ahhh, summer!

The joys of summer are limitless....here are just a few snapshots of the fun we've had in the past few weeks :-)

Feeding the sea gulls at the Clambake

hanging out at the lake

I am Diva #3

Hanging out at the softball game

Yarmouth Clam festival fun!

8 Months

Yes, I know I'm a day late....I took the pictures yesterday and just ran out of time to post!  I'm sure you all know how that goes.

Abby is 8 Months old.  No, really.  No April fool's joke.  I feel like I'm in a time warp that fast forwards at record speed.  I distinctly remember the night in Boston hotel when we saw the pink line

Over 17 months later, here's our little miracle at 8 months old....

What is Abby up to?

Well, she's moving around ALL. THE. TIME.  She's pulling her self up onto everything; her activity table, the coffee table, me, the plant stand, the vacuum, my sewing table, the wood stove, the fence at the softball field...yup, everything.  She'll even attempt to "walk" if you're holder her hands.  She is also crawling with out her belly touching the floor.  She really has no fear.  She'll fall down and usually not think twice about it.  Tough girl :-)

The cutest thing she has going on is her flirty smile.  It just makes me melt.  She sticks her chin to her chest, bats her eyes, and gives you the most flirtatious smile ever....Daddy is in trouble in about 15 years. 

Abster is also chatting up a storm.  She loves to giggle, and we love her belly laughs. She's back to sleeping through the night (Thank you, Jesus!) and has demonstrated her keen ability to wave hello.  This new act almost deserves it's own post.....I might get to that soon..

hopefully within 8 months...

Happy 8 Months, Abby! We love you!

Yarmouth Clam Festival!

Our little steamer had a blast and was super awesome during our adventure to the Yarmouth Clam Festival.  We ate fried clams galore, shopped in the crafts section and walked for miles.  I think Abby loved people watching :-)

Activity Table Fun

I found this fantastic Leap Frog Activity table at Lots for Tots for $14.99 and already Abby is having a blast with it!  I adore this consignment shop - they always have something we need at deep discounted prices.  This table retails for $35!

Here she is today just minutes after bringing it home!!

I love this kid!

It has truly been a blessing to be home with Abby this past month.  Whoever created maternity leave for the first 12 weeks is crazy....just when they get fun, you have to go back to work?? Abby has been beyond fun!  She's been cooky, crazy, adorable and developmentally amazing.  I really enjoy watching her learn new things.  Here's what she's been up to:

• Teeth - she has her bottom two!  I've already posted about the teething aspect, so I'll just say that these two chompers are in!  She's so funny when she runs her tongue over them. She's constantly sticking out her tongue!  
• Giggling - one of these days I'll get this on video, but she's extremely ticklish and when you get her going there's no stopping.  It's delightful!  
• Crawling - she has perfected the army crawl like it's her job.  She can get to anything in the room that she wants - especially electrical cords and anything we don't want her to :-)
• Standing - I have a feeling she'll start walking soon :-(  She is pulling herself up on our coffee table and can stand on her own for several seconds.  Did I mention she's only 7 months - okay well almost 8, but still!!!
• sleeping - still not a awesome before we moved, but getting better.  Between the move, teeth and heat her pediatrician confirmed that her sleep would be off.  We're working hard to get it back on schedule.
• Eating - Abster is eating like a champ.  I've been making her food and she is loving her peas, peaches, pears, apples, carrots, squash, sweet potato, and new this week has been mango.  She's not a big fan of her oatmeal cereal, so we're back to rice cereal.  She's eating solids three times a day and several bottles of milk in between. 

There are a few more milestones, but I'm going to save those for other posts...there just too cute!!


All in all, it's been a blessing to be home. Everything happens for a reason and I honestly feel our move coincided with life perfectly.  Tim is very busy traveling for work and I'm busy looking for a job worthy to put Abby in day care.  I have a couple of leads, but nothing that grabs at me right now.  Within a month or so we hope to be preapproved for a mortgage and in the market for a home.  We'll keep you posted!

Happy Friday!!! 

Trip to the beach!

We met up with Kelly and the boys earlier this week at Old Orchard Beach.  It was a special day since it was Kelly's BIRTHDAY!  Happy 25th Birthday, Kelly!  :-)

It was Abby's first day at the beach and she loved it!  The boys had a blast and when I mean boys, I mean all of them, including Tim.  The water was warm and waves big.

Just to keep it interesting, here's a picture of our trip to Florida when she was almost 3 months old.  Oh, how quickly they change!

Thanks to the Burlingame's for making the trip up to Maine!  

Heading to Vermont!

The proctor's are on our way to Vermont for a few days. Tim is working in the office while Abby and I play. Lots of fun things planned and hopefully good weather.

It's truly a blessing to call Maine AND Vermont home. They are so similar with the old port and church street, ocean and lake, mountains and mountains.  Although, Portland might be a bit busier with more people, I think downtown Burlington takes the cake when people watching.  I could go on and on on the "interesting" peeps.

More pictures to come of our trip!  Here's a quick video of Abby playing at the beach in Old Orchard Beach. 

Fourth of July means all things strawberries.....

Usually July reminds me of strawberry picking, but I always end up picking the luscious berries a tad too late.  Because as you know, the best picking is the end of June.  If you haven't picked by July 4th, you'll end up with not-so-perfect crop. 

With our CSA and effort to eat local in the past couple of years, I've learned to can, jam, and pickle.  And wouldn't you know just five days ago I opened the last jar of strawberry jam I made two summers ago.  With strawberry fields within just a few miles of our house, I had to make time to go.  Soo, the holiday weekend was in sight and I knew I could sneak away for a short time to grab a box full.  The anticipation of going is always exciting, it's almost like yard saleing.  The excitement over getting the largest strawberry you can find can cause you to lose sleep! 

I got to the fields at 7:15 and really thought I'd be the first one there. Oh boy was I wrong - arriving to several cars and more than 100 people I picked up the pace to get to a hopefully unpicked row.  And, just to be clear, I was BY MYSELF.  :-)  I grabbed my box and set off. 

The picking had it's ups and downs.  I'd find a bunch of perfect berries and then reach for big one only for my finger to squish into a moldy part.  I'd get on a role and then find slugs  (just groooosssss!). I ended up on my knees, soggy pants, yet a box of 9 lbs of awesome, sweet, medium size berries.

Perfect for making a few jars of jam - 9 jars to be exact. Next years I'll start picking in June to avoid the mold and go for the big ones!

Have a safe and Happy Fourth of July.  As my former boss at DQ would always post on the billboard,

"He who drinks a fifth on the fourth, may not go forth on the Fifth."

xoxoxox
The Proctors