Goodnight Moon

After I got Colin's pj's on tonight, he looked up at me and said;  "sit outside?!?"  Well, actually he first said; "go outside and play?!" Then quickly changed his story and asked to sit outside or for "chocolate puddin".  For the week we were on vacation, we ended each night the same way, sitting outside on the deck, under the stars, listening to the waves crash against the shore and looking at the moon.  And if you want to get really technical, enjoying a few after dinner drinks.

 

It was the perfect way to unwind after days spent building sandcastles, splashing in the waves, and applying what seemed like gallons of SPF 1,000 sunscreen on sandy little bodies that wanted nothing to do with sun safety.

 

 

Last fall, Colin got really into the book Goodnight Moon.  Childhood classic that it is, oh my gosh... Talk about a painful book to read over (and over, and over).  It just pales in comparison to the current favorite in our house "Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site".  Also, can anyone else get though that book without yawning? 

 

But I digress...that's when Colin's fascination with the moon started.  He noticed it anytime he was outside.  Trick-or-Treating?  He was so distracted by the moon he kept forgetting to get candy!  Driving to school?  I'd hear a squeal from the backseat "Moooooon!" 

 

Whenever it's particularly bright, large, or unusual we always take Colin outside (or go to a window) to look, and he's always delighted.

 

Each night on the beach, we'd sit with Colin and rehash the days events ("Remember...when we saw sharks?  Remember...when we ate black (purple really - but Colin insists they are black) Popsicles?  Remember...when we saw pirates? arrrrrgh!)

 

We counted the stars (and got all the way up to 20, the highest number Colin knows). Then we counted the stars in Spanish (and got all the way up to 5, the highest number Colin knows in Spanish).  But always came back to the moon. 

 

Before we carried him up to bed each night, we recited our own version of Goodnight Moon;  "Goodnight ocean, Goodnight beach house, Goodnight sharks, Goodnight fireworks - boom! boom!, Goodnight stars, and Goodnight Moon....See ya tomorrow!"