort in Myrtle Beach to anyone planning a beach vacation with kids. It is right on the beach, has all the amenities you need and is very reasonably priced. We can't wait to go back.

Anecdotes from Vacation

Since I didn't write this stuff down as it happened, I don't remember exactly how some of this happened and what the context was in full.  So rather than blogging about full stories from our vacation, I'll post some highlights that I can remember.

The trip to the beach
Alex started talking a lot more beginning on the trip down to the beach.  We left the house right around 5:00am that Monday morning after actually getting the boys up and giving them baths and everything.  Of course, giving them baths meant they didn't go immediately to sleep so Alex started talking our ears off.  Pretty much everything his says is the first syllable of the word - tiger = tig (long i).  He babbled through the first movie Ethan had picked to watch on the dvd (G-Force I think) and told us each animal & ball and "THAT" in the movie.  Thankfully, he fell asleep sometime before the 2nd movie.

We stopped for a pit stop at a rest area when Alex woke up and starting patting his groin - that's his signal that he has peed or needs to go potty (he has pooped and peed in the potty several times now but not consistently day to day - one day he does it, next day he won't).  On the way to the bathroom, Alex, who hadn't quite had enough sleep yet, fell while holding my hand so didn't get all the way down and yet somehow managed to scrape his knee well enough to get a "boo boo."  [He is so my child, poor kid - scraped the front of his right knee on the way to the beach and the back of his right calf on the way home from the beach - both well enough to cause bleeding.]  Ethan went to get a bandaid from Steve and we were back in business and then back on the road where Alex talked for the first 20 minutes about his boo boo and then thankfully passed out again. 

We stopped for lunch & gas in Columbia, SC - Steve dropped me and the boys at McDonald's with a play area while he got gas.  Ethan helped me by holding Alex's hand to keep him there with me while I paid and then we went outside to the play area to eat.  Steve got there just as we sat down to eat.  The stipulation was that they had to eat before they could play.  Ethan negotiated:  he would eat his hamburger but he didn't want his french fries.  He had snacked in the van so I agreed and he ate that burger quicker than he ever has before.  Alex thought this was his cue to play as well.  When he realized that Ethan was playing and he was still trapped in the high chair, he pretended to "drop" his chicken nuggets on the ground knowing he wouldn't then have to eat them.  Pretty sly - but sadly for him, mama had more money and went to get him apples instead.  A couple of apples later, Alex got to play some, too.  This play area was different than any we'd seen before - it had tubes everywhere that you climbed through to get to slides, etc (not the normal square type areas you climb up but actual tubes).  Alex got in to follow Ethan up and quickly turned around with one hand outstretched saying "Hup?" [help].  Ethan came back down and helped him up and they were gone - about 6 trips up and down this long slide and it was time to go again.

On the road this time, both boys (& Mama) took a nap.  When they woke up, we watched 1 more movie and then arrived happily at our lovely hotel:  Longbay Resort.  Normally when we go places, I check in and Steve starts unpacking.  This time, I was in the very back working on putting shoes on and Steve said he would go check in.  That didn't last - he came back a few minutes later with the news that they were upgrading us from an ocean view efficiency (small stove & fridge) to an ocean front queen suite with full sized kitchen area & living room.  Why did he come back?  We wanted to pay with one card but they hold a deposit above that and we wanted that held on another card.  He didn't know how to do that.  I went in and told the woman exactly that and she had no problem with it - I'll chalk it up to I had a nap on the way down and he didn't.  By the time I was done though, he had the car unloaded and the boys ready to go to the elevator. 

Actual Vacation Notes
As soon as we got to the room, we immediately got swim suits on and headed to the beach.  It was only 3:00 so there was plenty of time to get some sand & surf under our belts before dinner.  As we left the room, I said the boys had to hold someone's hand - this was the rule for the whole week.  When we walked anywhere, they had to hold someone's hand and in most cases, it couldn't just be each other's hand.  Most of the time, including this time, the boys opted for Mama's hand.  They have both become Daddy's boys lately because they are with him all day and the three of them are "the boys" - they hang out and do fun stuff so he's the fun one while Mama works.  This week, though, they took full advantage of having Mama there and I loved it - they wanted ME!  It was awesome.

As we walked onto the beach, we found a spot to take our shoes off and put life jackets on the boys.  Then hand in hand all 4 of us walked into the ocean.  The boys actually giggled and laughed and squealed with delight as the first waves hit their little feet.  They absolutely loved it - we went a little further in, with the water about mid-calf on me and let them feel a couple of actual waves.  Steve had one of the boys and I had the other and then we switched. 

