Maine!

This is me, trying to be concise. :) We had a great time, and I could go on and on about it, but here are the highlights.

Thursday

Drove up to Cincinnati area. Hotel.

Made it all night in the pack n play this time!

(Last time he slept in one, he was up 2-3 times, and it messed him up for weeks to follow.)

Friday

Flights went well!

A little sleepy, but ready to fly!

Thanks for the cool aviator t-shirt, Auntie Em.

Snoozing on his mama

Arrived in Bangor, via Detroit.

Drove to Millinocket.

Lakeside cabin at Big Moose Inn.

Dipping his toes in the water

Hot dogs, beer, and s'mores.

Saturday

Dad and Kevin to Appalachian Trail for 10 mile hike.

Mom, Lewis, and I hiked 2.5 (and bumped into Dad and Kevin).

Painted rock just outside of Baxter State Park

Lunch at Appalachian Trail Cafe.

Drove to house in Winter Harbor.

Sunday

Laying out on blanket in yard. Reading. Walking on rocks.

Sea kayaking. Bald eagle.

Schoodic Point (part of Acadia National Park).

Lobster and steak dinner.

Beer and Scrabble.

Monday

Woke up to sounds of lobster fishermen in harbor. And waves. And sea gulls.

Foggy.

Clear day on the top - foggy day on the bottom.

6 hours to L.L. Bean (should have taken 3). Lewis stops, lunch stop, traffic.

Lunch on the water in Damariscotta.

Wild man, glad to be out of the car for a little bit!

L.L. Bean stop #1 (flagship store) and #2 (outlet store).

The Bean Boot

Back to house (3 hours).

Tuesday

Farmer's Market and shopping in Winter Harbor for Mom, Lewis, and I.

Ellsworth for shopping in the afternoon. L.L. Bean stop #3 (outlet). Goodwill stop #1.

Beer and Scrabble.

Wednesday

Bar Harbor for breakfast and shopping.

Ran across these socks in a shop in B.H. -- made in Helmsburg, IN.

Acadia and lunch.

Mom and Lew at Sand Beach, Dad and I at Thunder Hole, Dad and Kevin living on the edge at Thunder Hole, and Dad and Lewis on Cadillac Mountain.

Shopping on way home.

Blueberry pie and vanilla bean ice cream.

Beer and Scrabble.

Thursday

Dolphins in harbor.

Beach-combing.

A lobster claw, Kevin up at the high tide mark (I took it from down at the low tide mark), the house at low tide, and Dad finishing his round-the-island trek.

Dad walked around the entire island next to us, and he came out with some pretty impressive muck on his feet and legs. Kind of looks like he is wearing those new toe shoes.

My treasures -- lots of glass, one whole bottle, a few shells, a piece of driftwood, a large nail, a piece of metal, a sea urchin (whose spines were still moving!), and a really neat piece of pottery.

Bicycling through Acadia (me - 8 miles, Kevin - 12 miles).

Me (duh) - feigning happiness (I didn't really enjoy the riding aspect, though I did enjoy the scenery), Kevin (duh), Great Blue Heron far away, and Great Blue Heron up close.

Sea kayaking.

Kevin and I went for one last spin around the neighboring island, as did Mom and Dad.

Beer and Scrabble.

Friday

Packed up.

Spent a little bit more time soaking up the sun in the yard.

We miss the view already!

Drove to Bangor. L.L. Bean stop #4 and Goodwill stop #2.

Airport.

LaGuardia so busy on a Friday night. Nursed in public for first time. Holy anxiety city, Batman.

Lew slept through both flights and on drive home.

Riding shuttle back to our car in Cincinnati, around 11:30 pm.

Home at 1:20 a.m.

We had a great time! It was nice to slow down a bit and enjoy the outdoors again (it's been a while). We decided that staying in a house is the way to go--it was so nice to have a home base to settle into (and a washer/dryer!). It certainly didn't hurt that it was a great house and right on the ocean. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

Also, thanks to Goodwill in Maine, Lewis now has lots of 12-month sleepers and even a few 18-month ones!

During the trip, he started scooting backwards, which seems to be one step closer to crawling. He's also starting to get on his knees occasionally.

He is still not close to sitting up on his own.

We're getting really excited to start solids next week!

Feed me, Seymour!

I have a few more pictures of some notable 'Firsts' that occurred during the trip that I'll post when I get a chance. Kevin took Lewis over to his parents' house this afternoon, so I ran some errands, gave the just-stayed-a-week-at-the-kennel stinky dogs their first baths since Lewis was born (oops), and have been trying to finish this post! So now I'm back on 'Mama Duty'...

Oh, and since we survived the flights, Lewis and I are booking a trip out to Boise next month to see Joe, Emily, and Juniper! Yay! This will be Joe's first time meeting Lewis, so I'm really glad we can get out there.

