Goo Gulls and Bad Ears

We are still having a fantastic time at the beach.  Avery is a beach girl just like her parents, which makes me happy and a little surprised.  I much preferred the pool over the beach until I was a bit older.

Avery was up at 6:20 yesterday morning.  We made her tough it out until about 7, and then I got her up.  It was a hot morning on the beach but lots of fun with more shells, planes, and birds.  I drew quite a crowd when I threw a sandy Nilla Wafer behind where we were sitting, a crowd of sea gulls that is.  Avery thought it was wonderful and felt those goo gulls deserved her cookies more than she did.  Those birds had no fear, and neither did Avery, so we cut their snack short.  Even though it was really hot, the water was so cold it made your feet hurt.

Avery dancing to Colbie Caillat on the Today Show

Ned woke up with a very stopped up ear, so while Avery napped, he went to Urgent Care.  He was hoping something was stuck in his ear, but it turned out to be an ear and throat infection.  He left with medicine but no relief for his completely blocked ear.  I went to the beach when he got back, but just for a bit because it was so hot.  Avery took a nice long nap, and after dinner, we played with the bubbles Courtney brought her.  Avery went to bed early with just a bit of fussing.  Ned and I went out to few stores before it got dark.  I made history by leaving the Gymboree Outlet empty-handed, and we only stayed at the outlets for a few minutes.  I did bring back some fudge and a few beach books for Avery.

Our beach bum was up at 6:30 a.m. Wednesday ready to get going.  It was supposed to be really hot again, so the three of us went to the aquarium in Manteo.  Avery loved all the fish, but I left a little disappointed because the otters weren't swimming.  We briefly stopped at Pirate's Cove Marina and returned to the house in time for Avery's lunch.  The adults got delicious sandwiches from The Good Life Eatery.  I love my turkey sandwich from there with green apple slices.  We had a restful afternoon, and I downloaded Jodi Picoult's Plain Truth on my Kindle.  We had our traditional hot dog meal at Capt'n Franks.  Avery was happy to receive her "do dog" and did not seem to notice it came on a Frisbee.  I think a regular hot dog and fries would have made her just as happy, but the kid's lemonade was a hit.

We visited Jennette's Pier after dinner.  Hurricane Isabel destroyed much of it in 2003, and it just re-opened in May I think.  It's much more than a pier now, as it serves as an educational center for the aquarium and has a gift shop and restaurant.  It also has wind turbines that have the ability to provide the pier with almost half of the electricity it needs.  We enjoyed a walk to the end, saw a school of rays, and provided Avery a peak at some fish on ice, which she found fascinating and talked about all the way home.  She wasn't too far past her bedtime, but there was still brief yet intense crying.  I'm doing my best to balance nights out with nights in, and we're sticking very close to our schedule.  She's doing great overall, but I'm not used to talking before naps and fussing at bedtime.  We are busy, and there is lots of "excitement" with Lolli and Poppa around all the time, so I think she's a tad wound up.

I'm ready to do some reading now.  We've got three days of perfect weather coming up with lots more memories to make.