Ethan was very clingy in the ocean- he loved it but he's scared a little bit at the same time.  Sadly, what he's scared of seems to be that this is the ocean and a shark might get him.  I tried to explain that a shark can't come in water 3 inches deep but he wasn't buying it and wanted to make sure he stayed close.  Not that this was a problem - that's sort of the point, stay with Mama & Daddy in the water.  That was the rule before we even saw water - you do not go in the water without Mama & Daddy with you at all times.  Unfortunately, Alex goes to the water and then looks around to see if you are coming.  But hey, at least he looks for us.  But he was totally loving all parts of the ocean - until sometime on Friday when he went to the water without us and Steve went to get him and then a rogue wave came (we're talking 6 inches deep, not like Alex walked into the middle of the ocean before we got to him) which wasn't really a bad wave but it was just enough to catch Steve mid-stride with Alex's hand in his on the edge of a little section where the previous day's rough waves & rip tides had caused a small shelf to form and Steve went down and had Alex sputtering by the end.  Never in any danger but salt water in the mouth & nose is no fun.  He didn't go back in the ocean without Mama's hand after that (Daddy wasn't acceptible after this) and even made Mama hold him when we were past the point where the water hit his knees (so basically anything from where he & Steve tripped was "hold me" level). 

We played in the sand and thankfully had enough beach toys that each boy could have a bucket (of some sort) and a shovel at all times as sharing these items wasn't in the cards.  Sharing only came in the form of "you can have this shovel now and I'm taking that one" .... "if I can't have any shovel though, I am going to take yours."  Oh fun - but it was fun as Ethan was interested in making wet sand wetter by getting buckets of water and dumping it on the already wet sand (which seconds later would get even wetter by the next wave) and then piling that really wet sand in his bucket and then trying to dump it out.  Alex wanted to hold his bucket and dig in the sand and throw the sand off the end of the shovel - a game I was not fond of and tried several times to stop.  Alex also thoroughly enjoyed chasing the sea gulls and would happily have chased them all over the beach and well out of my line of sight and my warnings of "Alex come back" or "Alexander - STOP" had no weight.  The one phrase that brought him back every single time though was "Alex, he's faster than you, you can't catch him."  Somehow he bought that and came back each time.  Unlike the accident prone trait of mine, if I was told that, I'd be even more determined to catch the bird but not Alex - he'd come back each time and yet forget when he went after the next bird, until I told him again.  Quite funny actually.

Another hysterical bit was the "Alex, NO!" saga ... This was when Daddy (poor Daddy) tried to build a sand castle.  He apparently forgot that a sandcastle is a pile of sand and piles of sand are good for stomping and/or knocking down.  He got one good bucket of sand dumped out to form the perfect tower and then tried to put a castle shaped bucket on top of that to make the center section of his castle.  Alex was about to chase a bird when he saw the first part of this tower that Daddy had just erected.  Alex stopped in his tracks, which made Ethan stop and look over, too, and started towards the tower.  Ethan then started towards it as well (& seemed to be giggling the giggle you hear from the evil genius in cartoons) while I sat by in the chair with the camera and Daddy said "Alex, NO!"...and blocked him.  Alex stopped and Steve went back to filling his castle bucket for the next phase - Alex took full advantage and almost had the tower when Daddy caught him and said "No"...picture a game of red light / green light when someone is almost done and the time between the "IT" person saying red light or green light is mere milliseconds ... "NO" .... "NOOO" ... "NO!!!" .... too late, part of the tower came down.  Poor Daddy - he set about putting the sand back in the bucket to reshape it.  At this point, Ethan just stood by watching and giggling (mostly because I was laughing hysterically knowing Steve's attempt was going to be futile).  Alex lost interest as Daddy took his time refilling the bucket.  Daddy dumped the original bucket and again perfectly shaped it. As he set about trying to get the castle on top of the tower though Ethan started after the tower thus began the "Ethan, NO" saga....Daddy did get the castle on top of the bucket shape to make his perfect center but alas the next small wave hit the base of the tower and started the whole mess to crumble at which point both Ethan & Alex seized the opportunity to finish off the demolition.....end of the sandcastle for our trip unfortunately for Daddy but the boys still fully enjoyed playing with their toys.

One more little cute bit on Alex and then I'll write some more notes from the beach over the weekend. 

Holding Hands
I mentioned that the boys had to hold hands when we went anywhere.  On the way back from the elevator to our room though, they were allowed to run along the carpet to our door until I said "stop."  They actually obeyed these rules really well.  However, having the freedom to run along the carpet gave Alex an idea....as we left the room and I said to hold hands, Alex put both hands in front of himself and proceeded to hold his own hand.  I again told him to hold hands and he shook his hands in front of him and said "UHH" as if saying, I'm already holding my own hand, Mama.  So I asked him, "are you holding your own hand?" - he said he was.  I had to break it to him that he had to hold my hand or Daddy's - holding his own hand wasn't an option.  He did this several more times through the week and would even say "walk...walk" as he held his own hands in front of himself to indicate he wanted to walk holding his own hand - it was really hard not to just let him hold his own hand because the idea was so cute and the whole shaking his hands in front of him so I could see he was holding his own hand was just priceless.