Happy Birthday to Me and some other stuff

Mattimeo's seventh month of existence so far has been jammed pack with activity. For the past two weeks we have been out of the house almost everyday. As a reminder, we share one car and Robbie's work is an hour away, so when I have to use the car to do something we have to stay in the Portland area all day. Needless to say, Mattimeo and I are pretty exhausted! We slept in today until 9:30, and now he is snoozing on his little bed enjoying a morning nap as we listen to "Bedtime Bach: Classical lullabies". Now I am not going to go into detail about all the activities we have been doing, but I will share some highlights. First, here are some random pictures from the last couple weeks.

Daddy and Meo (7 months)

Mommy and Meo (7 months)

Daddy and Mattimeo

Meo fell asleep in Robbie's arms

Cute feet!

Laughing with Daddy

Pi

Theta

Babysitting Henry

Last Monday I babysat my friend Kasia's little boy, Henry (9.5 months) for the first time. It was only for an hour or so, but I was nervous. What if they both start crying at the same time? How will I hold them both? What if they both want to go to sleep at the same time? All my worries ended up being silly however. I put Meo on my back in my ErgoBaby carrier before Kasia left because I knew Meo would bet tired and I hoped he would just take a nap on my back. I spent the first twenty minutes reading them poetry while Henry played with his toys on the ground, then playing the drum and making up silly songs for them. Then Henry started rubbing his eyes. I was worried I wouldn't be able to get him to sleep, because like Meo, he usually nurses to sleep. So at first I tried just laying him in his bed and singing to him. He didn't like that. So I picked him up and laid him in my arms and bounced on the ball. He wanted to nurse, but bounce helped distract him from nursing and eventually he found a strap on my ErgoBaby Carrier to suck on. When he was really relaxed and almost asleep, I stood up and walked him around the room singing to him. I felt really strong carrying 2 twenty pound babies around for 10 minutes. But it was worth it. Once he was deeply sleeping, I laid Henry down in his bed and turn his sleep sheep on for some background noise (Meo was getting chatty on my back and I didn't want him to wake Henry up) and tiptoed out the room. Then I took Meo out of the carrier and nursed him to sleep on the couch. They both were sleeping when Kasia and David came home and I felt like a superhero. Really, it wasn't a very big deal, but I felt accomplished that I got both of them to sleep without any crying. After the boys woke up, Kasia and I spent a lovely afternoon walking around the Old Port and exploring shops.

Henry snoozing

Henry peeking from inside his ErgoBaby on Kasia's back

Hanging out with Mema

Meo and I were able to spend a fair amount of time with Mema last week. On Thursday she picked us up and we headed to Falmouth. We picked up some lunch at the Stonyfield Cafe to take with us on a picnic. Wow, the food there is amazing! I had never been there before, but I will make a point of going more often. I had a stir fry with organic quinoa, snap peas, carrots, broccoli, tofu and spicy peanut sauce: yum! We enjoyed our lunch at Gilsland Farm where we were able to put Meo down on a towel for the first time since the snow has started to melt. He sampled the grass, made an icky face, then proceeded to pick grass and throw it over his shoulder. Mom and I spent much of our time their running away from a persistent honey bee. After lunch, we went to mommy and me yoga which led to a very tire Meo. By the end of class he was sleeping in my arms, poor guy.

Picking grass

Friday we went to Mema's house and took a walk to the Dyer Library for story time. Unfortunately I got mixed up about the time so we showed up ten minutes before the session ended. We got to hear one story at least.

Visiting Mema

Dinner with my brother and sister-in-law

Friday night Robbie, Meo and I went to my brother's house to have dinner. Nicole made a delightful vegetable stir fry with salad for an appetizer and green grapes (my favorite) for desert. Our nephew, Bryce, was super cute as usual. This was one of the first times that Bryce and Mattimeo really started to interact. Bryce followed Meo and I around and showed us how to use his toys. It was really fun, and fantastic to see Brian and Nicole. Thanks guys!

Bryce and Meo playing

Holding hands

Itsy Bitsy Yoga

Some babies having social tummy time at Itsy Bitsy Yoga this week

Lunch with friends

Saturday after yoga, Robbie and I had lunch with our friend Rob at Market Street Eats, then met up with our friend Gib for some coffee from Bard's and chit-chat in Tommy Square. We don't get to see our friends as much as we used to and it was really nice to catch up with them.

