Wa-ter-r-r-r

Do you remember when something excited you this much?! Ahhh, to be a toddler again and enjoy simple things as you discover them for the first time. We just returned from an amazing vacation to New England where we were able to spend some valuable time with Big R's family and witness two of our closest friends say their nuptials. On this latest trip, little r discovered a new found love for water... yes, it warms my heart to say that my son cannot get enough of one my favorite things. We did name him, River, afterall... On our way to Salem, Massachusetts, for our friends' wedding, we did a slight detour to a beautiful beach in Rhode Island. We were able to sweet talk the State Park attendants into letting us swing in just for a peek. This was little r's first time seeing the ocean, and we were lucky enough to catch it in a photo. For the remainder of the trip, little r leapt out of his skin and yelled "oh, wa-ter-rrr" (with a sweet little Bostonian accent - no clue where he got that!) every time he saw a puddle, a sprinkler, a lake, or something as grand as the ocean.

The entire vacation was full of water experiences like this one. No matter how cold, dirty, deep or shallow, this little guy was going in, which meant not only did we have our hands full chasing him, but we spent much of the vacation with wet feet. We had major alligator tears galore every time we had to pull him away or had to keep him from diving into a cow pond.

In addition to all the outdoor adventures, we were also able to take little r to the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk, CT, where he saw seals, sea turtles, and river otters for the first time. He's finally at an age where he comprehends what he's seeing and he truly loves animals. This was such a fun part of our trip. I think the seals were especially exciting for my little water bear. In this picture he's admiring Susie, a seal that just celebrated her 38th birthday!

We are now home and getting back into the 'ol routine. Tonight little r was watching "Deadliest Catch" with Daddy and he was ecstatically gasping and yelling "oh, wa-ter-r-r-r" at every scene. Too cute. Just love my little guy...