The Miss America pageant may have left Atlantic City, but America's Playground is still a draw for us. Zoe joined Jesse for a long weekend in becoming the fifth generation of our families to enjoy the Jersey shore.

A.C.'s answer to the brilliant "What Happens In Vegas..." marketing campaign is "Always Turned On." In the middle of February, the only thing we could count on being always turned on was the gas fireplace.

In addition to seeing the ocean for the first time, Zoe took her first venture into a swimming pool, and loved it. We were comforted with the knowledge that she's not afraid of the water, knowing the big dip that awaits sometime over the next few months.

As an experiment, I employed a time-honored parenting tactic with Zoe to get some attention: reverse psychology. After tickling Zoe into submission, I ordered her to not tickle me in return. Which, being a three-year-old with a 'tude, she naturally went right ahead and did. With Zoe all caught up in the moment, I took it a step further and ordered her to not kiss me. Needless to say, five--count 'em, five--smooches were planted on my cheek accompanied by lots of laughter over my feigned protests. Hardly spontaneous, but I'll take what I can get, any way I can get it.

Newly-added to Zoe's diet over the weekend: decaf coffee, which we know she likes because 1) it's one of the few English words she can now pronounce perfectly, and 2) she's very comfortable ordering it in a restaurant. Warning: This is the sort of thing that can happen when you let grandparents babysit when you need a few hours of quality time in the casino.

¶ 9:23 AM