Here here...let me get that for you.

A couple days ago, after some fumbled attempts, I held my bottle to eat for about ten minutes! Yep! I did it all by myself...Dad was feeding me, and so I reached up and grabbed on with one hand (was having trouble with the thumb for a bit, but it's amazing how it just slides right under the bottle when you curve it just so) and steadied the bottle with the second hand, and started eating away.

Dad (obviously) snapped a pic...I look very focused here. Lunchtime is serious business....

Baby Tour 2009_Leg_5_Uncle_Mat_is_a_Marine!

Last month, my Uncle Mat graduated from his Marine Academy in South Carolina!

I think they say Hoo raa?

As you know from my last entry (Because you are a diligent reader) Mom and I flew down there to meet up with Gramma Mindy to watch the ceremony, and celebrate Uncle Mat's great accomplishment!
After getting some rest, we headed off to the Marine base to attend the family day celebrations.

Lots of people wore the colors that were associated with their respective graduates company (Mat's was red, which is why Gramma Mindy wore a red hat and shirt, and I was wearing an adorable red onesie! Mom wore the reddest thing that she owned...)

We got to take a tour of the training grounds, and the barracks. We got to see where Uncle Mat lived and trained during his time down here. It was really cool to see such an active community of recruits continuing to train, and march around the campus.

Uncle Mat looked great in his uniform....

And as you can tell, I was super excited to be there and to see him again! He was even nice enough to let me wear his hat...
While I'm not quite used to Uncle Mat having so little hair, I was excited to make the journey to see him! I know he appreciated having me, Gramma Mindy, and Mom there to support him, and cheer him on!

After training was complete, he went back home to Connecticut for a little while, before being shipped out (Possibly for more training) to Missouri. All of us are so proud of him, and can't wait to see him again! Hopefully he''ll share stories about the adventures he's having!

I'm a big fan of adventures!

Keep Mat in your thoughts and prayers, as he continues on his journey to serve his country proudly!

My first plane ride!!

I don't have any pictures of my first plane ride, but here is a picture of me being cute and happy as a substitute. I know you guys come for the pictures and stay for the musings of the baby. :-)

Mom and I flew down to South Caroline to see my Uncle Mat graduate from the Marine Academy (more on that later) and I had to take my first flight. The flight out wasn't too bad, and Mom was nice enough to walk me around when I got a bit testy. Luckily I didn't have any problems with my ears popping (Though they did get a bit uncomfortable)

A problem we DID end up encountering, was that Gramma Mindy got delayed pretty badly. This was a bummer, because Mom and I were supposed to meet up with her in Carolina, so we then had to wait.

I felt awful for Gramma Mindy, but she ended up making it out there, and we continued on towards our little hotel.

For the return flight, I was a little less pleasant, and didn't quite understand why Mom couldn't walk me up and down the aisles like she was doing during the flight. Stupid safety regulations...

After a comedy of errors regarding the luggage carousel, (which I thankfully slept through) The airplane people also forgot to put Mom's luggage on the plane with Mom and I, so we were without her bag (Luckily we had my bag, and that we were heading home where most of her clothes live anyways, so it wasn't such a desperate situation to have hers.) We found out that we weren't alone, as a bunch of other people had the same problem from the same flight, and Gramma Mindy had the same problem on a different flight.

But on to Uncle Mat's graduation!!!

An Epic Journey Part IV-Heading back home!

In life, there are things that one is easily prepared for, and there are things that one thinks they are prepared for, and then...there are things that one isn't at all prepared for, and that you didn't even remotely think you could pretend you were prepared for...

What I was not prepared for in this case, was the drive back home after the vacation in Maine. Because we had driven North in stages (heading from DC to Connecticut, then to Portland, Maine for the wedding, and then on up to Houlton...) I was not quite ready for the fact that we had to drive back to Connecticut in one large chunk.

