Nemo, Dory et al.

Finally I am able to find a moment to sit down and update "The Daily Bean..." Between family visits, Gary and I celebrating our 10th anniversary (yay!) and both of us coming down with a mild cold, updating the blog has, unfortunately, not been at the top of our priority list. I think life has returned to some form of normality now (I say as I drink a large glass of red wine and wait for my banana bread to bake - two very not normal activities for me these days) and hopefully I can get back into the swing of updating more regularly.

Last night Gary informed me that he had already made plans for us today, which involved a family trip to the Seattle Aquarium. I LOVE it when he takes over the plans for the day and immediately took to the idea. Bean loves fish, whales, seals, dolphins (she has a special thing for Raffi's "Baby Beluga" at the moment). So after nap #1, we headed into town. We were lucky to get in, being that there is a large waterfall just outside on the pier, and it was all we could do to drag poor Bean away from it, but once inside, she immediately took to the many colors, shapes and infinite bubbles awaiting us. Upon entry is an enormous floor to ceiling, wall to wall (we're talking huge) window into the ocean world. A particularly friendly diver has the privilege of waving to all of the incoming guests, playing peek-a-boo with the kids despite goggles, gloves and oxygen mask, and in general making most people wish they could quit their day jobs.

The next stop was a large hall with your standard jellyfish display, octopus tank and "petting pool". PET USING ONLY ONE FINGER PLEASE - not an easy concept for a 16 month old who just wants to splash and remove anything from the water she might lay hold of. Still, we were able to stroke a few starfish and get completely drenched all in about the three minutes we stood there.

Not to be a humbug, but neither Gary or I were overly impressed with the attraction. There were some seals and otters toward the end, but primarily we just looked at a lot of fish tanks. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that much of the time we were so focused on Bean that we weren't really able to focus on the exhibits themselves, but we had promised her sharks and belugas and dolphins - only to have to apologize to the poor little thing when all the way home she asked for, "Beluga? Beluga? Beluga?" I guess we expected a more impressive representation of sea life from a city that rests on the very brim of the Pacific Ocean.

Nevertheless, we are so aware, content and overjoyed that our lives now are all about the Bean. No matter what the exhibits were or were not to us, Bean had a whale of a time - just without the whales. She laughed and banged the glass and made fish noises. She shrieked "Eeeeewwww!" when she got to play with octopus tentacles. She couldn't take her eyes off of the otters, even the ones who were fast asleep. At lunch, she made friends with anyone she saw.

Labor Day (or any long weekend) has changed a bit for us since Bean. When we lived in London, we would plan long weekends in Somerset or the Cotswolds, walking on the moors in (usually) the battering wind and rain. Or here, we might travel to the coast or go on a hike into the mountains, packing a lunch and making a day of it. All of that was before nap schedules determined our times to be out and about, before special coolers were required to take all of Bean's home-made food and milk, before a child with a desperately curious character had to be watched at all times. But alas, we wouldn't change it for anything.