Mollywoggin & Henrydoodle

Maine, Day 5: Pemaquid Point

2010-07-28T21:18:00.007-04:00

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

2010-07-28T17:57:00.003-04:00

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

2010-07-27T22:43:00.010-04:00

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

2010-07-26T21:23:00.005-04:00

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!

2010-07-25T22:05:00.003-04:00

Maine vacation, Day 1 & 2

2010-07-25T21:42:00.008-04:00

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

2010-07-25T12:14:00.002-04:00

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!

Summertime Splash

2010-07-17T21:00:00.002-04:00

Summer has been hot and heavy in our region. Molly went to the pool today at the local YMCA, and then came home and wanted to hop into our little wading pool in the backyard too. Here she is, saying she is "exploring, on an adventure."

I'm so tired, I could fall asleep right here ...

2010-07-11T19:33:00.002-04:00

Henry conked out on the floor of his room, using a diaper package as a pillow, last week when he was home from school for the day with Daddy.

Fourth of July Weekend

2010-07-05T20:28:00.005-04:00

We had a hot and sunny holiday weekend. The main weekend activity was hitting the local zoo. Here, Molly and I feed some birds:

While Daddy sported a one-of-a-kind accessory:

Later, we enjoyed some blueberry pie:

The rest of the weekend was spent doing home improvement projects (installing shoe molding!) and generally laying around unable to defend ourselves from the onslaught of heat, humidity, and relentless toddler energy. Calgon, take me away!

A Relaxing Evening at Home...

2010-06-29T12:07:00.003-04:00

Last night, right as I came home from work, we had a rediculous series of mishaps. First, Molly was jumping around the kitchen and bonked her head hard on a cabinet. She wailed and cried, and we gave her some juice to calm her down. She went to the couch to drink it, and within a minute we heard a bonk and Molly yelling "Henry hit his eye!" He's been pulling himself up every chance he gets, and he managed to fall and bonk the side of his face on our hard wood-framed sofa. He wailed and wailed as well, but calmed down fairly quickly. Then, literally 30 seconds after that, Molly popped the top off of her juice cup and spilled the entire contents on herself and the couch. Lovely. Daddy was frantically trying to clean up the juice from the furniture while Molly wailed at being covered with juice. Her wailing set Henry off again. I took the two wailing kids upstairs to clean Molly off while Daddy cleaned the furniture. As I was getting water from the upstairs sink, Molly cried out "Henry's bleeding!" Indeed he was. He had hit his face hard enough on the couch that he'd gotten a small cut near his eye. Plus his face was looking quite red all around the cheek. Ack! You never want to see blood anywhere near your 9-month-old's eye. Or anywhere, I suppose. My mind raced through possibilities - detached cornea, broken cheek bone. Who knows. But since he honestly didn't seem too concerned or bothered by his own injury, we let it be and just kept a watch on him.

I fully expected him to wake up this morning with a massive black eye, but he actually looks fine.

We, on the other hand, were ready to toss in the towel after what was a very hectic 8 minutes in our house last night. It's no wonder I find going to work so relaxing, when compared with that!

Stand Up!

2010-06-26T22:08:00.006-04:00

So, Henry has learned a few new skills in the last few days. He can now get to a sitting position himself after crawling. And he can pull himself up to a standing position now! He decided to do this right at bedtime this week, so we had to take apart his crib and lower the mattress right when we were trying to put both kids to bed. Since then he's been working on his new standing skill each day. Like in his high chair, for instance. Anyway, this shot is in his newly-lowered crib.

In the "cute family photo" category, here's the kiddies taking a bath together tonight!

Father's Day 2010

2010-06-20T20:23:00.004-04:00

We had a pretty lazy Father's Day around here. I let Daddy sleep late while I got up with Henry at 5:45. Then we all managed to make it out of the house and walk to the local diner for chocolate chip pancakes and poached eggs, at around 11 am.

