| back from Maine |
[Oct. 10th, 2004|07:53 am] |
No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth, but what with both computers getting killed (they are now fixed, and we are $150 poorer, as though we needed that right now) and getting ready for Maine, there was just no time...
Maine was better than expected. Much better. The ILs did not stay overnight with us at the lake house; they just came out during the day. We never actually specifically asked for this, but I think they picked up on some vibes/hints, and it made a huge difference in my sanity.
We stayed at the IL's Westbrook house (which is much bigger) for a few days first. We had a great day in the Old Port in Portland, strollering around and seeing the sights. We also discovered that our baby is definitely not a genetic vegetarian. We went here: http://www.grittys.com, a very favorite place of ours, and I got fish and chips. And Nora *devoured* my (debreaded) fish. I mean, seriously, she was in love with it. It was her favorite thing ever. Uh oh.
Then we had a great dinner out sans baby at Mim's Brasserie there, which I recommend. It was very romantic and lovely, and we giggled and drank champagne. And we had good tomatoes. Did you know you can't get good tomatoes in Florida? Isn't that terrible?
The next day we went and saw Geoff's grandmother, the venerable Nana, who is something like 96 years old and still in complete possession of her faculties. She is a wonder. She was thrilled to pieces to meet Nora, who was entranced by this fragile, tiny old lady and sat quietly on her lap and gazed at her while Nana sang a lullaby, as everyone else in the room got distinctly damp around the eyes. That was 2 1/2 hours in the car there and 2 1/2 hours back, which was fairly dreadful after all the other traveling, but the lullaby made it all worth it, I must say.
Then we went out to the lake, and did a lot of kayaking, which was delightful. I swear, I am going to kidnap those kayaks. Geoff's mother made the mistake of telling us that no one else had taken them out ALL SUMMER, which is a travesty. I threatened to call the Society to Prevent Cruelty to Kayaks. And we had a couple of wonderful walks through the gorgeous fall foliage. Saw fresh moose tracks and moose scat.
And we went to the Fryeburg Fair, which is a huge deal in Maine and was extremely fun. This is the fair I always want all other fairs to be: huge and fascinating. There were tons and tons of animals. Tons. Llamas and alpacas and sheep and goats and cows and horses and ducks and chickens and geese and....Nora's favorites were the sheep, and amazingly, she was not freaked out by any of this, although it was certainly loud and chaotic and potentially scary. I love my brave little squidlet.
But I tried to nurse her right outside the dairy cow hall, because that amused me and she seemed hungry, and she wouldn't nurse. She has been refusing the breast a bit lately, and is very, very distractible. I think this is normal for this age, but it still is making me worry a little. She also has been on a baby food strike. Very, very taken with the grown-up food, this little one is. She virtually attacks everything I ever eat, which is tricky, of course, since some of it isn't suitable for her. (Also, she doesn't have any teeth yet!) I had a massive flake-out and fed her some lobster out of my lobster roll, which is a complete no-no for babies her age (shellfish being a very common allergen). Argh. Nora, I really hope you don't end up allergic to shellfish. I'm sorry.
The last day there Geoff's sister and BIL and their two daughters came up, so that was great: a first meeting of the cousins. Amy, who is seven, was utterly enthralled with Nora, and she her. Juliana, who is two, completely ignored Nora, so Nora did the same. Funny.
Three out of four plane flights were fine and one was perfectly dreadful. We were Those People with That Baby Who Wouldn't Stop Screaming, and I rather wanted to disappear ("At least they can't kick us off, right?" Geoff said at some point, attemping to be humorous), but we survived.
We still have an enormous tree in our back yard, of course. I think my husband is going to attack it with a chainsaw today. He had chainsaw training at work recently, you see, which makes him exceedingly manly. And makes me nervous.
Pictures eventually. And another post soon about how Nora is talking. Seriously. She talks! Okay, she says one word, but she says it clearly, repeatedly and while pointing at the thing in question. And noooo, it is not "mama" or "dada." Anyone want to guess what it is?? (No fair for Lan to give hints.) |
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carolc's journal
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