Usually it takes about 9 hours (WOW!) but this time, Mom and Dad tried to stop as often as they could to keep me happy, and the trip blew up to around 11 hours...

We even stopped at a place called Colonial Candies, which is an olde tymey candy store in Massachusetts. Mom and Dad LOVE this place, and desperately try to get out of the store without spending hundreds of dollars...everything from handmade fudge, candy, and old school candies from long ago, like Fun Dip, and Lemonheads! This was a very pleasant stop, and we figured, if we had to stop for me anyway, it may as well be somewhere fun...

My last feeding stop was in a quaint town in Connecticut that contained the Silas Deane House...

Those in on Mom and Dad's journey through names for me will understand the significance of that....

After so much time in the car over the last week, I was spent...I was miserable, man. Mom and Dad were also exhausted by trip's end, and by the time we arrived in CT, I had been screaming myself hoarse for about 45 minutes.

Easily one of the longest 45 minutes of my parents' lives, I'm sure...

We finally arrived at Gramma Debbie's, and my parents rescued me from the carseat...

It was very hard to calm me down, as I was exhausted, it was a couple hours past my bedtime, and I was all done with everything...

Gramma used this Mickey Mouse doll (and her patented funny voice) to help calm me down, and even though it worked, I really just wanted to suck on his nose...
After a good night's sleep, I woke up in a slightly better mood (at least until I discovered that another car ride awaited me...)

Before we left, Gramma Debbie showed me a new toy she got me. It's a walker, that had a lot of toys in it! I got a kick out of playing with it, since it had a bubnch of stuff you could grab and mess with along the top. It's a lot like the bouncers I have in daycare, except this one has wheels (Don't worry...no stairs at Gramma's to fall down!)

I had a lot of fun at Gramma Debbie's, and even got to see Grandpa for a little while...the elusive Grandpa shows himself...and I enjoyed every minute of it.

And with that, my time in Connecticut had come to a close yet again, and I was off to Washington, DC where my bed awaited me...I have never been so happy to see that beautiful crib!

I had a lot of fun being on the road, but this was a tough week and a half for all of us...I have sworn off traveling for awhile, much as I miss everyone.

As you can see below, I have such a blast visiting with people, but I'm off the road until October!

An Epic Journey Part III-My first trip to the cabin in Houlton, ME

After what seemed like forever, I finally had made my first pilgrimage to the infamous family cabin, in Houlton, Maine. Technically the cabin is in New Limerick, I think, but Houlton is really the town to see.

 Above, you can see that my name has already been added under Mom's on a quilt made to honor the family bond we have....all of the grandkids (and now great-grandkids) are connected to Granny and Poppy, who bought the cabin, and left it to all of us to enjoy for years to come! Suffice to say, seeing the star already was a great way to be welcomed to Maine!!

A little background...the cabin is actually 2 cabins (A larger main cabin, and a smaller sleeping cabin) located on a small site that sits on the edge of Drew's Lake. You really are in the middle of the woods up there! There are some logging trucks driving in the woods, sometimes...but really, it's so peaceful! A mountain view, a gorgeous lake, and temperatures in the low 70's in the middle of August with practically zero humidity.

It really is one of the best vacation spots out there!

It's a really relaxing place...this is the place Mom and Dad go to every year to get away from the world at large, and get some real rest. A lot of reading, puzzles, walks in the woods, paddle-boating, canoeing, visits to Houlton Dairy (I'm told it's the best, and least expensive ice cream on the planet, but will have to fill you in for sure when I try it myself next year...) and trips in to Houlton to go to some Mom & Mom-type places...We can also head on over into Canada (Only a few miles away) to spend the day if we want to, though this year we skipped it because apparently I need a passport.

Yeah. Me. I know, dumb, right?

JustRichy took me on a brief tour of the campsite, and showed me that, yes, one day this will all be mine...

