Ze Annual Coney Island Excursion

This was the best Coney Island trip yet! Along with the fun came a dash of melancholy--Theo was too big to ride his first ride! Here he is, July 4th , 2005 . (I started the blog in 2006).Theo's first ride--the fire trucks. This is one instance of pictures speaking louder. Joe and I both cried unexpectedly when we saw the look on his face. Little Theo (almost 3) just couldn't believe that something could be this great.

Before this year, I don't think I ever noticed that there were actually height maximums on some of the rides. And so he couldn't go on the flying swings either, which bummed him out. He did, however, have a couple of firsts. He went on the Tilt-A-Whirl with daddy and the Scrambler with me, both pretty wild rides for him. He was terrified and had the time of his life. The smile never left his face as he clung on for dear life. Theo's the only one I know who can be so scared and so happy simultaneously.

The same thing happened later, when I took him in the ocean. When we hit water where he could no longer stand, his arms gripped tightly around me. I held on to him with both arms, and if I lifted one to point to something, he said " No mommy, two hands, two hands!" But scared as he was, he didn't want to stop. He wanted to "swim" under the bridge and jump off the rocks into the water. I didn't plan on swimming and was fully clothed (the monkey had a suit on). But hey, it was my only ocean experience the whole summer, and I dried off in a jiffy--'twas a hot day. The water felt wonderful!! Theo got good and dirty afterward playing in the mud. Thank goodness for those boardwalk showers!

I had a moment yesterday. I was nursing Melody on the beach and watching Joe chase Theo around the playground, both of them laughing. I'd never been happier...like I said--I had a moment. :)

I'm so sad we didn't have a camera on this trip. We have pics from every year except this one. Check out the entry from 2 years ago...my comments about the frog ride are the same this year. I still wonder when he'll go on the Cyclone. I think it said you have to be 55 inches, and he's about 45" now (Which, btw, is the 95th percentile according to last week's doctor visit!).

As usual, Melody was a perfect baby the whole day, talking to us and laughing at us. She was amazingly alert and slept very little. She took it all in--she was wide eyed during the Cyclones game and on the long commute home.

In last year's Coney Island entry, I lamented that it was Astroland's final year. This turned out false, happily. The tradition will live on, and pretty soon Theo will be laughing at Melody for having to go on the baby rides. I'll be sad when he can't do the kiddie rides anymore. Not because it'll mean he's growing up. Kiddie rides are just a helluva lot cheaper.