We spent this past weekend in Vermont to celebrate Erica's baby shower, and since a baby shower isn't the most exciting place for a boy, Grampy and Connor had a great day doing boy things! First, they went to the library where Connor impressed Grampy by spelling some words. Then it was off to the dump and Uncle Joel's house. Uncle Joel has a very big garage, which was the perfect place for Connor to run. And run. And run. I'm still trying to get all the dirt off his feet from the running! After Uncle Joel's, it was time to go fishing. Connor caught a very small bass and was all smiles in doing so. He's learned a lot from fishing with Grampy this summer, and he even reeled in his own fish! Grampy gets two thumbs up for spending the entire day with a very energetic almost-five-year-old! It's not easy, but he gets a gold star!
Not to be outdone, Miss Maeve showed us that she could roll over from back to front! We almost missed it! Everyone was standing in the kitchen talking while she was on the floor in the living room. I happened to turn around just at the right moment - she rolled over like she'd been doing it for years! We were all so excited! She gave us one more roll, but when Grampy tried to take a video, she fell asleep. It's exhausting work! I was very happy I was able to see her roll over- I was convinced she would do it within her first few hours of daycare and that I would miss it!
To cap off a wonderful summer, I took the kids to Southwick's Zoo the week before I had to go back to work. Connor loves the zoo, and Southwick's is great because it's so shaded. Connor makes no secret of the fact that he hates the sun ("boys hate the sun and like the shade" he'll say), so this zoo is perfect for him. Plus, it's a great activity we can do together where the focus isn't always on his little sister. He has been such a good big brother, but I'm sure he still feels like she gets the lion's share of attention (pun intended), so this was a great way to spend some quality time together. Even though Maeve was with us, she was happy as a clam in her stroller, so Mommy could look at all the animals with Connor.
One of my favorite parts of this zoo is the enclosed petting zoo and deer forest. The deer are roaming free around an enclosed forest area, and they come right up to you and eat food out of your hand. At first, Connor was a little nervous about feeding them, but he did! He would run away afterward, apparently to avoid being on video, but I managed to get him anyway! There was one deer there who was shedding his velvet. I have to say, it was pretty disgusting, but cool to see at the same time.
Maeve was perfectly behaved the entire day - it was a great first trip to the zoo for her! She loves to be outside anyway, so an entire day being spent outside is fine by her! I was really impressed at how good she was since, as you know, she's a bit of a diva. I guess she saved her diva-tude for another day! It was a great way to spend a beautiful summer day with two of the best kids around!
Safari Sue ready to go!
Pure Happiness!
Pointing to elk!
Hey Goat... Say hi to your Mother for me!
Holding my own bottle while big brother was on the playground!
This monkey was scratching the other monkey's belly. It was hysterical!
Having a newborn around makes it a little challenging to keep up with the blog, so I missed out on updating when Maeve was two months. So here are both her two and three month photos. She's still a diva, but she's starting to smile and coo more, which delights her brother. "She's smiling because she loves me!", he'll say. She's also growing like a weed, and has moved into her 3-6 month clothes already. She still loves to eat, still won't take a pacifier, and loves to be held. A LOT. She goes to daycare for the first time in just two short weeks. Mommy is having a tough time with that, since the past 3 months have gone by in a flash. I know she'll do well, but I still want to have more time with her. She's still so little!
Every year about this time, the Bouvier's make their annual trek to Wells Beach, Maine, for a (very large) family vacation. This year it seemed like a larger crew than ever, which makes it all that more special. Tracy, Ben, and Maddie came up this year, just weeks after Chris was deployed for training, leaving for Afghanistan while we were in Maine. It was great to spend some time with the kids and Tracy since we don't get to see them very often!
This was Miss Maeve's first trip to Maine, so we weren't quite sure how she'd like it. I was hoping she'd be like all the other babies at the beach and nap, but she was having no part of that! Miss nosy sat on Grampy's lap and people watched. All. Day. Long. There were a few times where she napped, but for the most part, she watched everything and everyone around her. She just took it all in. I'm sure spending the bulk of her time under a shaded umbrella on Grampy's lap didn't hurt, either! She seemed calm and peaceful, probably her way of telling us to get a beach house! So, if anyone has any cash they'd like to contribute toward that cause, we'd put it to good use!
When we first arrived, Connor was ecstatic to be at Grammy and Grampy's beach house. In fact, I think he thought the entire vacation was going to be spent AT the house. So when we woke up the next morning and started getting ready for the beach, he declared that he wasn't going to the beach and that he was staying at Grammy and Grampy's beach house. Fast forward to an hour later when he was jumping the waves with Daddy and digging holes with his cousins, so I think he had a great time!
We didn't do our usual sight-seeing tours this year. By the time we got off the beach, showered, and made dinner, it was bedtime for the littles. Seeing how this is around our 30th year of going, we're pretty familiar with everything around, so we were fine with not going anywhere.
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