Playing catch-up

So it's been over a month since my last post, and as you can guess- school started! No wonder I've been absent from the blogosphere. But that doesn't mean nothing has happened. It's been a month of happiness (cousin David's wedding) and a month of sadness (the death of Grandma Sprague), so that means there has also been a lot of traveling. Finally, I am sitting down to get caught up.

Last night, a package arrived from Aunt Tish for Cate. It was this beautiful ballerina costume. It was an instant hit.

Mid-twirl

Today is AutumnFest in Bath, and there was scarecrow-making in the yard of the Customs House. We feel that we really outdid ourselves this year. :) Rick did the mounting on the post and the stuffing, I tied the head, and Cate drew the face (ok, I added the hair, but she really did the face!)


Then this afternoon was the shallop launching on the waterfront. Fourteen Morse High students spent their summer working with one of my science colleagues and a boatwright building this shallop, a replica of the one used by the 1607 Popham colonists to get back and forth between the shore and their ship the Virginia. The Virginia was the first English-built ship in America, and there is a group called Maine's First Ship that is raising funds to build a replica of the Virginia. To start the project, this group of students built the accompanying shallop, and so today was the launching.

Then a group of the students actually got in it and rowed away!

I guess they have been getting rowing lessons so that they didn't drift away when they got out there!

Success!

Trip to Cape May, NJ

Around the middle of September, we headed down to Cape May, NJ for Rick's cousin's wedding. We had just been in Cape May back in May for Sheila's Coast Guard graduation, and we had such a great time, so we were excited to go back. We stayed in a different hotel this time, about a mile further down the beach. But above was the view out our door- love it!!
As soon as we arrived, Cate wanted to get into the pool. Literally, the below pic was taken within 30 minutes of our arrival.

That night, we met up with the rest of Rick's immediate fam and drove over to Wildwood to walk the boardwalk and get dinner.

Cate and her cousin Barrett had a great weekend together. This was just the start!

The next morning, we all got up and headed up to Ocean City to do the boardwalk up there. This was where we came to every summer when Grandma and Grandpa Pappas were alive, so I have so many great memories. And it was great to see so many things that were still the same (including the food!)

The Holy Grail of pizza.

Happiness.

Even Barrett was loving it!

Saturday night was the wedding, which was held at one of the big, beautiful homes in Cape May. Everything took place under a tent in the back yard. Here, Uncle Nate keeping Cate entertained while we wait.

Being silly with Aunt Chrissy.

Cate thought that everyone there was a princess, especially the bride and all the other women wearing saris (Rick's cousin, David, married a woman whose family is Sri Lankan). So Lishani also wore a sari for the ceremony, and Cate couldn't wait to check out her princess dress.

Sunday morning before we left, we realized we needed to actually go on the beach, which we somehow had not done all weekend. So we got packed up and checked out, and then walked across the street to the beach. Below, Cate is chasing the sea gulls.

There was a hurricane (Earl, maybe?) passing out to sea that weekend, so while the weather was nice, the waves were big. Notice below that Cate is covering her ears!

Whoa! Those waves may be getting too close! This one is called, Cate running away while screaming.

Time to head home.

So long for now...

A shot of our hotel from the beach.

Before we left town, we stopped over at the campground to say goodbye to Rick's family, who stayed in Rick's parent's RV.

Papa with his favorite kids.

One last cousin hug before we left.

Girl Outing

One Saturday in early September, Mom, Cate, and I went over to Lewiston to the Greek Orthodox Church for the Greek Festival. On the way, we stopped at an orchard we'd never been to before to check it out. They had some small pumpkins out, so I let Cate pick one out for herself. She went back and forth numerous times until she finally settled on just the right one.

The orchard also had chickens, which were very interesting.

On our way home from the Greek festival, we stopped at another orchard that we really liked. Aside from the freshly made donuts and delicious cider, they had two mini donkeys, which we could not drag Cate away from. She developed a love/hate relationship with them. She didn't want to leave them alone, but she also wasn't quite brave enough to feed them the dandelion greens that we were picking from our side of the fence.

Oh, look! Gramma can do it! (seriously, is that my mom feeding a donkey?! For someone who doesn't even want our dog to lick her, I give her snaps for this animal-friendly offering. I guess this is what grandchildren will drive you to do. :)

I think Cate's dancing in front of the donkey in the picture below. haha!

Time for a break!

Cate pics and stories

Above, Cate is modeling an outfit her Nana Davis brought up for her this summer (notice the ballet slippers with it!) And the picture at the bottom is another outfit from Nana. For some reason, she had to wear both of them today.

I don't have a lot of new Cate pics, but I do have more "Things Cate Said," so I'm sharing those instead....

Mommy: Cate, what are you doing in the basement? Please come out of the basement.
C: I'm doing something crazy. (never figured out what the crazy was, but she thought it was hysterical)

**

Though we are a long ways from being potty trained, Cate does, at times, want to pee on her potty. After she goes, she wants to pour it into the big potty and flush it. This is usually how the flushing part goes...

