Lobster lessons & Fireworks

Just for fun, Mike pulled up a couple of his traps just so we could take a look. Both traps had quite a few lobsters in them, but only one was a keeper. He just banded its claws and put it back in the trap for the time being. The one above on the left is obviously too small- but it was kind of cute, in a lobster sort of way!




After returning back to shore, it was getting dark, so the guys got the fireworks out and ready. They buy serious fireworks down in New Hampshire, and I think everyone in the bay comes out to watch. It wasn't quite as big a production as last year, but it was still pretty impressive. Amazingly, Cate didn't get scared at all, and in fact, I think she enjoyed the show!

Mommy's birthday

Saturday was Mommy's 31st birthday, and luckily, it was a beautiful Maine day! We went down to the wharf at Five Islands and had dinner on the dock with our friends John and Julie (Julie's birthday was on Wednesday). We also ran into friends Pete and Jackie, who joined us at our picnic table. It was a gorgeous evening but a little breezy & chilly down on the water. After dinner, we headed back home for cake and ice cream.



Here Cate is snuggled up and enjoying the view. Once she spotted all the gulls flying around over her head, she couldn't get enough of them!

Shake, rattle, and roll

Cate is really starting to move around on the floor by dragging herself with her arms. I got a good video of her doing it today while trying to get to her toys. She can also spin herself around on the floor on her belly pretty quickly. It's like a flashback to some 80's breakdancing move. haha!!





Cate with one of her favorite rattles - from Gr. Aunt Kathy & Gr. Uncle Larry. It makes a wonderful noise!

Downward dog

So as I was posting the pictures on the blog this morning, Cate was playing on the floor. I looked over and noticed she was pushing her whole body up off the floor, and I caught this picture of her doing it. It's kind of a yoga/Twister move, but she has all of her weight supported on her hands and feet! I think we may be crawling soon!

Cate turns 7 months old!

Our little one turned 7 months old on Saturday. Here are a few pictures to mark the event!








Ugh, still drooling from those teeth!! I guess I should have wiped her chin first- sorry! :)

Mommy & Cate at camp

Since this was Gramma and Grandpa's last week at camp, I took Cate up Wednesday night and Thursday for a visit. We left Daddy and Zoe at home, :( but we know Daddy got out for some golf with his friends.




















I love this one of Cate getting her bath in the kitchen sink. I think she's enjoying herself!















Cate rolling around on the floor and getting all tangled in her blankie, having a morning snuggle with Mommy, and hanging out in the big chair with Grandpa.

A family of toothbrushes

I remember years back- probably post-college but pre-marriage, I went home to Ohio, and Laurie was home too. Mom said that once we had gotten settled Dad told her, "It's nice to have four toothbrushes back in the holder again." It was kind of cute and sweet, but this week I had a similar experience. Now that Cate has teeth, I thought it would be fun to get her a little toothbrush (even though the dentist said at this point, just wiping them with a washcloth would be sufficient). Well, when I put it in the holder with Rick's and mine, I just had to say, "Awww!" It was a little family of toothbrushes! It was something of a visible reminder of how we have changed, and I just had to take a picture.

A few more animal pics from our trip

Turkey

Painted turtles

Black bear

Mallards, Cate, and Mommy

Moose (nice antlers!)

A day for teeth... bears, deer, and Cate?!?!

We enjoyed a really nice day today after several days of lousy weather. It's really been kind of a lousy summer, weather-wise, but today was rain-free. We decided to head over to the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray. It's run by the Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife and houses many Maine critters that, for various reasons, cannot live in the wild anymore. After spending a nice afternoon there, we returned home, and I discovered that Cate's two bottom teeth have come in!! Well, they're not really "in," but when I rubbed my finger along her bottom gum (as I've been doing daily for weeks), I felt something sharp. Upon closer examination, sure enough, both bottom teeth have just erupted through the gum. All I can say now is, thank goodness I'm pretty much wrapping up breast feeding! :)

Anyways, here are some pictures of our trip to the Wildlife Park....

We were feeding the deer corn, so this one came right over for a visit.

Cate was really interested in the bears and squealed with delight when they came over to the fence to eat their bear treats, which we bought for a quarter. Here, she is looking at them quite intently!

This nice big bull moose was toward the back of his pen but came over to see us. Well, really, he walked over to us, took a big poop, turned around, and walked away. So much for hospitality!

Creeping & crawling

Cate's moving around a lot these days- rolling, wiggling, creeping (I guess that's what it's called)- but today we witnessed something new. She's been really good at getting her front end up, but she just hasn't seemed to figure out the back end. Then today she suddenly tucked her legs way up under her belly and stuck her butt in the air. It was so cute b/c she'd get the butt up and her face would be squished on the floor, then the butt would go down and she'd lift up on her arms. She'd just keep teeter-tottering back and forth. But once she figured out how to tuck in those legs and push, she was hooked. It was her entertainment for the day (for us too!). Check it out!