The trip to the beach has finally been chronicled on Hardly Born. Reid's first run at the Gulf of Mexico had highs and lows -- he didn't actually go near the water much, and he did eat some sand -- but on the whole a great time was had by all.

The photos in the essay above don't include many shots of Reid's grandma, who was behind the camera for many of the best pictures. Through the miracle of digital photography, we were able to share our enormous stash of Reid photography and come up with a dozen and a half great shots for your viewing pleasure. But it wouldn't have been possible without many of the images captured by Grammie.

With the addition of this batch of pictures, I've had to eliminate the "big versions" of the pictures from "Days 4, 5, 6" photo essay. You can still see the small pictures, but the big versions don't load when you click on them. This is the only way we here at Hardly Born can continue to deliver high quality pictures of young master Reid.

Incidentally, Reid's completely graduated from baby to toddler. The gathering storm clouds of his life as a upright walking human have rained down on us. Tonight, Reid fell asleep soundly after walking himself to the point of exhaustion. The best thing about the walking we've noticed is that he has the most incredible expression on his face when he does it. I guess if you had only been walking for a week or so, you would look this excited about every step. The other thing he does is put both hands out in front of him like Frankenstein's monster. Of course, they don't break any of his falls, but he looks hysterical with this big grin and hands like a zombie. I'll try to get a picture.