I Think I Can!

Liam has rolled from his belly to his back twice in two days. He seems so proud of himself when he finally makes it. He had rolled over once a month or so ago but I think it was an accident on his part. These last two times were purposeful. He is getting so big and strong!

Party Time

Liam's good friend Emma had her first birthday party last Saturday. We attended said party on the rainy Saturday to enjoy the yummy party food and watch Emma get super messy with her cake. It was so fun to think of celebrating Liam turning one.

At the same time we also find ourselves sad when we realize that Liam is growing out of outfits. I almost mourn him growing bigger. It is so hard to believe that he won't always be able to fit in my arms. Both Mike and I love to snuggle him.
Each day does bring a more expressive little boy. He is practicing his sounds and has found great ways to make his voice change. I love to watch his facial expressions as well. He is so expressive and amazes many by how alert he is.

We think we are going camping again this weekend so stay tuned for more camping tales.

MOO!

Last Friday we went to the Common Ground Fair, which is run by the Maine Organic Farmers Association. This is a old fashioned fair experience. There are no rides, no games to waste your money on and no scary carnies. Instead you get great agricultural demonstrations, craft tents where Maine artists can sell there wares and fantastic food. It is a vegetarians paradise! I look forward to the food every year and try to plan out my food throughout the day. Each year I look forward to a few items. Good Indian food and a strawberry cream puff dessert. I fill in between those items with new food each year.

This year we went to a talk on how to raise strawberries. When we moved into our house we were lucky to have a strawberry bed that the previous tenant's had started. The berries are amazing and we would like to keep the bed running for as long as possible. Liam was a gem the entire time during the talk. He was cooing and smiling at the people sitting close by to us. It seems we might have a little flirt on our hands.

After the strawberry talk we thought we would take Liam to check out the animals. Well, we enjoyed seeing the cows, horses and the alpacas. As you can see from the photos Liam was too tired to care. Perhaps next year he will find them a little more exciting.

Towards the end of the day we wandered over to the farmer's market. On the way there we passed a small hill that was littered with children sliding down the hill on pieces of cardboard. They looked like they were having a ball and Mike and I talked about how great it was that kids were enjoying something so incredibly simple. No electronic devices were needed to occupy these kids, just some grass and a piece of cardboard. It made us excited for future years when we could set Liam to playing among the other children.

No, that's not your furnace exploding

So, Liam is great and he had a fun day and yadda yadda yadda, we had and EARTHQUAKE yesterday!

That's right, we've had seismic activity here over the last 36 hours - our very first earthquake. Here's the story.

Thursday night between 7 and 8, I'm sitting in the living room and hear what sounds like an explosion and very small rumble coming from down the street. It sounded not unlike an exploding boiler (at least how I've imagined it). I didn't give it much attention - it could easily have been a large truck rumbling down Cottage St.

Then, Friday morning, around 6:30, T, L and I are in the living room and a deep rumbling shudder comes out of nowhere. It still sounded like a booming explosion, but this time a strong one and much closer to the house. Our old house vibrated a bit, as the aftershocks of the explosion rumbled and eventually diminished. Tara and I uttered some choice words - 'Jeepers, what could that have been?'. We wondered if our own boiler had cracked, and we wondered if we should take any evasive action, like leave the house. We looked outside and none of our neighbors were around, and no homes were on fire. We figured it was not an explosion because it must have come from next door, and both homes were intact. I called the fire department to report an explosion sound (by this time, we considered it might have been an earthquake). After half a dozen tries to the non-emergency line, I finally got through and the dispatcher said the've been hearing from people even down to Otter Creek (which is some distance from Bar Harbor). So, we figured it must have been an earthquake.

And that's exactly what it was - a magnitude 3.5 earthquake centered a few miles under Kebo Mountain. On the USGS aerial photo, the epicenter is the red square - less than a mile from our house. Check out the USGS page - it's full of interesting info about our little quake. Interesting to note the many maps on the USGS site - one of which suggests that our part of Maine is a relatively uninteresting seismic area. I've felt two more tremors (aftershocks, perhaps) just this evening.

Trip to Portland

On Tuesday Mike, Liam and I went to Portland to meet up with our dear friend Susan Faja. Sus came East from Seattle so we decided to meet up in Portland. It was a great to catch up with Susan and have her meet little Liam. While in Portland we ate some good food, walked around the Old Port and even saw a homless guy throw-up at nine in the morning. It was the perfect introduction to the big city for Liam! As always Liam was so good. He impressed Sus with his good social communication skills, his adorable smiles and the way he loves to stand on his very strong legs.

