Observer of the Storm

Sometimes the best thing to do when it rains is...

just sit and watch the rain.



Other times, it's apparently good to explore what's under the table.

Cape-d Crusader

Finally... My computer has been a little under the weather so I apologize for the lack of updates. While John enjoyed a weekend on Block Island (dubbed Father's Improvement Weekend this year but it managed to involve the same cast of characters who have shown up to Guy's Weekend in years past. Suspicious...), Molly and I went to the Cape and visited with Hannah and her family and my aunt, uncle and cousins. We had a good time at the beach, got in a lot of swimming, had tasty new foods, and were presented with some of the cutest shoes I have ever seen. It was great to see everyone and we both appreciate the hospitality and extra arms. I have to especially thank my cousin Keith -- I have never seen a 20 year old guy as good with babies as he is. He was the one who gave Molly her new Puma sneakers and gave a heroic effort, from what I've been told, to put her down to sleep while I enjoyed a night off. Really, though, thanks to both the Lowes and the Duds for all the good food and company!

Nothing like a good beach cover up and a chat after an afternoon of swimming and eating sand.

Does Playskool make a "my first beach chair"?

So, this one may take some explanation... My uncle and cousin had just seen Batman Returns a couple of times over the weekend and Brian wanted to get into the spirit by playing the Joker for Molly. I think it was well received... I think.

Keith took good care of Molly.

The Cape Atlantic was a lot warmer than the Maine Atlantic. Lots of swimming fun.

Funny Face

Molly and I just spent a couple of days in Maine but unfortunately I forgot my camera. I didn't get to snap a picture of her at the beach or, more importantly, eating her first weed (yes, by accident). She made this wacky sound and I looked over and she a had a huge flower in her mouth. The local garden store helped me ID it and it wasn't poisonous but it made for an adventurous morning. So, instead of fun Maine pictures, these are some from last week when she wanted to talk to and make funny faces at Harry the Very Stable Kitty.

Hike On

Molly, like most little ones I know, loves the water. She's happy in the bath, at the lake, in her backyard pool, in the ocean -- wherever the H2O is makes her happy. She got her first taste of a waterfall today when we hiked up to Bridalveil Falls in Franconia. She also got the first taste of her hiking backpack and was so happy to be up higher than the big people and to get a good look around at everything. Thanks to Uncle Eric and Auntie Mary for the pack. She and John had a lot of fun together. I need to come up with a way to use it that won't involve hair pulling from the rider (and for magic powers that make me less clumsy).

(By the way, despite what it looks like, we did not hike in the dark).

Pretty in Pink

Although nap time wasn't technically over this morning, someone (who shall remain nameless) had too much to say and do to sleep.



At least today is cooler and significantly more comfortable than the past several days. Yesterday was too hot for pants and definitely way too hot to let any obstacles stand in one's way.

We Like to Move It

Molly visited with much of her Doyle clan over the fourth of July and sends sincere thank yous to all that held (i.e. contained) and entertained her over the long weekend. She got to visit with her Aunt Holly for many days and showed her all the joys of being a six month old with an opinion.

Molly is trying to keep Holly in business by making sure a few U-Hauls roll over now and then.

Talking shop (or smack... Molly was trying to explain that the balance of power is shifting).

The -ollys.

The big reveal of the weekend -- commando crawling. Molly is still working on getting the arms and legs all moving at the same time but she can scoot pretty quickly when she wants to. This video is from Saturday and by today she had perfected her stuff even more. Yikes.

We also want to welcome some new friends. Krishan and Sonom welcomed baby girl Umaree and Katie and Davis welcomed Mr. Oliver this past week. Hopefully we'll have some pictures of the new ones soon (hint hint).

Little Miss Trouble Pants

Or in this case, Little Miss No Pants because she's hard to get into a diaper much less pants. Like many babies (apparently not Samuel, though. He is the world's best baby to change), she has decided that she is an acrobat. I hope it works out for her since I was pretty clumsy as a kid but maybe John's pretzel position practice is paying off for her.