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!

The first of seven new posts- Maine Wildlife Park

So I'm finally updating the blog after a month off. I think I knew it was going to take a while (2 hours!!), since there's been so much going on. So here it is- seven new posts. Enjoy!!

Today, Rick and I took Cate to the Maine Wildlife Park. We took her there two summers ago, when she was just a baby, and I remember us trying to get her to look where we were pointing. Somehow, we never made it there last summer, but I definitely wanted to go this summer. It was so much fun seeing her reactions to all the animals!

Mom, the above picture is for you- a fisher (in case you see one in your backyard!). Below, a porcupine.


Cate loved this moose cut-out and asked for multiple pictures in front of it. Below, smiling in the bear's mouth. We have a picture of her in the bear's mouth at about 7 months old. I know it's in an old post....

Mommy bear!

Groundhogs having a lunch of cut fruits and veggies.

The black bears

A seriously cute baby moose. Not sure what its story was or why it was there, but gosh, was it adorable!!!

A couple of videos

Below is Cate on the dock when we were up at camp this past week.

Besides the usual singing and dancing, Cate also loves musical instruments. I think the guitar thing started when we were staying at Aunt Diane and Uncle Jim's back in February. Cate found Jarrod's guitar in his bedroom, and I picked it up and plinked out "Twinkle, Twinkle" for her. Upon our return home, Cate discovered this old guitar we had in the attic, and now I can often find her up there playing songs. Her technique leaves something to be desired, but it's pretty darn cute.

A day at camp

With all of our visitors, we had not made a single trip up to camp this summer. So this past week, Cate and I gave Rick a day to himself to rest (recovering from pneumonia) and went up to camp for just a day. Mom and Dad were up there for a couple. Above, Cate wanting to net some fish. That quickly turned into needing to put on the bathing suits and get out the floaties.

Thanks to Mommy's cat-like reflexes and extensive training in zoology (haha), Cate ended up with a bucket of netted fish for her viewing, and petting, pleasure. I love the look she's giving!!

Such fine specimens of baby bass!

After catching little ones in a net, we decided to try our hand and catching something bigger. Cate, of course, wanted to hold the rod, so we caught nothing. :) She had fun though! And on a related note of irony, while we were fishing, Mom sat down on the dock and dangled her toes in the water only to have a sizeable large-mouth bass that was loitering about under the dock (yeah, totally missed that one!), bite on to two of her toes!!! That was a first! We quickly reeled in the line, and I dangled the bait right in front of the fish. It bit on, and just as I was about to pull it up, the hook broke! Not the line, but the hook! The big one that got away! Mom was sorry to see it go, as she was hoping to photograph it as evidence of the toe-nipper.

Laurie and Zach's visit

Laurie and Zach were up for a week visiting, and left a week ago Friday. We had a great time with them, especially since it had been almost a year since we last saw them!

All the girls!

The whole family!

One day of Laurie and Zach's visit, we went up to Camden. Somehow, I didn't get any pictures of Laurie and Zach in Camden, but I know Mom has them on her blog! :) Before we went into the downtown to wander through shops, we went out to the beach/park for lunch and for some time in the sand.

Cate, being her usual self.

Chrissy, Nate, and Barrett's visit

Chrissy, Nate, and Barrett came up from Philly for a weekend visit last weekend. We managed to fit quite a bit into their three days, despite Rick's coming down with pneumonia (seriously, and he was diagnosed the day they left!!). We took them to a beach (Cate, below, exploring all the shells and other washed-up goodies), and they explored downtown Bath (Cate and Barrett, above, by the dock at the town boat landing). Cate had to take her new "purse" and headband from her Great Aunt Chris (thank you!!!)

Awwww, cousins holding hands!! Chrissy and I agree we make extremely cute children.

Cate helping Barrett with his new puzzle.

Barrett and his daddy on the boat.

That big lump that I'm holding is Cate, hiding under a beach blanket. She's learning to deal with her boat anxiety by simply hiding. I guess it's the old "If I can't see it, it doesn't exist," mentality.

Cate modeling her new life jacket.

Cate kept Barrett entertained during lobster dinner night by providing some dancing, which Barrett thoroughly enjoyed.