Molly and Daddy went to the playground at around 2. We all were going to go, but it became clear that Henry really should stay home and nap. And Mommy too, since I was crabby from my early wake up.

We finished the day with a nice meal outside - corn on the cob, cold fried chicken, and salad.

Thanks and love to all the Dads in my life!

Rain Dance

2010-06-14T20:08:00.002-04:00

It rained this weekend, and Molly enjoyed a bit of frolicking!

Things, Stuff, and Life

2010-06-06T14:48:00.004-04:00

Yes, I've been a bit quiet on this blog since we got back from visiting Grandma and Grandpa T. Life just started up full force and we've been exhausted all the time. I've gotten more temp work for the summer, so the schedule for June is a bit complicated, as I finish one temp gig and start the other. For June I'll be working five and sometimes six days a week. In July and August I'll be working four days a week. After that, who knows. Probably back on unemployment.

But anyway, as for the kids, we had a nice Memorial Day weekend, including me painting half the living room, a barbecue with Molly's friend Izzy and her parents, and a fun trip to the botanical gardens to see Daddy's cousin and their kids, who are in the same age ranges as our kids. Big and busy weekend! I neglected to take photos. I'm not so good at that. I take most photos here at the house and never remember to take them when we're out doing things.

This weekend we celebrated jointly Daddy and Grandma H.'s birthdays, which are close together. We all met up for a delightful meal at a Portuguese restaurant. Too much food! Molly wasn't totally on her best behavior. She's been have some behavior issues, in my opinion, and the two of us have been butting heads. It comes and goes, though, so I'm just trying to enjoy the good times.

Today Daddy is gone all day at a co-worker's wedding. Molly and I baked muffins this morning, and now she's out at the park with Grandma and Grandpa H. while I chill out with Henry. And yes, this is a photo of him playing in the trash can. And yes, he's playing with a plastic bag. So sue me.

Henry Healthwatch: Eight Month Edition

2010-05-27T20:22:00.002-04:00

Took Henry to his 8-month checkup today. He's chugging right along. His current stats:

Height: 27 inches
Weight: 18 lbs

He's at the 29th percentile for both height and weight (and head circumference, but I don't have that measurement handy right now). He is much bigger than Molly was at the same age. She wasn't even 18 lbs when she turned 1. But she was a shrimp, at the 5th percentile or below for a long while.

Henry seems to have decided to do a bunch of major developmental things all at once as well. His first tooth started poking through about a week ago, and today he finally decided to start crawling. Before now, he's just been rolling wherever he wanted to go. Today, he's started using his arms and legs to drag/push himself forward. So it's really only a short while until he figures out how to lift up his belly and crawl for real. Though his drag/push method does get him where he wants to go. He almost crawled out of his bedroom today. And since his door is on a landing in the middle of our staircase, I think it's going to be time for baby gates soon.

Family Ties

2010-05-24T20:47:00.003-04:00

We have just returned from a very special weekend visit to Grandma and Grandpa T.'s house in Washington D.C. We live quite close to Daddy's parents, but about 4-5 hours from my parents, so each visit is more of a big deal because they don't happen as frequently. This visit was even more special because my brother, the kids' Uncle Ben, was visiting from California, along with his dearest, Aunt Beth. I haven't seen my brother in over three years. He saw Molly when she was just 10 days old, and he's never met Henry, of course, so this was really the first time for them to all meet each other. It meant a lot to me to see Ben and Beth playing with and having fun with the kids. It makes me wish so much that we all lived closer together and that my side of the family were more a part of my children's lives. But, alas, we live where we live and there's not much we can do about it.

The visit highlights included a family trip to the Newseum, a great night of theater (not with the kids), and a special family portrait session with the whole family. But most of the visit was spent doing the little everyday things of life -- feeding babies, playing, talking. Here's some photos from the visit.

