Crane Beach

We went to a new beach today! Crane Beach is in Ipswich, Massachusetts. This beach was really pretty, but it was also more expensive. The sand was super smooth, and there were dunes here, too! The water was pretty cold, but we were able to find a few "rivers" of ocean water from the tides that had a chance to warm up. Blake loved these "rivers"! We got some great pictures of Blake enjoying the beach:

Freedom Trail

Grandma Cindy came to visit! We did all kinds of fun things! We went to the beach, shopping, and most importantly, we did the Freedom Trail throughout downtown Boston. This trail tracks many historical landmarks of how our nation was formed. Here are some pictures to document our journey:

Massachusetts State House.

Park Street Church.

Paul Revere's Grave.

Samuel Adam's Grave.

Old Corner Bookstore.

Boston Massacre Site.

Paul Revere's House.

Old North Church with Paul Revere's latern hanging at the top!

USS Constitution.

The Zoo!

We had our second zoo trip this week! We tried out Franklin Park Zoo this time in Boston. This zoo was much better! There were a lot of big animals that Blake enjoyed seeing. This zoo was still not as good as the Indianapolis Zoo, but it will do for now! Here are some pictures of our trip:

Tiger.

Lion.

Haha!

Gorilla.

Blake's favorite (because of Sophie!).

Busy Day!

Alex has started his shift work, which means more family days! Alex's first few days off were this past Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday was a nice and relaxing day. Thursday we were busy, busy, busy! We started our day by going to the Stone Zoo. It was pretty fun, but the zoo was not that great. We plan to try the Franklin Park Zoo next time. Bigger, better, and nicer! Blake enjoyed looking at all of the trees and the bigger animals. After the zoo, we visited Revere Beach and Nahant Beach. It was a little too breezy and cool to spend too much time there, but the beaches were beautiful. After the beaches, we went to the park by our apartment. Alex played some basketball (which was hilarious to Blake!) and went for a walk. It was such a beautiful day! I leave you with a picture of Blake and me with matching hats! I can't wait to take Blake to his first Red Sox game!

A Bunch of Firsts for Blake!

Well, first of all I have to mention that Blake has two new developments: bottom teeth! Both of them are coming in nicely! He also has started eating oatmeal twice a day and loves it. He is so cute when it is time for his oatmeal. I will have to get some pictures of it and post them next time!

Next, Blake has had his first trip to the pool! He loved it! Alex got in with him, and Blake just stared at the water. He loves his baths, so I am not surprised that he loves the pool. The water was a little cold, but the heaters are installed in the pools now, and it is warmer outside. Next time should be more comfortable. Here are so pictures of this exciting event:

Another first for Blake was going to the beach! Our first trip to the beach was in Nahant, MA. This was pretty unsuccessful. It took 45 minutes to get there, 20 minutes to wait for parking, $3, and 15 minutes to get all set up, only to leave 5 minutes later. Blake hated it! he just started screaming and wouldn't stop! He cried for 20 minutes on the way home, too! We were hesitant to try again, but we were brave and went to a beach in Quincy, MA today. This time Blake loved it! He wasn't a huge fan of sand, but he loved watching the water and looking around outside. It was pretty hot outside, but there was a slight breeze and we had a beach umbrella. We were able to stay for about 3 hours with minimal fussing! Here are some pictures from today (by the way, notice his bathing suit is pretty perfect since today is the fourth of July!):

Look at that spit coming out of my mouth!





One more first for Blake: He has now been to New Hampshire. We spent Sunday shopping there because there is no sales tax - how weird is that?!