Gramma Mindy and I hung out a lot, while Mom and Dad got to do some stuff on their own, and I had a lot of fun gazing out at the lake with her, and playing inside.

She also bought me some stacking cups, which have become some of my favorite toys to play with. There was also a new high chair in Maine that I got to eat in like a big boy for the first time! (everyone discovered that the cups, combined with the high chair was a clear winner!)

In addition to Mom, Dad, Gramma Mindy and JustRichy, I got to spend the last half of the week with Amber, my Godmother, and her fella John (Jon? I don't know how these silent letters work yet...for now, we're gonna go with John...)

I had a lot of fun with Amber, but it took us awhile to get connected, since she was wearing this nail polish that bugged me out. I can't explain why, but the delicate combination of that shade of purple and glitter just got to me in ways I can't explain...once everyone figured out that's why she was making me cry, she hid her fingers from me, and we had a great time...

She was a bit jealous of John, since he kept drawing my attention away from her, but c'mon...look at the faces this guy was making!

Below, you can't really see his face, but you can see my stunned reaction to it...

Stunned. 

Some activities went better than others...JustRichy helped me work on my independent standing (and Dad snapped one of the rare pictures of it)

Dad started the week by dipping my toes in the water...it was chilly, but felt great against my feet.  I just wasn't so sure about going into the water all the way...

Eventually, Mom and Dad got my in my adorable bathing suit, and submerged me fully...I was OK for awhile, and had a good time kicking my legs in the water (and I thought bath-time was fun! Here, I get to splash around, and there are no walls!) And as time wore on, I was OK as long as someone was holding me close to help keep me warm, but I finally had enough...c'mon, man...I'm tiny. But how awesome is my hat?!

Paddleboats (Not so successful) Why, you ask? Let's talk about how I looked like a marshmallow encased kid...

I tried to maintain some sense of dignity as my parents started paddling out, but I quickly realized how long they had intended to be out on the lake that day...and rather than freaking out when they were far from shore, I decided to make life easier, and freak out when they were close enough to drop me back off with Gramma Mindy...they  took the paddleboat out without 

me, and missed me, but I was happy to be on dry-land, and happier to be rid of my giant yellow marshmallow...

I got to relax with Dad in one of his favorite places next to the lake...

Yes, he's in his pajamas. Yes he spent most of the week like that. Yes he's OK with you knowing that.

Towards the end of the week, JustRichy showed me how the other half (The tall half) live, and took me on a shoulder-mounted trip around the campsite...man, the world looks a lot different from up here...Can you tell that I'm having fun? Just a little?

All in all, it was an incredible vacation, and I hated to leave, but I was excited to be getting home (With a quick return appearance in Connecticut to visit Dad's family!) 

I'll miss looking out onto the lake, and watching the sun set behind the mountains, but at least I have the trip to look forward to next year! 

Adding yogurt to my peaches!

I'm going to veer away from my August travel updates for a second here, to clue you all in to something new that has been presented to my palate.  

The other day, Dad blew my mind by mixing yogurt with my peaches...

Now, I already love peaches (they're delicious, yet are a pain to prepare...that's why I let my parents prepare them for me...) but adding the yogurt creates a whole new world of taste! The next day, they sent me to daycare with bananas and yogurt!

NOW...I can have yogurt with fruit, or fruit minus yogurt! Or someday when I get a little better at working my mouth, yogurt solo!

If you haven't tried it yet, mix some yogurt with your favorite fruits...it truly is a delight!

Some timeline changes...

Hello all...

Sometimes, I am prone to getting events down in my head a little out of order...I suppose that the fact that my brain works that way, is indisputable proof that, no matter how fair my hair or eyes...I am my father's son...

Mom has helped me clarify some of the events that occurred last month, and has also helped me to clarify what order they occurred in. I have made this changes throughout the thread that pertains to my "Epic Journey" please feel free to reread them to get the correct timeline, and even some bonus pictures....

Thank you for your patience, and support!