The Gardens

Our week at the beach was very cold, unseasonably cold. Lucy and I went for a walk on the beach Monday afternoon. She loved it! She was very cold and was excited to go inside (a rarity). We had hot chocolate after our walk. Since she was an itty-bitty baby, Lucy and I have gone on walks along the beach, just the two of us. I love those memories.

Since it was so cold we went to Brookgreen Gardens twice. The kids loved seeing the animals. We got to pet the horses this time, a lot. We stayed with one horse for ten minutes petting its mane and nose. The cows were out, but they were much quieter this visit. They offered a few good moos. They still are the best sounding cows we've ever heard. The river otter exhibit was finished. On the way to the fox exhibit we saw a baby copperhead cross the path, definitely not something we're used to seeing everyday.

The first day we went, we ventured into the actual gardens. There was a children's garden the kids loved. Lucy and Gus loved the little "stage" built around the big tree in the center of the garden. It was so sweet to watch them perform and chase each other. There were all sorts of animal sculptures that Gus went nuts over. He would get out of the stroller and touch the sculptures. He really liked the pig and the baboons. He does a really funny baboon walk.

Gus loved all the signs with the sculptures. He loves words and letters. He'll sit down with crayons and paper and say, "G-U-S," while he "writes" his name. He's also been listening to Lucy sound out letters and words. Gus went up to the sculpture descriptions, pointed his fingers at the words, and said, "T-t-t-t, G-g-g-g" trying to sound out the words. Hilarious. He had no idea what he was reading, but he was imitating Lucy when she would do that in other situations. Lucy had no interest in the sculpture descriptions, just Gus.

We only took the single stroller both days. Lucy really wanted to walk. While we were in the children's garden Lucy hopped in the stroller when Gus got out to look at a sculpture. Then Lucy hopped out to look at something and Gus jumped in. Then they were fighting over the stroller! Finally, I just put Gus on Lucy's lap while she was sitting in the stroller. Lucy hung onto Gus and he stayed so incredibly still. Who knew that would work.

We had a great week away. It's always fun to get out of the house and in a new environment. The kids slept pretty well. The last night Gus slept 15 hours!