It's beginning to look a lot like...

Whew! Where has the time gone? It seems that I managed to finally accept that summer was over and fall here; suddenly it's 3 days til Christmas!!! We're very much looking forward to Graham's 2nd Christmas. I'm hoping he'll get excited about opening some presents--I know he'll have fun playing with some of them (or so Santa told me). He has really been enjoying the Christmas tree, and loves having the lights turned on every morning. This will be our first Christmas in Maine....first Christmas since I've graduated from high school that I'm NOT travelling for this holiday. There are definitely some mixed feelings here...while I'll miss our families horribly (Christmas always makes me homesick), we're looking forward to relaxing, not dealing with crazy airports and traffic, and starting some of our own little family traditions.

We're fortunate that my brother, Jen, and Calvin will be coming to visit the day after Christmas. Stephen's parents then arrive a few days later to celebrate New Year's.

I'll post a few pictures of the little squirt here...more to come after Christmas!

Walking

Watch out, world--Graham can walk! He actually took his first steps back in July, but it took a while for him to catch on to walking-he can just crawl so darn quickly. Apparently he has been walking at daycare for weeks, but he really just started going everywhere on his two legs at home over the past week. He very proud of himself, and of course, so are we! He enjoyed a few trips to the beach over the past week--the videos will speak for themselves!

Dinnertime Fun

As Graham moves in to his toddler phase (sniffle sniffle) he is definitely having his ups and downs with eating. Sometimes he seems like a bottomless pit; other times he prefers to throw his food everywhere and refuse to eat--especially things that were his favorite only days before.

Some things, however, are certain: he always loves corn on the cob and broccoli. He has recently learned to eat the corn on the cob by holding it himself and is so proud. Check out some cute shots of his dinner hour!

Walkway completed!

Stephen was able to put the finishing touches on the walkway last week. He did a great job, and the project has certainly spruced the house up a great deal! I can hardly remember the days of our nasty, broken concrete walk...

BUBBLES!

I am sure you will all be shocked when I tell you this, but Graham is SO ADVANCED! He came home from Ohma and Pap Jr.'s a couple of weeks ago with a new vocabulary word: bubbles. He gets so excited if he sees a bottle of bubble solution or a bubble wand...he laughs and squeals and says "bubbles!" So, naturally, we get them out as much as possible because this is so darn cute. We even broke out the bubble generator that Graham got from his friend Spencer for his birthday. Check out his excitement!!!

Beach Bums

Graham has developed quite a love of the beach! And before our forty days and forty nights of rain began (OK, 2 weeks of rain) we got out to Crescent Beach several times. This is a great beach for kiddos as it has a stream running down the beach and into the ocean. The water is shallow and warm and perfect for splashing! Graham is also overcoming his fear of the ocean, recently hopping up and down and squealing in delight when Daddy brought him in to wade in the waves.

White Wedding

...a wedding in the White Mountains, that is! Last weekend we traveled to Jackson, NH to attend Dan and Lucie's wedding. Steve and I took advantage of the location to do some hiking on the morning of the wedding at Tuckerman's Ravine. Alas, I forgot to bring the camera so have no proof of the lovely but challenging terrain.

The wedding ceremony and reception were held at the Eagle Mountain Resort, a large inn with charm galore and wonderful views to boot. The bride was beautiful in a simple ivory lace gown, and both members of the happy couple seemed absolutely thrilled. We had a terrific time catching up with friends, dancing, and relaxing.

We got up early the day after the wedding because we were dying to get home and see our baby boy--it had been a week!

Visit with the Arbetters

The weekend before last, we drove down to New Rochelle, NY to visit with Lou and Yo and their little ones, Mikey and Sasha (and pooch Tito). The weather in New York was steamy, but the Arbetters' house is armed with air conditioning and a fabulous kiddie pool out back. We had a great visit, and their house also served as the hand-off point for Ohma and Pap Jr to come pick up Graham. They took him back to Chambersburg for an entire week! There were some tears when they took him away, but we dried them off and headed into the city with Lou and Yo for a grownups' night out at a happening Mexican restaurant in Manhattan.

On Sunday it was back to Maine in a quiet car...and time to get ready for my first day of work as a Nurse Practitioner! Yikes!

Walkway update

While I was in Marquette, Stephen made more progress on the walkway. Check it out! What a hubby I have :-)

Marquette

Graham and I flew out to my hometown of Marquette, Michigan last week to see Grandma and Grandpa. It was my first time flying alone with Graham since he was a newborn that slept all of the time, so I was a bit nervous. However, he was a champ and really charmed everyone on our flights! Graham had a fun time in Marquette--some activities included a tractor ride from Grandpa, a big walk with auntie Nikki Tweedie, hitting the beach with Carole and her family, more beach time with Grandma and Grandpa, a trip to the Lower Harbor park to play, and lots of crawling around the yard picking Grandma's flowers. Graham also had his first professional photo shoot at Christine Garceau's. I can't wait to see the proofs! The weather was typical U.P.--hot one day, and pretty chilly the next. All in all, we had a great time and were sad to leave--Graham loves getting spoiled by his grandparents!!!!

on Grandpa's riding mower

The Marquette Lighthouse

Braving Lake Superior with Grandpa

Playing on the swings with Grandma and Grandpa

Wow! The swing was sponsored by my high school class!

