Seacoast dreamin...

Not only has Jack started walking, but we've had another first over the last couple of weeks. Rob and I got away for a whole two nights without Jack!  Yup, we dove right in.  Sure, we've gone out to dinner a few times in the last 20 months without Jack, but we've always put him to bed first and then headed out.  My parents stayed at our house for the weekend taking on all of the Jack duties...meals, play, diapers, naps, bedtime. Rob and I knew that Jack would do just dandy, I just wasn't sure how I would be when we drove away.  Turns out, I was completely fine and I really enjoyed our time away.  Of course we called a few times a day, and I did miss Jack like crazy. When we got home on Sunday, Jack was just waking up from his nap. Rob and I went upstairs to surprise him, expecting he'd be over the moon to see us. He smiled at us and promptly pointed at the door, yelling for Mimi!  Ha.  He didn't miss us at all.

We did have a fantastic two days up on the Seacoast!  We drove up Friday afternoon and our first stop was Red Hook where we sat on the patio for lunch and enjoyed a couple pints!  We thought about places to go that we normally wouldn't take Jack and we decided to head to the Wentworth by the Sea to sit on the patio overlooking the harbor, since it was such an incredible day.  We sipped wine and munched on a couple of appetizers...it was so nice.  Turns out, it would have been completely fine to take Jack there...This is a shot of the hotel from the road (taken out of the car window).  

Next we headed to the Ice House for dessert!  Moosetracks ice cream...YUM!

Next stop was the beach...It was one of those nights that only happen a couple of times a year around here.

Then we took a leisurely drive around Newcastle and Portsmouth...

View of Portsmouth from route 1B at sunset...This is definitely my favorite place in the world!

Colorful homes are all over this place! 

Market St. as seen through the windshield.

We stayed with our wonderful friends, Kara and Paul, who we had an incredible day with on Saturday...

Beachin' it at Fort Foster...

This sumac tree sort of reminds me of the lone cypress on the 17-mile drive at Pebble Beach... :)

Paul drove us around in his awesome 71' avocado green Chevelle Convertible (he's taking the picture here).  We were fortunate to have the bridge go up so we could bask in the sun with an amazing view for a few minutes!  

View of Chauncey Creek from the Chevelle.

Cruisin...

Thanks for driving us around, Paul!

Next stop...the Portsmouth Brewery...

That night the four of us met our friends, Keith and Alison, at my favorite restaurant, Jumpin' Jays.  Another YUM!  We walked back to Kara and Paul's across the Memorial Bridge to end a fantastic day...

We were home the afternoon of July 4th...Just in time to snap Jack's 20 month photo!

Guess who's walking! (Really!)

Hi! I am back.  There is so much to catch up on. I am going to have to do this in a couple of installments.  But first, I must share with you that Jack is officially walking!  Friday, July 9, was the big day. He was doing his usual letting go of whatever he was holding on to and looking awfully proud of himself, when I asked him to walk over to me (like I've been doing for months).   But he actually did and there was no going back!  Everyone told me that when he finally starts to walk, that he would practically be an expert and it's true, he is.  In those first few hours, I don't think he fell even once.  He was so happy, he just kept walking from room to room with a big, fat grin. All of a sudden, at 20 months, we've got our toddler. Enjoy this video that was taken within minutes of the first steps!

Perfect summer day

First of all, YAY for summer! The sticky, hot days are here!  Yesterday evening brought a big thunderstorm and heavy rain which cooled things down a little.  After the rain, everything outside was steamy and it smelled sooo good.

As we like to do during the summer, we went to the beach last weekend.  It was REALLY foggy.  I mean we could barely see the waves breaking.  But the water was warm and Jack had a blast standing in the surf, feeling the sand being taken out from under his feet. We could tell that he was getting dizzy watching the water retreating after each wave.  He would lose his footing for a moment, but we were holding on tight.  Our days of just relaxing at the beach are long over...we took turns walking and splashing with Jack.

Pointing at a plane flying overhead 

Taking his truck for a spin

Happy

Rob and I took turns in this position for pretty much the whole time we were at the beach.

It was still super hot when we got home so Jack cooled off in his pool. (I love this Picture.)

Jack missed his nap, and by 6:30 he was so ready for bed, so we tucked him in (earliest ever!), and then Rob and I had steamers for dinner...It was a perfect summer day. 

Catalog living

On another note, this site makes me laugh!  I do love looking through catalogs, and this just makes it even better.

Catalog Living - A look into the exciting lives of the people who live in your catalogs.

Here's a little taste of what you can expect...

A peaceful ending…

After achieving his life’s work of balancing the wicker ball on the radio, Terrence carefully removed his hat and went for his final swim.

Evening stroll

Jack took a stroll around the neighborhood a couple of nights ago.  It was hot, so he was strutting his stuff in just a diaper and sandals. 

He's very good at pushing his truck and he has a fascination with the sewer covers on our street. He always has to take a few moments to stand on each one.  Sometimes we have to practically tear him away. 

He is starting to get a little braver...here he is letting go and standing on his own.  

I feel like I've been saying that "he's going to start walking any day now" for awhile.  I was thinking that he was just cautious, but he's started to climb up on furniture and has no fear of stairs, so I'm not sure that's it anymore. I think some bribing may be in order.  He may really think that getting around on his knees is walking (his poor little knees!) We'll see how that goes!  

Happy Friday!

Wordless Wednesday

Pretty little weed

I think that this is just about the prettiest weed I've ever seen. My mom noticed these little flowers growing in an empty lot near our house so we headed over and cut a few.  Rob did a little research and we think that it's soapwort.  The bud vase I purchased from Etsy was the perfect little container for them. I might have to go cut some more...