Best Baby Toy

2010-05-19T22:02:00.006-04:00

I got this little dude when Molly was a baby 'cause I thought it was SO cute. Molly liked it, for sure. But Henry! Oh man does that kid loves this little fellow. He just munches and noshes on all the little froggy hands and feet. It's great for teething and snuggling, and it calms Henry down in his crib each night. Molly never had a really had one special toy or stuffed animal, but this guy might be Henry's "can't live without" toy. Whenever Henry is done with it, I think Mr. Froggy is going into the keepsake box. Or, you know, I might snuggle with him for a while.

That's Poopie

2010-05-12T16:41:00.005-04:00

Molly is quite the talker these days. She has a very large vocabulary and is pretty easy to understand. She does have a few words that she consistently mispronounces, though. Here is a sampling:

Yehyow = yellow (though she's working on fixing this one)
Ting = thing (all her "th" sounds come out as a hard "t" but again, she's improving)
Cer-uh-low = cereal. Every morning we hear about cer-uh-low!

One of her most endearing verbal tics isn't even a tic at all, but rather a weird idea she's gotten into her head about a feature of our house, one that she comments on every time we come in the front door. On our little front porch is the remains of what once was a metal hand railing. All that is left is the cut-off metal stump where the railing went into the cement of the porch. Here's a picture:

Anyway, Molly believes that that little brown stump is, in fact, poopie. Almost every time she walks up to the front door she just casually announces "That's poopie," and then she just keeps on walking and talking like it's no big deal. She's been doing it for probably a year. It just completely cracks us up every time.

Recently, however, she's expanded on her thoughts about the porch poopie. A few weeks ago she told me it was a "half poopie." I said, "Half poopie? What do you mean?" Now, looking at the metal stump you could kind of see what she meant, I suppose, if you really wanted to spend time thinking of such things. Which, it must be said, we do a lot. Any household with babies and kids spends an enormous amount of time thinking and talking about poopie. But I wanted to hear what she thought about it, since this announcement about the half poopie was the first time she had ever said anything different about that little spot on our porch. So I asked.

She then explained that it was a half poopie because it came from Chippy, our family cat. Who, she then announced, has a "half butt." So, the half poopie came from the half butt of Chippy the cat. Ah. I see. That's the great thing about kids. Even the stuff that shouldn't make sense in some way actually does. 'Cause I really know exactly how her brain was working in making that statement. And confess, don't you, gentle readers, get it too? :)

Goodnight noises everywhere

2010-05-11T16:07:00.004-04:00

Grandma H. recently took Molly to her first play. They saw a double feature of "Goodnight Moon" and "Runaway Bunny" at the Papermill Playhouse, where Daddy remembers his grandparents taking him when he was a little boy.

Molly enjoyed her first trip to the theater very much, and hopes Grandma will take her back again next season.

Henry Says "Squeal"

2010-05-07T14:57:00.008-04:00

Say "Aahhh"!

2010-05-06T18:34:00.003-04:00

Molly had her 3-year checkup with the dentist this week. And even though we've been really, really good about brushing her teeth every morning and night, we still were told that we need to do a better job brushing and flossing. But some good news is that Molly has graduated to using "big kid" toothpaste (with flouride.)

Wait, I'm Not the Only Baby in the World?

2010-04-30T21:28:00.000-04:00

Sunny Days

2010-04-26T21:07:00.005-04:00

This past week was a good one for Molly. She had her first-ever field trip. She got to ride on a school bus and everything! The kids went to a local children's musuem. The same one, in fact, where Molly had gone with her grandparents just a few months before.

The fun continued into the weekend, when we had gorgeous weather on Saturday. Molly busted out her big wheel (even though she hasn't quite figured out how to peddle). She also was a good helper in the garden, watering the plants. The day ended with a lovely birthday dinner for Mommy over at the grandparents' house. Fun for all!

Mom Does Rock!

2010-04-22T13:08:00.001-04:00

Happy birthday to Mommy! Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the love and care you give to our family. We love you! ♥ Molly, Henry and Daddy