Summer

Last weekend we had one of those very rare Saturdays where neither of us had to work. We visited a new state for me (Maine!) and there we saw a picturesque New England lighthouse, strolled along the beach, went to a farmer's market, went to an antique shop located in a rustic renovated barn, and picnicked right next to a little inlet with a bunch of anchored boats nearby. It was the perfect way to spend a morning with my family. Of course, with all our baby gear we managed to forget to bring our camera. For nap time, we drove back south to Lowell to attend the Folk Music Festival (for the second year - do I smell a tradition?) where Cecily had about had it and didn't want to ride in the stroller, be held, or, heaven forbid, be leashed. Finally we found a fountain she could play in and then she was happy until we dragged her away, kicking and screaming, 30 minutes later.

It has been very hot the past few days and will remain so for the foreseeable future. Now that I have a toddler, I feel the need to get out of the house on a daily basis for her and my sanity. At the same time, trips to the store are becoming more difficult because she is not fond of staying in the carriage (look at my Boston lingo) for any length of time. She does enjoy riding in the grocery part of the carriage but in general that is frowned upon, especially when she throws out everything I put in there in a matter of seconds.

She has figured out mega blocks in the past few days and enjoys playing with them. She has new sounds and words every day. Most recently that has been "hat on" and "ssssss" as in the sound a snake makes. It is fun watching her try to figure out how to carry water in a cup when we are playing outside and also starting to mimic certain things I do, like water the flowers. She gobbles up every blackberry that is close to being ripe. I should also mention that she polished off the entire current bush crop this spring all by herself. It is such a fun age and also becoming a logistical challenge in terms of managing her in certain locations. I find that she tries my patience more easily than I am generally accustomed to her doing. Hopefully my patience will grow with lots of well worn practice.

I was also able to visit Rhode Island to meet up with some friends from Urbana traveling through as well as some other friends that have relocated there. It is so nice to chat with old friends as though no time has passed.

Some family reunion pictures:

 Pretty sure this is the only smile we got out of her.

Stop trying to get me to smile!!

Redneck. Who knew?