Hey Crab Man...

One of our last days in Maine Connor went crabbing with his cousins. Ok, so he didn't REALLY look for crabs, but he did splash and play in the little pools around the rocks. Since his cousins are very good at crabbing, Connor was able to see some close up. I don't think he knew what he was looking at...maybe next year.

After the kids had their fill of crabbing, cousin Emma decided to decorate Connor's belly with mud and sand. Remember, at the beginning of the week Connor couldn't stand being in or on the sand, so we were quite amazed that he let Emma do this without complaining! He walked around with sand on his belly and didn't even care!



Notice the sand....everywhere on Connor!


Because sometimes, big trucks are more fun than crabs.


Have I mentioned how much Connor adored Emma?

Emma trying to get Connor to look at a crab.

Everyone looking at the crab Kobe found.

Part IV - Surfer Dude

Connor turned into quite the little surfer dude as he became more comfortable at the beach. He loved playing in the waves and wanted to spend all of his waking hours playing in the water. His big cousin, Emma, was VERY good at helping him when those bigger waves would come around. He absolutely adores her, so it was a good match. It also gave Mommy a bit of a break so she could watch Connor play, which was a nice treat.

Next step: Surfboard!


Emma helping Connor with the bigger waves.

.....Part III (The Bubble Chronicles)

Thankfully, the only "bad" day we had in Maine was Sunday, which was incredibly foggy, and Grampy used this time to blow some bubbles for Connor. We all know Connor loves his bubbles, so he was in his glory chasing them all over the parking lot. Please don't mind the spaghetti face and messy clothes- it was just after dinner and right before bathtime. Might as well get messy with bubbles before a bath! They had quite a good time with the giant bubbles!

My Maine Vacation Part II

As the week wore on, Connor became quite used to the sand and saltwater. In fact, we had a hard time dragging him out of the water when it was time for lunch. It was hard to believe that just a few days earlier he wanted nothing to do with the beach. I guess persistance pays off!

On Wednesday, Meg, Dave and Mairead joined us on the beach. The twins had a nice evening with Nana and Grampy so that Meg and Dave could enjoy some alone time with Mairead. Both kids seemed to have a great time, even though they didn't really play "together". Mairead thought it was her personal responsibility to rid the beach of all the seagulls, so most of the time I saw Meg chasing after Mairead halfway down the beach. Mairead would yell "shoo, shoo" at the birds to try and scare them away. What a cutie!

My parents were gracious enough to offer their professional babysitting services so that Meg, Dave, Joey and myself could go out for dinner without kids. It's a rare occassion, and we quickly took them up on their offer. The kids enjoyed time at the playground while the adults ate seafood. It was a good trade off! I think the kids had a great time, and it was nice to hang out and have adult conversation. Well, as adult as you can get with Joey and Dave. :)

I will post more pictures soon. There are SOOOO many and I can't put them all in one post. Enjoy!



Yes, this is the same child who started to march himself OFF the beach on Day 1.


Beach chair? Who needs it when you have a wagon!


A little rock collecting.


Swinging at the playground. A favorite pasttime.

Apparently Mairead feels the same way.

My Maine Vacation Part I

This past week, Connor spent his time on the beach in Wells, Maine. He hadn't seen or touched beach sand in a year, and he was not impressed at first. He did not like the sand on his hands or feet, and kept walking over to Mommy to brush off the sand. Grammy taught him to brush the sand off on his shirt (thanks, Grammy), so now whenever he has a mess on his hands he uses his shirt as the napkin.

The first morning we were there, we took a nice early-morning walk on the beach with Grammy and Grampy. Later, as we made our way on the beach, Grammy took him for a little walk and he fell asleep in her arms. Three hours later, he woke up, ready for lunch and a little more practice at this beach thing.

Most of the pictures we have are from Grampy's camera (which means there are hundreds), so there will be several postings of our vacation.



Enjoying the waves.


Throwing rocks... a favorite.



How Connor's first hours at the beach were spent.


The 6 a.m. walk on the beach.