C: Bye, Bye, pee-pee. Love you. (that's also how she ends most phone conversations- but substitute pee-pee with someone's name!)

**

Cate's in a throwing things phase right now - either out of anger or just for fun. The other night on the way up to bed, she chucked a couple of things (just for fun, I thought- no anger), and then started up the steps...

C: Cate's throwing a fit.
Mommy: Oh, you are? Is that why you were [literally] throwing things?
C: Yes. Cate go upstairs until I settle down.

**

And finally, we have Sophie Boggs (Dancing Barefoot w/Sophie blog) to thank for this next one. We were looking at the pictures of Sophie, who is transitioning to a big girl bed. Cate is still in her crib (and shockingly has never tried to get out- or at least has not succeeded), and I've said I will keep that child in a crib for as long as possible! I fear that once she is able to free-range, sleep may never again exist in this house.

Well, after seeing the pictures of Sophie in her big girl bed, that's all Cate talked about. So while I was out last Thursday, Rick decided to take down the one side of her bed and put up the day bed rail (we have one of those transitioning cribs, or whatever they're called). Cate loved it, but when I got home, it was time for Cate to nap. Rick had put her down, but, of course, she kept getting up, and we'd hear her running around, and we'd hear her door open.

After numerous attempts, I put her down one final time and said, "Now Cate, part of being a big girl and sleeping in a big girl bed is STAYING in the bed. If you can't do that, I'll have to get Daddy to put the crib side back up so that you can't get out of bed." With that I went downstairs, and not more than 30 seconds later, I heard her door open, and she came downstairs. I said, "Cate, why are you not in bed?" She replied, "Daddy needs to put my crib back. Cate can't stay in bed." And so he did. And when he was finished, she jumped in her bed a little bit, filled with excitement for the return of the crib, and then she layed down and took her nap.

Even more funny things Cate says....

This has been a good week for funny Cate comments. Here's a taste....

Pouring water
C: My friend-boy poured water all over the baby's head. (side note- Rick calls her boy friends "friend boys" b/c she's, of course, not allowed to have boyfriends. This was the first time I actually heard her use this term, which made me shake my head and chuckle)

Me: You had a friend pour water on a baby? Did that happen at school?

C: No, at church.

Me: Oh, Maxwell's little sister got water poured on her during a baptism.

C: Yes. Maxwell pour water on baby sister.

Leaving Gramma and Papou's house....
C: Mommy! There's an osprey on the flag pole!

Me: Oh, almost, honey, that's an eagle.

(we have a LOT of osprey around here!)

While in a toy shop in downtown Bath...

Cate was checking out the huge wooden kitchen set complete with every dish, pot, tool, mit, and fake food accessory you could imagine. After thoroughly looking it over...

C: That kitchen is sharp!

Wow. I think she was channeling Grandpa Sprague!

Making black bean quesadillas...
Black bean quesadillas are a favorite of ours on nights Rick is working. They're quick, easy, and healthy, and Cate loves them. We were chopping up some veggies to go in them, and I was eating the leftover mushrooms. Cate, a fellow mushroom lover, caught me eating them in the kitchen. She paused for a second and then came running over and climbed up to the counter on her step stool.

C: Cate sick.

Me: You are?

C: Yes. These are Cate's mushrooms. You can't eat Cate's mushrooms. Get Cate's germs. Get sick.

And then she proceeded to eat them all. And she wouldn't share. And she was not sick.

Boating on the Kennebec

On Thursday, we took the boat out but went down the Kennebec River (the river that runs through Bath) to the ocean. Cate left her boat fears at the launch and was ready to take over as captain of the vessel. By the look on her face, she's taking this new job very seriously (LOVE that picture above!)

Above, Daddy occasionally adjusting her direction, to which she would say, "Daddy, no!" Below, a look that can only be described as "so Cate."

Taking a break from driving to sit back and enjoy the sights.

Below, we are leaving the Kennebec River and entering open water at Popham Beach, which you can kind of see off to the right. It's one of the largest sand beaches in Maine (since Maine isn't really known for sandy beaches!).
I had to throw in the below picture, since I think it shows how quickly the "water calmness" changes once one hits the ocean. And this was a relatively calm day, but when you're in a 15 foot boat (pardon, Boston Whaler), even small ocean waves can make one feel like they're on an episode of Deadliest Catch. Cate did not appreciate the waves and was clinging to me for dear life. We made a 180 and headed back into the river!

Fort Popham, at the mouth of the Kennebec. Built for the Civil War, but I don't think it was ever really used. I guess the Confederate soldiers decided that attacking the North via Phippsburg, Maine was not the best strategy. Another side note for history buffs- Popham was also the site of a 1607 settlement by English colonists. They abandoned the site after only a year-maybe lobster for dinner every night was not enough to make up for that first winter??? :)

Annual Shift Party

Last Sunday afternoon was the annual Bath Fire Dept. Shift 1 party at Mike Drake's house. It was lobsters and clams galore, and luckily, the weather cooperated. Hard to believe this was Cate's 3rd (4th if you count in utero) party.

Below, Cate hugging her friend Olivia.

Enjoying the hammock!