We’ve done so much in the past week!  Joshua got to ride on a carousel for the first time at the Salem Waterfront Park.  I’d never seen it before & it’s really impressive.  I strapped Joshua onto the horse & stood by holding him.  He took his horse-riding seriously, holding onto the pole & staring straight ahead.  Despite his seriousness, Josh had a good time going up & down, round & round.

Yesterday, we drove to the Oregon Coast to introduce Joshua to the ocean.  It was a little chilly but a good day as far as Oregon goes (at least it was dry!).  We had lunch at Mo’s, a cute seafood restaurant I used to go to with my own grandparents.  Then I strapped Joshua into his carrier & we walked onto the sand & down to the water.  Josh sure enjoyed looking out at the waves, & it was hard to get him to look away for Grandpa to take a picture of us.  There were lots of seals swimming around & one even came up close to us.  Josh didn’t know what to make of those animals in the water!  After collecting a few shells for Josh, we walked along a little pier & watched some dogs chasing a ball in the water.  Joshua seemed pretty excited & kept track of them as they ran back & forth playing fetch.

Earlier this afternoon, we went to visit with my good friend Kristen.  He had fun showing of his crawling & standing abilities.  He tried to help them babyproof for Kristen’s little niece by pointing out the mischief she might end up getting in when she’s as big & mobile as he is.  Josh tried to pet Kristen’s cat, but ended up grabbing ahold of his tail at the end of his first ‘pat.’  Yoda did not seem to enjoy that all that much, so we kept them at a distance after that!

All in all, we’re having a great time here in Salem.  My dad’s surgery went well, but it was a long day following the procedure since he wasn’t allowed to pick Joshua up.  Josh didn’t seem to understand why Grandpa wasn’t playing with him as much!  Fortunately, Dad was cleared to play & pick up Josh the next day.  We also went to visit with my mom’s friends Sharon & Pat, & with our old neighbors Emily & Frank, & their kids Sarah & Greg (who I used to babysit many years ago!).  Everyone has been so excited to see Joshua, since they’ve heard so much about him from Grandma.  Those photos just don’t do him justice—not that I’m biased or anything!   My aunt & uncle come tomorrow to visit from Seattle, so we’re looking forward to that.  It’s hard to believe that our trip is half over already.  We miss Erick lots but it’s nice to get out of DC for a change.  It’ll be nice to get home, although we’re only going to be back for a few weeks before we leave on our trip to California.  Josh is sure going to become a frequent flyer!