My goodness, how things change! I have heard people comment about this before, but you don’t appreciate it as much until it happens to you…. Hayden has started crawling, and we have entered a whole other world! He has to be watched constantly! Gone are the days where he could be set down next to me on the floor, happily playing with the toys or books within reach while I split my attention between him and the laptop. He has figured out which things we do not want him to touch, and once he’s on the floor he heads straight for them! The stereo is always the first thing he goes to, followed by the fireplace. He also gets frustrated so easily now! He wants to go where he wants to go, and if you try to redirect him or get in his way he does not take kindly to it. However, he is very easily entertained when he is crawling around – you can just tell he feels he has an entire new, exciting world opened up to him. But of course he moves so fast that I feel like I can’t do anything apart from watch him. Even when I can see him he is still up to mischief – like yesterday I was putting on my makeup and could see him in the mirror. He was pinging this door stopper thing on the wall, and suddenly something seemed weird. I got down next to him and saw that he had worked off the end of the door stopper and put it in his mouth! And that was when he was within site!!
The Maine Event June 24, 2008
So I celebrated the big 3-0 this month! John planned a surprise trip for us to the coast of Maine! I knew we were going somewhere for a week but he wouldn’t tell me where. Hayden went too and we all had a fab time. We stayed in three different towns – Portland, Boothbay Harbor, and Ogonquit. They were all really cool but different from each other. The highlight of the trip was our 4 hour whale watching cruise. We saw minke, 
finback, and humpback whales. We saw the minkes first. They are quite shy apparently and we really only saw them from a distance. The finbacks were amazing though. We saw several of them, and there was a calf who circled our boat very closely two different times. According to our guide, that was a once-in-a-lifetime sighting because the calf was very young and also the whales never come so close to the boat. He wanted to check us out! It was hard to believe that he was a baby because he was so darn big! I guess they are born 20 feet long. I couldn’t believe his mother had let him get so close to the boat. She was off a ways away (I would have thought she would try to get in between the calf and the boat). She called to him and he went running. The guide pointed out this circular mark that was left on the water for quite a while that was caused by the whale using his tail to speed off toward her. They call it the whale footprint. And in no time he was back with her! At the end of the cruise we saw a humpback. We were really spoiled by the finbacks since we got to see so many of them and get such a good look at them. We didn’t get as good of a view of the humpback. I was able to make out its giant fins below the water though – amazing!
Since we went on safari in 2005, the ‘next thing’ I have been dying to do was see whales. So I was very excited to have not only realized that dream but to have happened upon such a great day to see them!
Other than the whale watching, we spent our time eating lots of seafood – lots and lots of lobster – going to beaches, seeing various lighthouses, 
and walking around. Hayden was really good and pretty flexible really. We tried to give him opportunities for napping and made sure to be in the room at a reasonable time so he could try to get a decent night’s sleep. He did NOT want to eat, though! I guess I should be flattered since he eats my cooking so easily. He was on the jarred baby food, and it was a constant battle to get him to eat any of it. We found ways here and there that would work for a little while, like mixing the food with mashed banana (which in the past he has not been overly keen on, but saved many meal times on our trip!), and when that stopped working we could put a little food on top of a banana still sitting in its peel and he would eat that (he seemed to like the novelty of eating the banana like a big boy, and that soon wore off too and this stopped working). We also had some success mixing the food with baby cereal. The minute we got home though he was back to his usual rock-star self with regards to eating. Go Mommy’s food! 🙂
I could go on and on about Maine, but we haven’t posted in so long and Hayden is doing so many new things I want to write about that I will just mention this last thing – the final B&B we stayed in, in Ogonquit – The Gazebo Inn. John had really splashed out for that one, and the place was an old converted barn from the 1800s that had been gutted completely down to only the original wooden support beams. Our room was GORGEOUS (the whole B&B was beautiful). It had a kitchenette, the most comfortable bed ever, remote controlled blinds and air conditioner, satellite radio at the touch of a button on a wall switch, a steam room in the shower, 4 side jets in the shower, a two-person jacquzzi, flat screen hi-def TV, and a fire place you could view from the jacuzzi or sitting area. And that was just in our room. There were also amazing anemities in the common areas, like a beautiful bar stocked with wine, spirits, soft drinks, with indoor glasses and pool glasses. Heated outdoor pool, an indoor hottub and outdoor hottub, huge lounge area with a massive TV (that we never saw anyone use!), computers, etc etc. And the breakfast was fantastic as well. I was completely spoiled rotten! And since I really only turned 29 and not 30, I guess I should expect more of the same next year! 😛
Hayden and Layla's Place 