Meo and I at Market Street Eats

Robbie whistling on the way home

Board Game Sunday

Before I was pregnant, Robbie and I would go to board game Sunday a lot at Crossroad Games in Standish. This is an afternoon where you get to play all sorts of awesome board games. You have the opportunity to bring your own games and teach them to people for points towards game discounts. We hadn't been in over a year, so we decided to meet up with our friend Rob there for a couple of games. Meo did really well. He sat on the ground on a blanket playing with his toys for a while, then took a nap in the ErgoBaby on Daddy's back. It was fun to be back there again.

Snoozing on Daddy's back

Playing board games at Crossroad Games

My Birthday!

My dear friend Kasia asked to hang out with me on my birthday, for which I was delighted. I always get a great deal of anxiety around my birthday; I always worry that my friends won't wish me happy birthday or ask to see me and that I will feel lonely and like a loser. Thankfully, I didn't have any of that anxiety this year. After dropping Robbie off to work, I headed over to Kasia's house and picked up her and Henry. We had never put both babies in the same car and it was cute to see them both out back in their carseats. We went to Wofle's Neck Farm in Freeport where I used to work as a Environmental Educator and Volunteer Coordinator before I decided to become a dog walker. We began by visiting all the farm animals, which the boys enjoyed. Meo loved patting the sheep. They came right up to us and I stroked their necks as Meo rubbed the tops of their noses. At one point, he grabbed one of the ewe's dreads and yanked it off. She did not appreciate that and quickly backed away. We were really lucky because a couple of the ewe's had already given birth to some lambs. Kasia had never seen a lamb before so that was really cool for her to see. They were adorable. I loved to watch the lambs nursing. Now that I am a nursing mother, seeing the lambs nurse was just even more beautiful to me. I feel like I could connect with my fellow mammals on an even deeper level and in a way it was magical. Thanks for the birthday gift mother nature!

Meo and I patting an ewe

Meo and the ewe

Pattign sheep

Mommy and her 1 year old  and newborn babes

Sheep

Henry and Kasia checking out the sheep

Kasia and Henry

Little lamb

Nursing

Meo and I looking at the cows

Kasia and Henry with the chickens

Kasia and Henry looking at the goats

Goats

After visiting the animals, we took a hike through the woods. It was a gorgeous day, but it was also muddy and the trails were heavily eroded from the thaw. I really enjoyed our walk though, its always interesting to see the little changes on the trails after the forest begins to wake up after another Maine winter.

For lunch, Kasia treated me to some yummy broccoli and cheese quiche and a fruit cup. We ate at this really cute restaraunt that I can't remember the name of, but it was perfect for the boys. We had a nice, roomy table and put Meo and Henry in high chairs so they could munch on some carrot sticks and fruit for lunch. They also had a little play area with a slide for kids to play on. Kasia guided Henry down the slide and he LOVED it. He couldn't stop laughing! I had never seen him laugh so long; so cute. After lunch, we wandered around some of the outlets for a bit before heading back home. Thanks for a great birthday Kasia, it really meant a lot to me!

Henry enjoying a carrot stick (9.5 months old)

Meo enjoying a carrot stick (7 months old)

Henry and Meo

Henry and Kasia

Meo playing

Shopping

Shopping

For dinner, Robbie took me, Meo and his Mom and Dad out for dinner at the Macaroni Grill. I had my usual dish of cappelini pasta with spinach, asparagus, broccolli and goat cheese with a garlic cream sauce; so delicious! I also enjoyed some mac and cheese bites for an appetizer and a peach bellini for a treat. The table clothes there are covered in paper so that you can draw on them with crayon. Mattimeo thought that was the best thing ever. The quarter of table surrounding him had no more paper by the time he was done with it. He loved ripping huge chunks of paper off and then chewing on them. Much of dinner was spent pulling paper out of his mouth. But he was a really good boy, and it was super cute to watch. Meo had broccollini for dinner. Robbie's parents gave me some nice gifts, for which I am very appreciative. Thank you!

Eating paper

When we got home, I enjoyed some complimentary cannoli while Robbie and Meo read Dr. Suess's Happy Birthday to You to me. I had such a wonderful birthday! Thank you all for the warm birthday wishes and cards, it was a wonderful way to welcome in year 27.

Eating cannoli with my foot

Robbie and Meo reading to me

Nursing Meo to sleep on my birthday