Maine, Day 5: Pemaquid Point

Molly slept till 7:45 this morning! (That'll happen when you keep a toddler up til almost 10 pm. But it was worth it for Molly to see a sky full of stars last night.) After a nice leisurely breakfast on the deck of wild Maine blueberries with yogurt, we started our day with a ride out to Pemaquid Point Lighthouse. We quickly darted through the lighthouse keeper's museum and got down to the real business of climbing out on the massive rocky outcrop of the point. I thought I'd have to carry Molly in my arms the whole way, but she proved very capable of managing quite well on her own, as long as I held her hand (and I did, the whole way.) Pemaquid has a special place in my family's memories -- we always made a point of stopping here on the way to Bar Harbor -- and today was a gorgeous day to be there.

From there we drove back to the Pemaquid Lobster Co-op for lunch. I really had had my heart set on having lunch tomorrow at Harraseeket Lunch when we go to Freeport, but decided when we came here to pick up clams and lobsters for last night's dinner that the view from here is way better than Harraseeket. (And while there is definitely charm to dining dockside at a working lobstering harbor, in practice that usually just means your meal is served with a side of diesel fumes. ) We shared two fried haddock baskets and I'm pleased to report that Molly finally ate with enthusiasm something considered a regional specialty! It helps that it was essentially the biggest fish stick she'd ever seen.

We spent the afternoon at the swimming hole in Bristol Mills. Last summer, when we were here during a really unseasonably hot week in August, Molly and Mommy and I spent several afternoons cooling off at the swimming hole and I wanted to make sure that our trip this year included a return visit. The swimming hole is like something right out of a Norman Rockwell painting with loads of kids swimming, diving off the wall of the dam, and jumping off the bridge, while parents lounge in beach chairs nearby reading paperbacks.

After our last homecooked dinner at home (dinner in Portland tomorrow), we took a walk down to the dock at sunset to see the low tide, and then Molly went to sleep with bedtime stories read by Grandma and Grandpa. Tomorrow is our last day here before we leave on Friday.

Henry Healthwatch: Ten Month Edition

Henry had his 10-month checkup today. He's doing well! He has dropped somewhat in the weight percentiles, most likely because the little goober hasn't eaten much in the last month or six weeks. He started refusing baby food at that time, but doesn't have the coordination or inclination to eat much finger food. He's quite picky and won't touch any veggies we give him. He's been living on mostly Cheerios and crackers and muffins and things, plus a bit of meat now and then, and whatever other odds and ends strike his fancy. He's dairy allergic so things like cheese and yogurt are out in terms of fat sources. Anyway, the upshot is that he's not currently consuming much quantity of solid food. Oh well - he'll get hungry enough and figure it out.

His height and head circumference are great. Overall, quite a healthy and happy kiddo.

Latest stats:
Weight: 19 lbs (17th%)
Height: 28.5 inches (43%)
Head circumference: 45.5 cm (46%)

Maine, Day 4: In Search of Cookie Dough

Today was a busy day! Molly practically woke up this morning intent on making cookies with Grandma. (She vividly remembers making Valentine cookies with Grandma six months ago.) But one thing Grandma doesn't have here is a mixer so we drove to Damariscotta to buy cookie dough at the Hannaford's. And of course, we can't go to Damariscotta without an obligatory trip through Renny's where Molly emerged with a heavy duty sand shovel and a life jacket for our next trip to the Little Beach. We also spent almost an hour in the children's section of the wonderful Skidompha Library. Last year when we were here in an unseasonably warm week in August, we went to Skidompha almost daily.
After lunch, Molly and Grandma made sugar cookies, topped with cake frosting and sprinkles -- a cookie well suited to a kid's palate, if a bit too sweet for the rest of us. Then Molly also worked on another arts and crafts project of a cup with inserts of scenes she could color with her crayons.

Next she worked on a giant Cat in the Hat floor puzzle with both grandparents. Molly wasn't showing any sign of slowing down but at this point the grown-ups would have been ready for a nap.
In the late afternoon we drove out to the Rachel Carson Salt Pond Preserve. (Great suggestion, Grandpa!) Molly has really taken to water well this trip and she wanted to go to the deepest part of the tidal pool but I said no further when my shorts were half wet.

Last stop was the Pemaquid Lobster Co-op for steamers and lobsters! I'm sad to report that although Molly was excited all day about having lobster for dinner, she couldn't be convinced to try a bite. Not even a steamer. Who's child is this? Hopefully she'll be more adventurous about eating next summer.

After dinner, we grabbed a flashlight and walked down to the water to look up at the stars. (Yes, Molly was up past her bedtime.) I know this will be one of my enduring memories -- lying on our backs at the end of the dock with Molly snuggled up against my shoulder staring up at the night sky as Molly tried to count the stars. But as special as that moment felt to me, Molly will probably just remember getting to hold the flashlight.

Maine, Day 3: Little Beach

Early start today. Molly awoke at 5:40, as Grandpa commented on at breakfast. She's been a great sleeper on this trip, going to bed right on her 8 pm schedule like at home. But she's always been an early riser. I'll be reminding her of that when she's fifteen.

After breakfast of steel cut oats, Daddy and Grandpa went for a 1-mile hike on the Bristol Recreation Trail. Molly stayed home with Grandma and played with her new water toy. Turned out to be good that she passed on the hike because much of it was through overgrown blackberry bushes.

After lunch Grandpa went to his new volunteer job as a docent at the Harrington Meeting House and Molly, Daddy and Grandma went to the "Little Beach," which is where the locals go instead of the state beach down the road. We didn't find any hermit crabs, I guess because it was high tide. We'll go back again this week and hopefully find some little critters to collect in her bucket. It was a beautiful day to be at the beach, sunny and warm and after a while the water didn't seem so cold.


Grandma made a delicious dinner of chicken with mushrooms in cream sauce, red rice and broccoli. I thought Molly would be into the red rice because she's generally fond of rice but she refused to eat anything except her broccoli. Still, it's kinda hard to be annoyed with a toddler who says "I just want more broccoli!" Tomorrow - lobsters!

We miss you, Mommy and Henry!

Maine vacation, Day 1 & 2

Molly and Daddy arrived midafternoon yesterday in Lexington to stay overnight with our cousins. Molly and Aidan and Alexander jumped around in the pool while Uncle Paul served virgin strawberry daquiris and pina coladas. That evening Xiaoyan's mother and father prepared a delicious Chinese dinner for us. I had been looking forward to that meal for weeks! It was a nice visit and great to see the kids playing so well together and really enjoying time together. I hope they'll continue to see each other often as they grow up.

After breakfast of French toast, we got an early start and made good time until we hit almost an hour of traffic around Freeport. Still, made it as far as Wiscasset on our first tank of gas (400 miles on 9.5 gallons -- love our Honda Fit!) Arrived at Heron Cove in time for lunch of BLTs, then took a walk down to the Old Fort. Burgers on the grill for dinner.

Molly enjoyed bedtime stories with Grandma and Grandpa, and went to sleep well. She misses her mom and Henry though -- we both do -- but so far she's holding up well and no tears. She's been a great travel companion. Some more pics from the trip so far below.

What They're Missing

Daddy and Molly have gone on vacation without me and Henry this week. It's all because of my lack of a permanent, real job. Because I'm temping, if I don't work for a week, then I don't get paid. So, we decided it was better for me to stay home and work. They went off to Grandma and Grandpa H.'s summer house in Maine. I know that they will have a ton of fun and make lots of special memories. I'd like to remind them of what they are missing back home:



We miss you guys!