Happy Birthday H!

MiniM.E.'s NH boyfriend, H. (remember him?  No, check back here, here and here) turned 1 last weekend!  Time really does fly when you have a baby... seems like just yesterday they were meeting for the first time.

We drove to NH for the weekend.  H.'s party was on Sunday, so we had a little bit of time on Saturday to play in the pool and in the backyard.

On Sunday, while we were getting ready for the party, MiniM.E. decided she wanted to take a bath.  Must have been that she wanted to be squeaky clean for her boyfriend.  Unfortunately, she was already dressed for the party...

peek-a-boo!

H. had a great party a park close to my house.  Surprisingly, MiniM.E. was pretty good, considering everyone was paying attention to the birthday boy and there were lots of toys that weren't for her.

Greeting H.

Birthday hand-hold (almost!)

She might have wanted a few things H. had.  Like his hat...

and shoes...

and sit-n-spin. 

H. lost interest... so she had it all to herself.

Both a little confused at all the excitement

MiniM.E. licking some of H.'s new toys

H. wondering why MiniM.E. was on his present opening blanket

MiniM.E. with her favorite of H.'s new toys, the diaper rash cream.

Petting puppy was definitely a highlight.

So was trying grown-up food

HAPPY BIRTHDAY H.!

And, just because I think my baby is the cutest in the world... a couple more pictures from the weekend... 

Happy Labor Day!

Happy Labor Day!  I'm not really sure I've ever really gotten into Labor Day, though I don't know many people who find Labor Day to be their favorite holiday.  For most people I think it's all about the day off from work... which I guess they deserve for having worked all year... since it is a holiday celebrating workers....

We had a pretty relaxing weekend, with a few cook-outs and some family visiting.

After seeing a flyer for a local dairy farm and checking it out online, we decided to stop by, sample some food, grab some milk and eggs and pet some cows.  Unfortunately, it turns out you aren't allowed to pet the cows for health and safety reasons, and they didn't have any samples, so it wasn't such a fun trip.  At least we got to look at the cows...

We made it downtown for an hour or so to check out the Final Stretch Music Festival.  MiniM.E. wasn't super excited about it, it was late, and a lot of the bands were on a break, but it was nice to get out and go downtown in the evening.

Though I have to say, moms don't really get the day off... so I wasn't as excited about it as Bob, who couldn't wait to sleep in (a whole extra hour!) and relax.

We decided to take advantage of the nice weather and the day off and spend some time outdoors.  We packed MiniM.E. up and went back to the Zim Trail for another bike ride.  This time we chose to go early in the morning.  Which normally would have been a great idea since MiniM.E. is her best and most cutest early in the day (things just go downhill from there... I mean, she's always cute and adorable, but the Mommy-itis, clinginess, fussiness, etc. definitely get exponentially worse as the day goes on), but since she is recovering from some bug (she's had a fever the past few days), we didn't even get as far on our bike ride as we did last time. We were going to try, but after a few minutes of screaming and an attempt to climb out of the trailer, resulting in her lying sideways (how she got that way, we can't figure out...) we decided to take a break and turn around.

Fortunately we were by a playground when the meltdown occurred.  And playgrounds are MiniM.E.'s new favorite thing.  She knows what they are and points to them, which is pretty cute.

Until today, we've only really been to one other playground where we found out she loves the baby swings almost as much as her swing at home.

until she tried to climb out the front

 At this playground they had other things she liked too!  Like the bouncy seesaw:

And the dome jungle gym:

sitting with Daddy

practicing standing

standing all by herself!

By far, the best part of the playground was playing with the mulch:

She climbed into the dome all by herself!

 Later in the day we went downtown for a relaxing stroll:

And a couple rides on the carousel:

After such an exciting weekend, MiniM.E. was pretty worn out... and is taking a nap. 

Enjoying the Last Week of Summer

For a lot of families, this week is it.  The last week of summer.  Better cram in all the last minute summer fun you can muster!  For some families, school's already started and the coming weekend is the last hurrah.

