Cousin Saul's visit!

Rachel and Beth have moved back to NYC, and we finally had an overnight visit in early July. It was soooo nice to see them, and of course SUPER fun for Ollie to spend time with his big cousin, Saul! When I picked them up from the train station in Dover, I couldn't believe how much Saul reminded me of Ollie, laughing at the silly chipmunk voice on my GPS, telling funny stories, asking offbeat questions. I know they will grow up to be good friends! We had a nice dinner - Andy's yummy tandoori chicken and my cucumber-grape-mint salad, and the boys all had fun putting up the tent with the promise of camping that night, but in the end we decided it would be easier (mostly for the adults) to save camping for another night. Rachel and Beth marvelled at how quiet it is out here, how peaceful (although lately I think that the chirping crickets out there every night could give the noise of NYC a run for its money!)... I'm sure when we visit them we'll marvel at how easy it is to get to great museums, events, and restaurants. We just can't wait for the next visit -- love you!

Does it get any better than this?

Daddy's - oops, I mean Ollie's - new toy! Ha ha, we all know it's Daddy's new toy, you don't have to twist his arm to get him to purchase anything bike-related!! No, this is equally loved by Dad and son alike - Ollie pretty much yelped with glee upon his first ride out with his dad. Imagine, you're 3 1/2 years old, and you've biked here and there lots of times, pretty much on flat areas or down very little slopes, carefully. All of a sudden, you're zooming down the road behind your dad, going fast! Up and down hills with ease! Ollie does not stop smiling when he's on that bike with his dad. Bliss. And this last weekend, they actually went mountain biking together! Mild trails, so I'm told, but still, into the woods and along lake Aeroflex in Andover. Ollie loved it to bits, and Andy says he pulls his weight most of the time, doesn't just let Dad do all the work. That's our boy!!

What Happened to June and July?!

I'm here to report that two months have passed since I posted an update!! However, my computer died partway through that time, so there's my excuse - ha!! And you thought I was just being lazy. Catching up now, it's hard to know where to start, so I'll just give it a go. The summer so far has been marked with various trips up to Maine... we just can't get enough of it!! Maddie had her first "taste" of proper ocean beach fun - I'm happy to report that she didn't try to eat the sand, as Oliver did when he first visited Drift Inn Beach, a younger baby than her wise 14 months or so. Or maybe he wasn't younger, maybe he just liked to eat sand! He learned quickly that it wasn't yummy. Maddie wasn't too impressed with the whole "sand thing," I must say... but she's warming up to it slowly.
Ollie, as you can see, looks "wicked good" in his lobster trunks (purchased in NJ!) - I bought a size 5T in hopes he'll get two years' worth of use out of them, as cute as they are. He never gets tired of the beach, searching for hermit crabs in the tide pools, digging holes, making castles, meeting new friends, getting braver and braver in the water. Mostly it boils down to how much energy mommy has to get all the junk together and actually get us to the beach, and also how the low and high tide schedule works with Maddie's nap. Thinking back, I feel like we didn't have enough beach time yet this summer, but I guess it's not over yet.
Speaking of the beach, I would be remiss not to mention our nice trips to the beach at Lake Mohawk with Ryan, Addie, and their mom, Carol! No drama of the ocean there, just lots of fun with friends, and lots of messy sand and sunscreen. It is nearly impossible, after taking loads of photos of Maddie wearing her very first swimsuit, to decide which is the cutest shot to put on the blog! I give up, here's my best effort.

Turtleback Zoo!

While Andy spent his last day (for a while) in Germany, I took the kids to Turtleback Zoo in West Orange, NJ for the first time ever - what a great day! We have a regular Friday playdate with Ryan and Addie, and being with them (and their mom, Carol, of course!) made it even more fun. We've taken the kids to the Bronx Zoo several times, but Turtleback is only 25 or 30 minutes away, and very sweet - it even has a fantastic little train ride that goes along a nature preserve and a lovely lake and is - miraculously - included in the cost of admission.

Ollie took his very first ride ever on a horse... he really liked it! He shared a "seed stick" with Ryan in the "birdhouse," where zillions of birds swoop around and land right on your stick to eat the seeds - Maddie and Addie were transfixed! The only real mishap of the day (besides nearly losing Oliver a couple of times, and almost letting Maddie roll down a hill in her stroller) was when Ollie fell on the pavement (tripped in his new crocs, I think) and scraped his knee badly. He spent the next hour holding up his shorts so they wouldn't rub against his ouchy knee (see last photo). Poor little guy!

They both slept all the way home, which was a much longer "way" than usual, as we hit pretty bad Friday afternoon westbound traffic... I didn't mind, though, it just meant they both got decent naps. We look forward to visiting Turtleback often!

Germdiddy

Andy's in Germany *again* - or "Germdiddy," as Oliver says, but he was home for the weekend and we all had such a good time. On Saturday, we went to Horseshoe Lake to fly a new kite that Andy brought back from China (didn't fly hight, but at least it stayed in the air!) - Ollie just laughs and laughs when the kite starts to fly. Maddie is still practicing her crawling, and hasn't even stood up yet on two feet really, even though she's nearly 14 months old!! But seriously, look at that crinkley-nosed smile, could she be any cuter?? Pretty much impossible. She's going to be a silly one, I can tell that already.

Now, before I forget them all, and speaking of "Germdiddy," I would write down some of our favorite "Ollie-isms" -- Maddie of course will have her own list in a year or two. Here are a few to get us started, and I'll be sure to add more as they come!

Bunny Easter
I wuv yis.
Get away from our direction! (to a truck going slowly in front of us)
Maddie, chill down!
(Ollie, do you want a raincoat?) No, I'm otay.
In a potit (pocket)
Oojoos (juice)
Kepit (ketchup)
Ay-pot (airport)
Nunu (vacuum)
Dama and Dandaddy

Tub Fun

A live-action shot for Daddy - doesn't get any more "live" than this, as I have the laptop in the bathroom and the kids are still in the tub!!!!! A rainy day bath... both are having a grand old time. Maddie will take a nap after this, and Ollie and I will carry on with the packing. Back to NJ tomorrow, then Daddy's home on Friday, yay!!!!

Fast and Slow

So, only a few more days and we head home to NJ; Andy's home on Friday, so now there's a light at the end of the tunnel. Partly it feels like eons that we've been apart, but coming to Maine makes the time go so much faster, so I'm also surprised that we only have 2 more full days here till we drive home.

I haven't posted new photos recently for Andy, so here are a few; I'll add some news in a bit, but it's nearly bedtime now and I just want to get the photos up!! From a few days ago at a fun playground in Rockland. :-)