Cape May weekend

We spend a weekend in Cape May, NJ every spring. Before Frank was born, Darrel and I stayed at a B&B, the Victorian Lace Inn. The same people who own the Inn also own a small condo building across the street (two condos), so we stay there now that we have Frank. It has two bedrooms, and basically anything we'd need. Last year, Frank did okay with walking across the sand at first, but tired very quickly, and he had a very hard time sleeping because it wasn't his room at home.

This year, there was some improvement. He fell asleep very easily, although he was awake between five and six am each morning. I suspect that's because the blinds there let in far more light than the blinds in his room at home. Also, there's no clock in the room there, something we'll have to remember for future vacations- we've been showing him different times on his clock, and I have a picture of his clock taped below the real clock, showing 7:30, to show him when is a good time to call out to us he's ready to wake up. (If he wakes up before that, he's supposed to play quietly in his room until then, which he usually does fairly well.) Darrel had moved the mattress from the twin bed in Frank's room to the floor, too, which helped Frank to feel more comfortable, too.

We weren't terribly organized about getting him on the potty, so there were no further potty successes. However, he had a good time playing in the sand. April is far too cold in NJ to go swimming, but we brought his beach toys, and he spent well over an hour building a volcano with us and pouring water over it. He didn't get tired of walking on the sand until we were done and walking back, but I think even a perfectly normal three-year-old would have tired somewhat at that point, too.

We ate out a few times, and ordered chicken fingers at each place for him, and he actually ate those pretty well, too. Usually he tends to become more regimented on trips, and will only eat something from "our" kitchen, so this was a pleasure for both of us to see. (He didn't eat the leftovers, though- we always get doggie bags for whatever he doesn't finish- but you can't have everything, right?)

He was quite relieved to get home and into his own bathtub and bed last night, and fell asleep easily. He talks about the trip like he had a good time, though, which is very different from our vacation in Delaware last summer- the whole time, he kept asking when we were going home, and afterwards, if someone asked him if he liked the beach house, and did he have fun, he always said no. With this past weekend's trip, though, when his daycare teachers asked him this morning if it was fun, he beamed and said yes...which warmed his mommy's heart.