Fortunately, having a 10 month old means that as long as the weather's nice, I'll call it summer for as many more weeks as Mother Nature allows.

MiniM.E. and I have been spending as much time outside as possible.  Not so much because I want to be outside all the time.... though the slathering on of sunscreen, fighting to put on shoes, washing the dirt out of clothes and the little creases on tiny sticky hands, and sitting in the ant-ridden grass are all things I greatly enjoy... but mostly because MiniM.E. can point to things she wants.  And she almost always wants "out".  Who's brilliant idea was it to teach the kid to point, anyway?

It's actually gotten a lot better in the past week or so because she LOVES to walk (holding on to our hands of course).  So it's been less sitting in the grass and playing with dirt, acorns, bugs and garbage, and more walking from here to there.  It's a darn good thing MiniM.E. is on the upper end of the height spectrum and I'm not a very tall person or I'd probably be developing a permanent stoop.

But, enough with the commentary, here are some photos of MiniM.E. enjoying the weather.

Seemingly safe place to leave a baby for a photo op.

Until she started climbing it.

And I had to move to a place where I could grab her if necessary.

So happy!

Thinking about how happy she just was.

Yay! Wagon ride!

While we are enjoying the nice weather, it has been especially nice that for the past few days its been a bit cooler.  I might have a hankering for a little fall.  The other day on our morning walk we had to wear pants AND long sleeves!

Here's a flower for you!

Looks like we'll have a few more hot days, but I'm looking forward to the cooler ones.... and apple picking... and pumpkins... and apple cider... and Halloween... and Thanksgiving...

A Bike Ride and Polos

Yesterday we had a fantastic day of outdoor activities.

We took MiniM.E. on her first bike ride.  Well, bike trailer ride for her.

A while back some of our friends were trying to convince us to get MiniM.E. a trailer, but we held off since they're expensive and I didn't think she was quite ready.

We were lucky to find a Burley bike trailer on Craigslist in GREAT condition for a reasonable price and decided it was time to test it out.

If you are ever in the market for a bike trailer, dish out the extra dough and get a Burley.  Of all the ones I've seen, it seems to have the nicest kid-cabin and seat (if your child wants, they can sit upright).  Most we looked at seemed kind of cheap and had "hammock-like" seats that forced the child to recline. This one also has space for helmet (which we will be purchasing if we decide to take MiniM.E. on real roads).

Are you SERIOUS?

...I guess this is alright...

At first, MiniM.E. didn't seem so sure about it.  We tested it in the neighborhood to see if she could even make it around the block without throwing a fit.  After 4 loops around, she actually seemed to be enjoying herself, so we packed her, the trailer and our bikes in (and on) the car, along with half our house (food, drinks, toys, extra clothes, sunscreen, bug spray, hats, etc.) and drove to the Zim Trail to check it out.

It was awesome.  MiniM.E. lasted about 20 minutes out.  We turned around, took a lunch break, and headed back to the park where we started.

Walking with Daddy

Swinging at the park

That evening we went to a polo game (match?).  I though MiniM.E. was most appropriately dressed in her polo shirt.  Unfortunately, it was ridiculously hot and we were sitting on the grass with no shade.  At all.  To be honest, the first four Chukkers (seriously, where they come up with these things I can't even imagine) I couldn't see the horses because the sun was in my eyes and I was trying desperately to keep my baby in the shade because she was fussy from being hot but didn't know it.  Fortunately, I brought distractions.

Distraction 1: washcloth.

Distraction 2: chip clip.

After the third Chukker all the spectators were invited to go out on the field and stomp the divots.  MiniM.E. seemed to really enjoy that part.

That's a lot of people stomping!

 AND, we got to pet a horse.  Which was awesome.  Until the horse turned its head and ran right into MiniM.E.  I hope she's not scarred for life...

By the fifth Chukker we could actually watch the play.  Turns out it was pretty cool.  And we didn't even get hit by a ball or trampled by a horse.  I'd call it a success.