After we left Portland we headed to Freeport for a little shopping. After buying Liam some cute clothes at Oshkosh we made a stop in Bath to see Lindsay Davis. It was so nice to see Lindsay and Rick. Lindsay and I have been friends since birth or shortly there after. Having Liam meet Lindsay was great. He snuggled with her for a bit and drooled on her too. He sure knows how to make a good first impression.

We are heading to the Common Ground Fair today. Look for Fair photos in the near future.

Wedding Fun for Liam

Our good friends Barbara and Steve got married on Saturday the 16th. Saturday brought great weather for their outdoor wedding. The ceremony was beautiful and the reception was so much fun. Liam spent most of the wedding and part of the reception with a babysitter that Barbara and Steve provided for their guests. It was a super way to have our first babysitting experience as he was only feet away in the inn while we were outside enjoying the festivities. It certainly felt strange not to have him with us all of the time. I do have to admit that it was nice to be able to enjoy a meal eating with both hands. I am so used to having to hold Liam and eat at the same time. The last couple of hours of the reception we had Liam with us as the babysitter had left. Liam was fantastic. There was no shortage of people who wanted to hold him. Eventually, Liam feel asleep and he just hung out in his car seat on the table. We are so lucky to have such an easy going little guy!





Barbara and Steve looked great. We are so happy for them. It is so wonderful to watch friends get married!



It seems that Liam might have enjoyed the reception a bit too much. We are going to have to keep a closer eye on him.

More visitors for Liam

Notice that this post says more visitors for Liam. I do recognize that these days it is Liam that people really want to see and not us. We have come to accept this and are only to happy that people want to shower Liam with love and kisses.

Our most recent visitors were Kay and Ed visiting from Ohio. They arrived on Saturday the 9th and were here through the 12th. It was wonderful to be able to share Liam with them. The weather was perfect and thus we were able to get out in the park for a few nice walks/hikes.






Ed gives Liam a nice little snuggle shortly after their arrival.



Liam has been digging being able to sit up a bit more in his cool chair. He also loves to chew on his fist. All in all he was a pretty content little boy.



We were waiting for the Island Explorer ( a great free bus service that runs through the park) so Liam was taking advantage of that time to stretch out on the grass.



Liam was not at all sure what to think of his first bus ride. He looked that scared most of the trip.

More Pictures from the Lake

I just got a hold of our friend Barbara's pictures from the cabin. Some of them are so cute that I had to post them.



Looking back over the blog I realized that there aren't very many pictures of me holding Liam. So, this is the proof that he really does spend time with me too.

ARRRRRR.... I'm a Pirate!


Liam enjoyed a bath in the sink up at the cabin....well, he was a bit unsure at first but he loved it in the end.

Labor Day at the Cabin

I am way behind on my blogging. Sorry!

We spent Labor Day up on Sebec Lake at our friend Chris' parent's cabin. We love going to the cabin as it is so relaxing and gives us a nice break away from Bar Harbor during tourist season.
While we were at the cabin we took advantage of the lake for what was probably our last lake swim of the season. The water was cold but we swam anyway. We decided not to torture poor Liam with a swim in the lake. It was fun to imagine him up at the cabin next summer though when he would be more into the water. Our other cabin activities included reading, eating lots of good food, soaking in the hot tub and enjoying the company of good friends.

Liam spent a lot of time hanging out with Mike while Mike researched our next canoe trip. I don't think I will ever get tired of seeing Mike and Liam cuddled up together. It is hard to believe that there will come a time when he won't fit into our arms the way he does now. Knowing that day will come someday way too soon we try to soak up each and every cuddle.

Colorado Visitors

Liam, Mike and I were lucky enough to have visitors all the way from Colorado. Debbie and her new husband Matt (Congrats again guys) came out for a short but sweet visit. We had a wonderful time being able to share Liam with them. He got so many kisses and hugs from them both. Matt was pretty impressed with Liam's baby Bjorn and his Patagonia diaper bag. I was worried for a bit that I was going to have to check to make sure that he wasn't stealing them.

While they were here we ate tons of good food, walked out on the bar, appreciated the beautiful weather and enjoyed being together. It truly is a fantastic feeling when you get to introduce your child to close friends.