Mama and Graham at the park

Stopping to smell the flowers

A visit from Aunt Bonnie and Pete

Stephen's aunt Bonnie is in town for Pete's Navy reunion. They have a jam-packed schedule of sight seeing, lobster boils and the like, but managed to drop by for happy hour yesterday. It was wonderful to see them and catch up, as well as hear some funny stories from Steve's childhood. We were feeling merry with the news of my success on the NP boards, so a great time was had by all.

FNP-C

Well, this is my official new title! I took my certification exam yesterday, and it lets you know the results at the end (can't beat computerized testing)! I did pass, as did my pals Jen and Michelle, who also took the exam yesterday. YIPPPEEEEEEEEE--the last big hurdle. Oh wait, now I have to start working...
If anyone is wondering what exactly a Nurse Practitioner is...check out the faqs

Summer Fun

Our holiday weekend fun continued on Sunday with a trip to the beach with my fave born-and-bred Maine-iac, Vanessa, and her adorable stepson, 7-year-old Julian. The Fernandez-Greenes are in town for a little R&R and it is always great to have a chance to see them. I still laugh when I remember that Vanessa was the first person that I ever met from Maine--it sounded so exotic to a Midwesterner like myself back in our Kalamazoo College roommate days. And now here I am living in Maine, while she currently makes her home in Minnesota.
I digress...it was a foggy day at the beach, but we found this to be a welcome respite from the hot sun here at the house. As you will see in the pics, Graham begged Vanessa for her yogurt, and he is too cute to resist. Steve also ate Vanessa's sandwich, so I'm afraid we deprived her of her packed lunch! The boys all played together, digging in the sand, hunting for crabs, and checking out the ocean.

After the beach, Graham played a lot in the backyard--check out his big smile in his new "Fred Flinstone car" that Ohma and Pap Jr. got him for his first birthday.

Later that night, Vanessa, Juan, and Julian came over for a dinner of mussels with wine--made with big handfuls of fresh herbs from my garden. We had a great time. Check out Vanessa's blog for pics of the evening.

Summer Fun

Our holiday weekend fun continued on Sunday with a trip to the beach with my fave born-and-bred Maine-iac, Vanessa, and her adorable stepson, 7-year-old Julian. The Fernandez-Greenes are in town for a little R&R and it is always great to have a chance to see them. I still laugh when I remember that Vanessa was the first person that I ever met from Maine--it sounded so exotic to a Midwesterner like myself back in our Kalamazoo College roommate days. And now here I am living in Maine, while she currently makes her home in Minnesota.

I digress...it was a foggy day at the beach, but we found this to be a welcome respite from the hot sun here at the house. As you will see in the pics, Graham begged Vanessa for her yogurt, and he is too cute to resist. Steve also ate Vanessa's sandwich, so I'm afraid we deprived her of her packed lunch! The boys all played together, digging in the sand, hunting for crabs, and checking out the ocean.

After the beach, Graham played a lot in the backyard--check out his big smile in his new "Fred Flinstone car" that Ohma and Pap Jr. got him for his first birthday.

Later that night, Vanessa, Juan, and Julian came over for a dinner of mussels with wine--made with big handfuls of fresh herbs from my garden. We had a great time. Check out Vanessa's blog for pics of the evening.

Walkway progress

Steve's latest project is completing a new brick walkway. He dug up the nasty concrete one a few weeks ago, and has been hard at work laying layers of sand gravel, and now brick. The corners are especially challenging, requiring brick cutting and lots of precision! Check out his progress here. We are so excited about the walkway; it is really going to spruce up the place!!!

4th of July

A long weekend for the 4th of July--whoo hoo! We had a great day yesterday--jam packed with activities. First, Stephen and I got up early to drive up to Freeport for the LL Bean 4th of July 10k road race. A big thanks to Aunt Jenny for getting out of bed and coming over to babysit the G-man! The weather was perfect for running, although the hilly course was a little tough on those of us that train on the bike path! We did both finish strong and enjoyed the race.

Next, it was off to Crescent Beach! It was nice and sunny and Graham had a great time playing in the little stream and digging in the sand. Luckily, we have discovered swim diapers--they make things so much easier.

Finally, we hit a BBQ at our neighbors' house. Graham played in the kiddie pool with Andrew and had a ton of fun until his bedtime, when we turned into pumpkins and skedaddled home.