Dinner and Swimming, Round Two

Lewis and I met my friend, Kate, and her mom, Lynne, for dinner last night...it was so great to see them and under better circumstances this time. The last time we'd seen one another was when Lewis was four days old and mama here was a tidbit on the 'emotionally unstable' side. :) They were so wonderful and supportive and helpful and let me cry and hug them, and I just love them. At dinner, Lewis had a little bit of the end-of-the-day-fussies (and he flipped my dipping cup of warm marinara all over me), but whatever. We had a very nice time.

Lewis and Aunt Kate

Lewis and Aunt Lynne

Also at dinner, Lynne invited us over to swim at their house. Yay! We went today after my mom group and had so much fun! [When we first arrived, however, Lewis had unknowingly filled his diaper, which I proceeded to, between the car and getting our bags of gear situated, squish out the back, front, and sides of his diaper AND get all over his brand new outfit AND all over the front of my cover-up AND even on their patio furniture. Poop.was.everywhere. I had to wipe him down with a burpcloth, then wipes. Worst one yet, but I am very glad he went then and NOT once he got in the pool. It was a doozy.]

Back to the pool, Lewis was happy much longer than I anticipated, and he seems to have gotten the hang of his floaty tube. He was kicking his feet beneath the water and even figured out how to make himself go in a circle. It was so great! Thanks again, Lynne and Tom!

Made in the Shade

I love this thing you call swimming--and I wish my dad

was here to see my new tricks! :) Hopefully next time!

Swimming Rules, Man

In closing, for your viewing pleasure:

And I totally missed the memo that it was supposed to pour this evening, so his floaty, towel, swimtrunks, hat, etc. that were probably already dry on the back porch are now soaking wet again. Oh well--it will be a scorcher again tomorrow, so I guess I'll just leave them out until then.

Big Boy Things

After a very text-heavy post last Friday, I thought I'd put up a photo-heavy one to attain some blog chi. This past week, we seem to have entered into some very Big Boy things. Enjoy!

Taking the Highchair for a Test Drive

This next picture I took for my cousin Mallory, showing Lewis wearing the super cute duck outfit that she got him. It also shows his new scootching position--he gets up on his arms like that and rocks back and forth/side to side and can spin pretty efficiently like that.

I Like Duck Butts, and I Cannot Lie,

You Other Brothers Can't Deny...

On the one not-so-oppressively-hot night we had last week, Kevin took Lewis out for his second grilling lesson. (The first was burgers and asparagus.) This time, they threw on some leftover hot dogs and zucchini and squash. Lewis helped by holding the hot dogs for his pops. :)

(And, yes, I know that raw hot dog juice can carry the bacteria, Listeria, which is bad for babies--he didn't come in contact with the juice, I promise.)

Mr. Grabby McGrabberson

Grilling and The Champagne of Beers (naturally)

I decided to go ahead and have Lewis try on the tie dyes that Ben and Adie sent because they looked like they might fit him already, and they do!

Thanks again, Ben & Adie!

As I mentioned in his Five Month post, it was time to make the switch from his infant seat to his convertible seat. Here is one of his last rides in the infant seat.

So long, Little Guy...

Hello, Big Boy!

I think he likes it so far. We are still getting used to adjusting the straps with the toggle being pushed up against the seat. And we have to see how he does without his dangly toys to entertain him. He has his mirror, which seems to keep him happy. And I have given him some of his toys to hold while we ride. Kevin was saying I could just keep a stockpile of 4-5 toys handy--if he drops/throws one, I can always offer another.

We went out a few times this weekend without the car seat/Snap n Go set-up. I carried him in the Ergo a few times, but it has been so hot and sticky that neither one of us wanted to be that close. He rode in his umbrella stroller for the first time this morning and seemed to really enjoy it--it has a nice 5 point harness to help him sit up securely.

Saturday morning, we met Rachel, Curtis, and Abram down by the waterfront to walk around and go to lunch. We haven't seen them in months, so it was nice to get together. There are all sorts of walking/biking trails down by the river--sadly, we have never been down there before! I think we'll definitely go back--there was a neat Abraham Lincoln statue, lots of benches to sit and watch the action on the river, grills and picnic tables for a picnic/cookout, etc. It's a nice slice of nature nestled right next to the 'city' landscape.

Lewis and Abram, having a chat.

And it was THIS BIG!

Happy Boy

:)

As I mentioned before, he still doesn't do well with the restaurant highchair, so he has been ending up in our arms a lot when we go out to eat. This restaurant wasn't super crowded and we were seated outside, so we ended up putting down a blanket next to the table for him to stretch out on for awhile.

In closing, the goats:

Our fence is the wooden one on the right side of the frame

(which conveniently doubles as the right side of their pen).

God Bless America (they have an American flag on the gate)? Or not. :)

I went yesterday for some 'me' time (which was amazing--thanks again, Kevin) and while I was out getting a pedicure and a much-needed haircut, I picked up some tarps and rope to try to make them HOPEFULLY be more out-of-sight/out-of-mind for Peter. Hattie has stayed away from them for the most part, although Kevin did see her snap at them under the fence the other day. Please, God, don't let us have a Dog vs. Goat Showdown.