Today, sharing the same room with Mom and Dad really started to become a problem. I was up at 3:45 am, bright-eyed and ready to start the day. Seeing Mom and Dad right there gave me even more energy, so I didn't go back down without a major battle: it took Dad 45 minutes to get me back to sleep.
Once I awoke at a more appropriate time, we headed downstairs for one of my daily rituals at the resort: saying hello to Grover out front.
As you can see, while I initially only had eyes for Grover, by now I had also grown to like Elmo, so I literally had Dad shuttle me back and forth between the two so I could spend time with both of them.
Considering we were at a place called Beaches, it's strange that today was the first day that I actually spent some quality time on the beach itself with Mom and Dad.
I can't say it was a success. I simply was not happy standing in the sand and feeling it under my feet. Sitting and playing with the shovel and bucket didn't help either. I was okay going into the ocean with Dad (as you see up above), but the fact is, I'm not much of a beach person yet. I'm sure that will change when I start walking.
For now, the pool is definitely more my speed. Thanks to my early rising, Dad was able to go out and reserve the primo hut for the day, so we relaxed poolside in style. I even napped outside with Mom (the waterfall sounded like the white noise I listen to on the iPod every night while I sleep!).
When I got up, I played around with Mom for a bit.
The view from our hut was great, but I was ready to go back to the pool.
By this time, when I was in the water I enjoyed gripping the pool's edge and playing a bit there. I was also drawn to the "no diving" signs painted on the edge, complete with an illustration of someone diving in shallow water and cracking their head.
As Mom and Dad looked for additional ways to keep me occupied at the table during meals, Dad was inspired by my condiment-loving cousin Sophia and tossed me a ketchup packet to munch on at lunch. Good call, Dad!
While there was no Sesame Street show today, we did attend a Sesame Street event, a fun birthday party.
Happy birthday to...well, I'm not sure who, actually. Because once Abby Caddady showed up and I took a photo with her, we left (I was sleepy because I refused to go down for my afternoon nap).
One thing about this photo. The people running the event made me stand alone for the photo, without Mom, and once I realized what was happening I started crying. At least we got a cute photo before the meltdown happened.
Also, I realized that I never shared with you this odd ritual that I began following whenever we got on the elevator. It involves repeating something over and over and...well, see for yourself:
Then it was time for our final dinner of the trip. We went to a very nice Japanese restaurant for teppanyaki, where you are seated around a grill and the chef cooks your meal right in front of you. I was very happy there, and enjoyed watching the other teppanyaki chefs in action as we waited for our table. Plus, Mom, Dad and me posed for the only photo of the three of us all week that wasn't taken by a resort photographer.
My chipper mood changed, however, the moment that our chef began preparing the meal by loudly banging his utensils together. I started sobbing hysterically—Mom had to take me out of the room, and she and Dad took turns calming me down. I wouldn't come back in until the chef finished preparing the food and had departed. But then I was back to the same cheery demeanor as before. Watch me play with Mom's chopsticks (and watch Mom ignore my attempts to drink some water!).
With no Sesame Street show after dinner, it was time to say goodnight. All that was left was a few final hours the next morning, and then our trip home.
