Tacketts in Charleston

The last weekend in October, one of my best friends from college and her lovely family (a.k.a., the Tacketts) came to visit us to check out Charleston. Maya is a few months older than Owen, and her baby brother Ben was just 4-months old at the time. So Owen had the thrill of hanging out with an older woman all weekend AND getting to see what life with a baby was all about. He was decidedly a fan of both.

Here are Owen and Maya on East Bay, jumping on a metal cover of some sort, milking all of the loud, clanking noise they could get out of it:
A toddler dinner before the "adults" (it makes me feel more comfortable to put that words in quotes) head out for dinner downtown (L to R: Owen, Bill, Larkin, and Maya):
Owen and Maya holding hands as we venture out to Folly Beach:
The whole gang:
Greeting the Atlantic:
Maya was VERY excited about the ocean. Within moments she had stripped down naked and was frolicking in the (freezing cold) waves. Owen was entertained by this, but not convinced whatsoever to join in. (If you knew Klingler and I in college, you MIGHT assume that my kid would be the one stripping down and jumping in the water like a crazy person and that Klingler's kid would be the one practically staying clothed and warm. But you would be wrong. I HATE being cold.)
Good friends, just like their mamas:
Klingler and Baby Ben on dry land:
Owen talked about Maya and "Baby Ben" for months afterward. Several mornings, he would wake up and be in his crib saying, "Maaaaaaya...Maaaaaaayaaaa...what are you dooooooin'?" Or he would ask where Baby Ben was and want to talk about where Baby Ben sleeps.

Baby Ben made such an impression that he made it onto Owen's apology list. When Owen does something that deserves an apology, he apologizes to a long list of people (when you throw your fork, you've really let down a whole assortment of family and friends). It goes something like this, "Sorry Mama, sorry Dada, sorry Bruno, sorry Owen, sorry Boo, sorry Alex, sorry Poppy, sorry Baby Ben."

Kling and family: come again soon, for the weekend or to live. We'll happily take either.