July

July was SO busy!!

Finley spent the first week of July with Mimi & Grampa - in Vermont at first, then in Westboro for the family 4th of July party. By all reports, he was a good and busy little boy, who seemed not to miss poor ol' mum and dad too much (or at all!)... Meanwhile, Charlotte joined mum & dad on a trip to Washington state for the wedding of our dear friends from Walla Walla. We also sneaked in a short visit with Uncle Jason, Aunt Sharon, and cousin Chris while we were out there. Charlotte had a challenging time of it on our longest flight - from Dulles to Seattle, but she managed to not completely lose it! The flight was upsetting and/or distracting to her to the point that she refused to nurse for the entire 6 hour flight... resulting in an even more upset, hungry, and tired little baby. At one point, I decided we couldn't wait any longer for a diaper change and asked a flight attendant how to handle it, since there weren't any changing tables in the plane restrooms. She suggested the lovely idea of laying Charlotte out on the bathroom floor (uck!) or right in front of the attendant's seats by the bathroom door. She offered to draw the curtain for some privacy and help me get set up. The very second I got Charlotte's (quite messy) diaper off, we encountered turbulence and were directed back to seats immediately. Charlotte actually bounced off the plane floor at this point, and the friendly flight attendant said we had to move right then so she could sit down and we could get back to our seats. Poor baby ended up having her diaper changed as we walked back down the aisle toward seats - ugh!

In Seattle, Jason picked us up and brought us to their home in Puyallup, where Charlotte managed a few smiles! The next day she accompanied us on a nice hike in Mount Rainier National Park, mostly sleeping the whole time!

Later, it was off to Walla Walla, where Charlotte got to see all our favorite sites and meet some lovely friends. She enjoyed the beautiful wedding thoroughly and slept through the reception! The weekend tired her out so much that the flight home was a different story - she slept from Seattle to Maine, and right through a layover in Chicago! What a sweetie!!!

Upon return, we welcomed Auntie Jess, Uncle Nick, and cousin Darwin to our home. Unfortunately, they were visiting during the most hot and humid days of the summer, and it was not super comfortable to be hanging out or hiking, but we did just that! We hiked into our favorite beach and the kids all enjoyed the sand (Finley) and the water (Charlotte & Darwin). Finley really loved having his cousin around to play with, and keeps talking about him, weeks later, as though he lives with us - calling things around our house "Darwin's chair," "Darwin's crib," etc... It was a great visit that went by all too quickly!

I'm going to have to break here to consult my calendar to see what we did for the rest of the month (it's all a blur...), but here are a few shots from early July.