Beach Bum

Ever since we got back from the beach (Lake Tahoe and Monterey Bay) Henry has been asking to go back to the beach. Nothing is more fun to him than playing in the sand and waiting for "the big boy wave" but then getting caught in the "daddy wave". In Tahoe Henry played on the beach all day long, even after the sun went down and it was under 60 degrees outside with wet clothes. His five or six year old cousin Wil was the only kid to play with, so they spent a lot of time hanging out together, although I think he got sick of Henry following him everywhere and wanting to play every second. We were hiking one day and Henry was yelling for Wil who was way ahead of us, but when we caught up with him Wil only wanted to walk with his mom and I could see Henry's confused and sad look when he got ditched. I feel so bad when he's stuck here all day long with no one to play with and now I'm so busy with Bea and THEN when we go on vacation he finally has a buddy to play with and he gets tired of him. He's not annoying or anything, but he gets really excited and talkative and maybe a little bossy. I think it's darling.
Anyway, Henry went on many hikes, climbed on rocks and caught a ton of crawdads, which are his favorite new creature. Before Justin joined us, Henry only had one pair of shoes AND socks (forgot to pack them) which he kept running into the water with and they were constantly wet. My dad even removed them before they got soaked one afternoon and he took them and threw them into the water himself and when I asked him why he did that, he had no idea. Just wanted to do it. We also took a detour to the redwood forest and Henry climbed into the center of gigantic trees. Check out the album for photos.

Henry is such a good little traveler now. He never cries in his carseat, takes naps on the run, and sleeps through the night wherever he goes. He was very good on the plane (for a two year old) and doesn't mind hour after hour in the car. He's much improved from his jealous behavior, although Bea sleeps like 18-20 hours per day, so he's now getting most of the attention anyway. He LOVES his little sister and I always find him holding her hand, trying to get close to her and giving her little kisses. He thinks it's so funny when I put her in bed with him, or let her lay on his tummy for a while. Sometimes he hugs her so tightly she cries, but I know he's just trying to get as close as he can. He really is a good brother.