Titi Missy's House

Friday night, we packed up the car and made the 3-hour, 34-mile trip into Manhattan (to pick up Dave from work) and back out to Connecticut to spend the weekend with my aunt Missy, uncle Jim, cousin Lael, and their "silly doggie," Riley. Clio really took to her Great-aunt and uncle like a fish to water. Here's an example: Clio hates to have her diaper changed. Loathes it. She will often lie when you ask if she has a poopy diaper, and once you get her on the changing table, its an all out fight to the end. But Saturday morning, when I asked Clio if she needed her diaper changed, she walked right over to Missy and put her arms up. Later, at the Long Island Sound beach, when she needed a change of diaper and clothes, she did the same to Jim, and said "Him do it." Both claim that Clio was very obliging through the change, which I would really need to see to believe (lately, when I try to change her she pummels my belly with her feet, as if she knows that her greatest rival is right inside.)

This became the mantra of the weekend: "Him do it." (Those of you who know Jim know that Clio has tapped right in to his essence: he sometimes refers to himself as "Himself.")

Here they are, Clio and Himself, strolling the beach:


All weekend long, Clio wanted Jim to bring her upstairs or downstairs, to feed her, to carry her around. Which was fine with me: I got to put my feet up (and even got an expert foot rub from Missy), and even read a bit of the paper.

She also seemed to knock her stair phobia once and for all. So eager to engage in whatever activity was happening on a different floor of the house, she kept escaping from me and climbing right on up the steps, appearing in the living room alternately naked or in her pajamas; or leaving the living room to go up to Lael's room, where the largest pile of stuffed animals waited for Clio to carry them to and fro across the room, and Lael and Dave (fast friends if I ever knew any) played many hours of Guitar Hero. (For the record, I appeared to be a "natural" at this game, but quickly went downhill with each subsequent try. Alas.)

All this aside, I'd say the best thing about the weekend for Clio (maybe for all of us) was the large doses of fresh air and the outside world we managed to consume in the one sunny day. Missy took over 300 pictures of Clio, running in the grass in the backyard, chasing the neighbors cat, and playing in the sand and surf at the beach. I think you'll agree that she has captured a joyful girl. I'm happy to say, our whole little family felt some of this joy.

Because there were so many to amazing photos to choose from, I'm sharing a whole gallery. Enjoy!

In the morning, Clio tested out the wet grass, played ball, found a new favorite stuffed animal, and got as close as she ever has to a real live actual dog (mostly she just loves dogs in theory.)






After the morning romp, we packed up for a ride to the beach. We weren't sure how the sand and water would go over after Clio's wintertime visit to the Jersey Shore, where she was fairly fascinated by the sand but terrified of the ocean. As you can see, we needn't have worried!







And one last shot, taken by Dave. I love how perfectly this captures my brand of joy for the day.