The Beach - Year 1: Look out Shore Patrol!

Elliot took to the surf like a champ!



She is marching in the sand with Cousin Alex's master piece sand castle (and Alex in the surf) in the back ground. It took all she had to not stomp it.



Above and below Elliot displays her Shore Patrol chops by pointing out things on the beach and in the water that need to be "saved".


Once the beach goers were safe again, Elliot decided to take up a little sand surfing.

She's a natural - so comfortable on the board, she can surf and impersonate Elvis at the same time!


Surfing grew a little tiresome, and she had extra energy, so she had to start excavating in the mini Grand Canyon.


What a workout! Our little beach bunny took a siesta under the umbrella ... dreaming of little fishies and mermaids.

Elliot's crew at The Beach

I am still getting flack for not bringing Elliot to the beach last year, so technically, it was her first trip to the beach, even though, I suppose technically, we could have brought her last year...but a 10 day old baby, a post partum mommy and a 12.5 hour car trip (see below) do not a vacation make. We made up for lost time this year and Elliot took to the surf like a pro!

Below: Crab Night at Auntie Jane & Uncle Allen's! We love it - especially when Ben picks the crab for us. Elliot is just posing here. Apparently they are not supposed to eat shellfish yet? So the clumps on her tray are from KFC ... (is this supposed to be better than shellfish?) And isn't crab a crustaceon (that I cannot spell)?


Below, the hunters and gatherers set out in search for a new beach house that is closer to the action. It was a long hot walk, but we were ultimately successful in finding new digs. No better way than to just walk up to the houses you like and see if they are rentals...and we are lucky to have not received any trespassing tickets.


In the distance, Uncle Jamie & Ben boogie board in tiny waves.

While Papa relaxes and paints a new masterpiece in the shade.

Cousin Alex takes Elliot for a twirl after the beach wedding. Congrats to Cindy & Richie!

Cousins Alex & Zoe are buried in the sand and acting "eaten alive"...did not make miss Elliot want to be buried much. We'll save her for next year.

Cousin Zoe tries her hand at photography (not bad!) while Elliot & I are slathered and sunglassed ready to hit the sand.



Elliot and Daddy yuk it up in the pool only to be followed by the apres-beach mocktail smoothies Uncle Jamie made for the kids. Do you think Elliot liked hers? We had to literally hose her off after this blueberry mayhem.

Elliot's East Coast Tour

Elliot is a road tripper after all. She weighed in on her 1 year check up at 20Lbs, 15oz, so we just made the cut-off to turn her car seat around to face forward. We did and her inaugural voyage was on a 12.5 hour road trip to The Beach. Thank goodness we have such good friends along the way and we were able to stop off and play in several states with some very fun new friends of Elliot's and very dear friends of ours.


Above, Elliot was so happy to be out of the car in New Jersey and even happier to play with Stella Grace's toys while Ben & I happily munched away on blondies and iced tea. Elliot & Stella had a riot and we were sad our stop was so short! But we still had 8 hours to go!

Below, Next Stop: Philly! Serena is very cool to Elliot since she is twice as old (just turned 2 - Happy Birthday Serena!). The girls are patiently waiting at Pudge's for our, of course, Philly Cheese Steaks to arrive. We lament the fact that we did not take pictures of Elliot diving into her first. Day 1/2 of our 9 days away and we have already gained 2 lbs...no need to worry about the car seat.

What a better way to follow-up a dinner of cheese steak than to wake up to Mitch making blueberry pancakes! The girls lined up at the bar to watch Mitch cook, Benihana style to keep them entertained. Again, our stay was to short, but we are pale and need to find the sun!


And finally, the icing on the cake. Only one stop on our return trip home, in New Jersey, this time to meet up with Noah. Elliot developed an immediate crush on this handsome 2 1/2 year old. Below, they share a romantic dinner for two where they noshed on veggie burgers, corn, string cheese, and KETCHUP! I didn't realize Elliot had not had ketchup yet, and once her fingers found it, she could not get enough. Of course! She loves vinegar things like pickles, likes tomatoes well enough, and then to add sugar, an instant obsession to go with her new crush!

After dinner, Noah & Elliot retired upstairs to launch into space in Noah's rocket ship. Great fun and another visit too short!

Emilot & Ellimy Meet Again

Cousin Emily came to visit for Elliot's birthday. They look so much alike, we fielded many questions at the Sing Along about whether they were sisters - but that would be some kind of science since they are only 5 months apart.




Elliot & Emily clown around after dinner at Quincy Market.
Below, Grandma sent some adorable matching outfits for the girls. Unfortunately, they were never wearing them at the same time. Emily would have one on and Ellie would be in her PJs still. Then by the time Elliot matched, Emily was on to the next outfit, or Elliot spilled lunch on hers. So, sorry Grandma, but your daughters are also not good photographers and the couple of times they managed to match, we managed to take yucky pictures! Look how happy they are! Oh, but it was cute in person.






Below is one of the street performers we saw at Fanueil Hall. www.thehumanknot.com. He captivated the boy cousins and even kept Elliot & Emily tuned in from their strollers.



Elliot is thinking about her own street performance as she waddled around the bricks and landmarks while cousin Andrew got his shop on at Urban Outfitters.