The Maine Event

We are just back from a family vacation in Maine with Daddy's family. It was really nice to get away and very generous of his family to treat us all to the lovely rented house. Very special to spend so much time together as a family. They got a good taste of life with a toddler. Here's a bunch of photos of our various adventures!

Enjoying a beverage:

Running half-nekkid on the deck!
Doing "cute" on the beach!

The view from Pemaquid Lighthouse:

Playing at the jungle gym on a rainy day:

Playing on a stuffed bear at the L.L. Bean store:

A 10-Gallon Hat on a 5-Gallon Baby

We celebrated July 4th with not one but two parties. On July 4th we enjoyed a BBQ with some of Daddy's family, including Grandma and Grandpa H. The food was great and Molly had a fun time playing in the grass. She also got to play with the enormous foam cowboy hat that cousin Joy had on hand.



Too big... Where's Molly?


Saturday was the 3rd birthday party of the son of some dear friends of ours. It was a bit too hectic to whip out the camera, and the rain did put a kibosh on the outdoor fun, but with all the toys and other kids, there was quite a lot of fun - you'll just have to trust me, even without photographic evidence.

The weekend was pretty exhausting, and Molly had her high points and her low ones. She can be pretty clingy these days and sometimes we just can't wait until she can learn to play by herself for a while, or read a book quietly. She's also pretty demanding because she wants a lot more things than she can accomplish by herself. We hope learning some language and getting a bit taller will help alleviate some of the shrieks and tantrums. But overall, she's a pretty fun kid to be around.

Next week: Family vacation in Maine with Grandma and Grandpa H. and Uncle J and Aunt E.

Who's Your Daddy?

Molly is getting noticeably more interested in words these days. Not so much saying them, but hearing them and understanding them. She is learning to understand new words almost every day. We can get her to point to her nose, head, tummy, fingers, elbows, and ears. She can verbalize a bit - "dah" for duck, "bah" for book, and this morning she pointed to both of our noses and tried to say "nose," but it came out more like "nuuuu." As you can tell, she doesn't ever really say the second half of any words - just the first sound.

She is also going book crazy, and asks endlessly to have books read to her. She especially likes "Mr. Brown Can Moo" by Dr. Suess - a gift from her Grandpa H.! Although reading to her is a great thing to do, we do have to put a limit on it, especially at bedtime, when all she does is toddle out of our laps and reach for the bookshelf, screaming over and over for another one.

She's also understanding the words "mama" and "dada." Or at least, sort of. When I ask, "Where's Dada?" she points right at her daddy. Yay! But when I ask "Where's Mama?" she points right at ... her daddy.