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.

Brockton Fair

A highlight of the summer here in the South Shore is the Brockton Fair (can you hear my sarcasm?). Ok, so it's not really a highlight - but it IS something to do on a nice summer day. Connor and I decided to go on Saturday with our friends, Jess, Brian, Layla, Quincy, and Brady. Connor was very well behaved as we explored the typical fair sights. He even had his first taste of some fair food. As usual, fair rides are ridiculously expensive, so we went on the Merry-Go-Round and that was all. Connor had a very contemplative look on his face like he was trying to figure out what was going on. He did seem to like it, though! We also played a game where he had to pull a duck out of moving water, but Mom ended up doing that for him. The good news is she won a beach ball!


Layla in the background.


Merry-Go-Round!

Connor and the beach ball Mom won.

If there was a prize for length of time staring at the ducks, Connor would have won for sure!

Yankee Doodle Boy

For the fourth of July weekend, we traveled to Bristol (VT) for the festivities with the family. Almost everyone was going to be home, including Kari and McKenzie from Georgia, Cullen & Ki from Boston, and Chris, Tracy, Benjamin and Madeline from Virginia. It was a family of reunion of sorts, and we had a wonderful time.

When we arrived on Friday, we headed straight over to Aunt Con's where she was having her annual Kiddie Bike Brigade. Everyone decorated bikes, strollers and wagons, and Connor made a one-of-a-kind T-Shirt (unfortunately, no pictures available at this time - it's such a unique design we were afraid someone might try to copy it). We then headed out for our "parade" down to the park and back. Unfortunately, it DID rain on this parade, but we walked anyway. The kids had a great time, and Connor was very content eating his Lil' Crunchies - until pictures at the bandstand. Then it was time to throw a fit (after all - what would YOU do if someone asked you to stand still?). Connor also got to share a wagon with his cousin, Lauren - who's Mommy was VERY pregnant, but still managed to walk with us (more on that later). Later that evening we enjoyed a BBQ at Aunt Colleen's, and then off to the fireworks. Even though it rained slightly, it wasn't TOO bad, but Connor did NOT like the fireworks. He watched the first few, and then one came with a very loud BANG and he buried his head in my shoulder and didn't look back. Oh well, maybe next year!

Saturday morning we hoped would turn out nice, but with only a few patches of sun, we were in for a mix of a day. It only sprinkled during the parade, and Connor only cried at the guns being fired (of course it was right in front of us, too), but the rest he seemed to watch. He didn't seem very into it, but he was content (by the way, have I mentioned his high pitched scream made its appearance on several occassions? This is new, and boy did he use it in Vermont!). At the family BBQ at Aunt Colleen's, Connor had everyone running after him (running towards the road is fun), and he needed a little "quiet time" with Grampy inside. He eventually fell asleep on Grampy outside, which was heaven for our ears, and much needed for Mr. Grumpy Pants. There was, however, much excitement as Koran and Greg headed up to the hospital as baby Cousino was ready to come out! With the exception of my brother, every one of Greg's cousins (and for those who don't know, there's 21 of us first cousins) were all there to hear the announcement. Reed Francis Cousino is now our official Fourth of July Baby! We send our biggest congratulations and much love to Greg, Koran and big sister, Lauren! What a special day!

Sunday was the trip home and it was a beautiful day (of course). Connor was able to get a little sidewalk chalk action in before we left. We had a very nice time with everyone - it's always nice to see the family and to see how much the little kids have grown.



Grampy taking Connor for a ride in the wagon.


Connor's sidewalk art.

Connor at the Fire Station with Grampy.

Riding in the Fire Truck!

Watching the Parade with Grammy.

Connor found this old jeep and wouldn't stop playing with it.

This hat lasted about 5 seconds on his head.

Connor and Lauren in the wagon.