5,4,3,2,1

This week has been full of little milestones for this family.

On Monday Axel turned FIVE months old. 
 We celebrated with a trip to the beach followed by a stop at Johnson's Dairy Bar for dinner (which was really for the rest of us) and ice cream (which we did share with Axel to his great delight!). 

 He is a happy smiley guy!  He loves to smile at people...it is so fun to walk into a room and see that little face light up with a goofy little smile!  He still really loves his sister and tolerates (and perhaps even enjoys) her unending attempts to get him to smile/look at her.

On Thursday Ben and I celebrated FOUR years of wedded bliss.  It has been a busy but pretty great 4 years.  We were able to celebrate with a picnic in the park on Wed.

 

Just the three of us :)

 

And then Ben made dinner on our anniversary...Shrimp Fra Diavolo...delicious!!!! And brought me this lovely boquet!

  This cutie had a great week.

She spent THREE days at Grandma & Grandpa "Camp" with her girl cousins and Grandma & Grandpa "Bengskin".  And boy did they pack in the activities...swimming, crafting, 3 girls "sleeping" in the same room, and even a trip into Boston to ride the swan boats and visit the "ducks".  I can't wait to see all the pictures....but it has been fun trying to figure out what happened according to what Tobi has been recalling. We got some picture updates of these THREE girls having a great time:

It sure seemed strangely quiet not having Tobi here and we missed her lots, but it was so great that she got to spend such a special time with her cousins and grandparents.  (I do have to admit it was a nice little break to have just one child to look after for a couple days...but the level of entertainment was lacking significantly!)

Do you see what TWO stands for? 

 

 Here's a closer look!

Yup...tooth number two is officially in!  The only time we can get a good look is when he is crying...so I had to snap a couple of shots while he was a little upset.  (Hmmm, nice huh?)

And for the last milestone we now have ONE more eater in our house.  Axel had his first "meal" from a spoon.  Rice cereal...mmm, mmm, mmm!

I'm not sure if it really counts since he mostly sucked it off the spoon like he was sucking on a bottle...but let's just say I could not get the spoon to his mouth fast enough!!!!

4th by the sea

So we didn't make it up to the island in time for the 4th festivities (parade, fireworks, etc.) since they celebrated on the 2nd and we arrived on the 3rd, but we had a lot of fun with family and a spectacular view!

swimming-

 viewing-

 bbqing-

 cousins-

 coastline-

 kissing-

 laying-

There was a dance at the community center.  Tobi was so tired since she had no nap that day and it had been a very full day already...but she was so sure she wanted to go to the dance.  She got there and sat in a chair watching for about 20 minutes...I was sure she would fall asleep.  But suddenly she decided she wanted to dance...

 She danced with serious determination...and she couldn't be stopped!

We were all so busy watching Tobi's dancing that we didn't even notice when Kirstie Ally came in... (she has a a house on the island and shows up to things like this from time to time).  Of course we found out the next day that Jon and Shay had danced with her, but they had no clue who she even was.  Ben saw her as we were on the way out...I was oblivious...so I went back in to catch a glimpse.  I think she is even thinner than she was at the end of dancing with the stars.  We were thinking if we had stayed just a bit longer it would have been a great photo op of her and Tobi dancing together.   But it may be just as well, since Tobi had no interest in anyone dancing "with" her...I think she was afraid her style would be cramped.  That would have been a photo op of a whole different kind!  Maybe it's better we took the over tired toddler home when we did :)

The rest of our time there was filled with more fun...

hikes-

ice cream-

kayaks-

naps-

 

 seafood-

And then it was time to head back home...

Bye Islesboro...see you again soon!

When Daddy's away....the kids still play!

 Ben has been out in Wyoming this week shooting at prairie dogs.  Yes, prairie dogs.  I was going to post a picture here of a prairie dog, but they were just too cute.  Ben likes to say they are rodents and carry diseases and destroy ranches...so I'll skip the picture and think of them as giant rats.
Anyway, while Ben has been using rodents for target practice we have been enjoying a bit of summer.  This is a long time for Ben to be away so we escaped to the south...Massachusetts that is.  
It was a great week with my parents and made Ben being gone a little less lonely.

Monday we went to the beach...and it was a perfect beach day.

My dad took this picture of Tobi...and this is just how I feel about the beach!

Tuesday we went to Parlee farms to pick strawberries...but by the time we got there they had closed the fields for the day.  So instead we visited the animals, got some ice cream and bought some already picked strawberries.  (Truth be told that was probably better than chasing a tired toddler through the fields anyway.)

Thursday we made a trip to the state forest behind my parents home and discovered this great splash park.

Gardening, taking walks, coloring, reading books, playing Polly Pockets, eating outside, painting, doing puzzles...these are just a few of the things we've been doing over the past few days.

Tobi fell asleep in her car seat less than 2 minutes after we left...and we all may sleep well into next week!  We missed Ben so much...so glad he is coming home a day early (RIP little prairie dogs).  Thanks so much to Grandma & Grandpa for helping the week go by so quickly!

4 months of Axel Baby

 Hey!  This guy is four months old now.

 

He is one social guy.  A little flirt...he'll smile, coo and laugh at most people.  We spend a lot of our days trying to get the baby belly giggle out of him.  I think Tobi might be the best at it.  He really seems to think she is pretty great (blissfully unaware that he has had more near accidental injuries at her hands than I can even count.) 

Now that he's gained some serious head and neck control there are all kinds of new things to try out.  He loves to "play" with the baby toys while laying on his stomach.  Unlike his sister at this age he LOVES to be on his belly.  I think he might be quick to learn to crawl.  He is really eager to move and he does, but mostly in a circle.  He is rolling over like crazy.  He hardly will stay on his back...which makes changing diapers a challenge.  The exersaucer made its way down from the attic and so far it seems like a hit as long as he is not too tired.
We also got the Bumbo seat (or as Tobi calls it the "Bumbaloo chair") out.  He really likes sitting up like a big shot!

 

 But his favorite things to play with are still his hands. 

 

His 4 month well baby check up was today and he's looking good.  Long and lean the doctor said -16 lbs 4 oz (50%) & 26 1/2 inches (90%).  He might be lean but he's got plenty of chub in all the right places.  Definitely squeezable, kissable and almost edible! 

Axel meets the Ocean

 Today we were running barefoot at the beach.

 This is Axel's first time to touch ocean water. 

 He was relatively indifferent...even though the water was quite chilly.

This girl is no stranger to the ocean.  I think she was about 2 weeks old the first time we took her to the beach.  She was born in July so she didn't have much of a choice. 

Even so, she didn't think she wanted to go to the ocean today (she thought we were going to the lake beach) until she got there and remembered what it was....then she never wanted to leave.

I kind of felt the same way...

 but eventually even beach days must end and we had to say "peace out" to the beach....

I'd say it was a very good day...