The Maine Event

Well, everyone knows that my parents have been gearing up for the event of the year... my birthday. I've been asking for months for a turquoise cake with a rainbow on it. Later, I requested a turquoise dress with a rainbow on it too. I made big party plans and have been very excited about turning three.

Little did Caroline know that our parents were also in the middle of planning a big trip to Maine. We arrived a week before Caroline's birthday and left two days after the celebration. Since Caroline was going to be out of town for her birthday, she really lucked out and was able to celebrate her birthday three different times! I'll have to keep that strategy in mind come April.

The first 3rd birthday party was at our house a couple weeks before my birthday. We celebrated with Granna, Grandad and Monkey Cam. Mom told the icecream cake place that I wanted turquoise with rainbows. She was informed that you only get to choose one color and they don't have turquoise so our hopes weren't very high that I would have my wish. But someone really came through with this beauty. Boy were we surprised!

It was delicious and gorgeous!

yup it's my birthday.

Cam likes to sing Happy Birthday with gusto!

He's my biggest fan... but I'm his too.

On to Maine

We flew to Boston and then drove to Southwest Harbor Maine. Grandma and Grandpa met us in Boston to help with the trip. They had a lot of great places in mind for us to stop along the way. We stopped at Fort McClary in Kittery, Maine and had a little break while Grandpa went in search of cheap lobster by the pound. I had a little rest on this rock while I waited.

True Story: Grandma and I were having a lovely walk along the cliff's edge when suddenly Grandma spotted a huge snake. She grabbed me and ran up the hill yelling, "Help! Help! Get the ranger! Snake!" When no one moved to help her, including the ranger who was standing about twenty feet away, she continued to shout for help. Finally Dad came down to see what was wrong.

This was the snake:

If you can't tell from the picture, it's rusty chain links.

Daddy took me down to the water's edge to throw rocks. It's our favorite thing to do. We have that in common.

Our next stop was Portland Head lighthouse in Maine. Mom and Dad plopped us on this bench and begged us to look at the camera, but who could take their eyes off this view?

Obligatory family lighthouse picture

Our "cation" (pronounced KAY shun) house didn't have a booster seat for me so Grandma got me this cast iron pot to sit on at the table. I thought it was so funny every time we ate. I insisted on a picture at every meal.

The house also had a hammock which was the sight of lots of relaxation and a lot of playing.

Mom and Caroline went on a horse drawn carriage ride. This was Caroline having a difficult time being patient for her turn to ride.

The horses' names were Duke and Doc. Duke was the slow, lazy one. I'm sure there's a joke there.

I didn't go on the ride, but I got to squeal at the horses... that's a lot of fun when you're one.

Scenes from the top of Cadillac Mountain

Echo Lake

Daddy, Grandpa, Caroline and Jamie

Digging

Normally I like making messes, but I was not happy with this one.

Who doesn't like staring at their feet in the water?

Check out the sweet little fanny poking out!

I climbed this rock all by myself!

And was proud to get to the top!

Mom and Dad plopped us together on every rock, bench or tree root hoping for one good picture to put on the wall or grace our annual Christmas card. This one probably isn't it.

Going to the "Maker Museum" (Nature Museum) is one of my favorite things to do in North Carolina so imagine my surprise when they had one in Maine! I was so excited and so was Jamie. Here he is with a dolphin skeleton.

Ummmm.... Daniel, I'm pretty sure we're not supposed to touch that.

They had a touch tank full of sea life and we were allowed to handle everything! Here I am with a starfish.

This little squirrel was Caroline's favorite item in the museum. She kept repeating, "He's just sleeping, he's just sleeping," while adults snickered around us.

A whale's skull compared to Jamie

James got a chance to touch too.

The best part of the trip for Caroline was the Tea House at Jordan Pond. They're famous for their popovers, which are delicious. Caroline had a great time at her first real tea party with Maine Blueberry Tea.

They brought us two tea pots of water so Caroline poured the water back and forth between the two of them. She got really great at her pouring skills and plans to host a few tea parties of her own in the near future.

Daddy got a real lobster dinner, but mom went for the shrimp.

Even Daddy wore a bib for this meal.

Fancy attire #1- The Out of Towners Welcome Party

July 30th, Caroline's birthday!

We woke up on the morning of Caroline's birthday and found out that our new baby cousin, a girl yet to be named, was born at 11:30 the night before. Just thirty minutes from having to share a birthday with my sister. Maybe Caroline was disappointed not to have a birthday buddy because she was a little... shall we say.... spirited?

We drove into town and we went to a bakery where I got to pick out my very own cupcake! Of course, I picked blueberry since they're so famous in Maine.

In reality, Caroline fell asleep in the stroller on the way to the bakery so we picked it for her and told her she picked it out... I can't believe that worked. It's probably the last time we can pull one over like that.

Caroline went home and blew out her candles. Since she liked it so much we did it over and over.

Taking our licks.

Fancy attire #2- The wedding and reception

Grandma and Grandpa watched us while Mom and Dad went to the wedding. We had a great time and a long bath!

Fancy attire #3- The Sunday Brunch

This time we were all invited. We got a lot of complements on our Maine-themed dress clothes. Caroline was a little tired and in no mood to socialize while I enjoyed being the biggest ham and showing off all my moves. I gave a head-tilt-to-the-side to every old lady I could see, a coy-smile-to-the-left to every young girl, and sometimes I'd even follow it up with a pointer-finger-on-the-corner-of-my-mouth.

I was pretty much made for Toddlers in Tiaras. If only it wasn't rigged.

Yeah, the only thing that didn't go over well was Jamie's double-pick-to-the-nose.

It's not my fault! I usually get a pretty big laugh with that one.

Home again home again...

Once we got home, it was business as usual. I got out of the car and recognized our garage immediately and practically jumped out of Mom's arms. I crawled straight to the playroom as fast as possible.

I got right to work on my two professions: Doctoring and Dancing.

For my third 3rd birthday we had a little get together with our regular playgroup. We went to the "Maker Museum" and had a fabulous time. Mom finally make that turquoise cake with a rainbow on it I'd been asking for all this time.

She also worked for weeks, one nap time at a time, on this turquoise dress with a rainbow on it.

Front View

And my favorite: Back View

I found this alligator at the museum and he followed me everywhere. We had a great time!

Another "Please sit still and I won't have to torture you for the perfect Christmas card photo later this year" moment. Still not the one.

My friend Langston and I were checking out the butterflies in the butterfly house. It's my favorite part of the museum.

Abby Nathlich, my brilliant friend, blog fan, and signing partner... please tell the world what I'm singing here! (If you've already seen Napoleon Dynamite, don't answer... this one's for Abby).

Okay, I know there are a lot of pictures of Caroline here at the museum, but she looked adorable and I'm her mom, so I'm going to show them off.

Especially the ones of her fanny... I mean really, how cute is that?

You can never have too many ruffles... it's a fact!