Stormy Skies, No Rain

Mike and I saw some great clouds last night. The sky looked so stormy and odd, but it never rained in our area.

I've only seen clouds like this (mammatus clouds) once before, in Milwaukee a night or two before Jim and Monnie's wedding.

And speaking of weddings, yesterday was our anniversary. Seven years!

The Summer

We have been enjoying the summer. Art Fair on the Square, Concerts on the Square, Farmer's Market, buying a house, and relaxing on the balcony. It is good.

This weekend Claire is camping with my parents. She was so so excited to go, and I've heard she's having a blast (and a rumor that she has her first loose tooth). Its given me some nice one-on -one time with Milena, and that has been wonderful. Today the two of us hit the Farmer's Market, had lunch with Aunt Shelagh, Aunt Kate, Kieran and Granny at Jim and Teresa's, and then we headed home so we both could take a nap. Its been a good day!

Day One.

Today is Mike's first day as a not-in-training doctor. Finishing up residency gets quite a bit of attention, with the graduation ceremony and send-offs and such. There isn't any fanfare today, but its a big day nonetheless.

Its like the first day of school. I kind of want a picture of him in his scrubs with a stethoscope around his neck standing by the front door.

At Jim and Monnie's

Wisconsin Residents Again

Its been a busy few weeks, but its starting to slow down again.

We rented our Maine house, and then we packed up our stuff.

Teresa, Claire, Milena and I hopped on a plane and flew to WI in about six hours (despite my worrying, Milena did awesome on the flights). Mike and Jim hopped in the car and made the trip in three days. After a few days staying with Jim and Teresa, our stuff arrived and we moved into an apartment, which has turned out really well. There has been a lot of house hunting going on and a LOT of last minute snags and paperwork to clean up for Mike before he starts in a few days. Not to mention all the other little things address/phone changes bring about. But like I said, its slowing down.

Last night Claire got to have a sleepover at Jim and Teresa's. Mike, Milena and I went downtown. It has been quite a while since I've been downtown, so I was happy to take pictures like a tourist. And it was such a beautiful night.

Yes, Milena actually was this happy the entire night.

This morning the wash machine broke and flooded a large portion of the apartment. I only realized it when I walked by the laundry room and the carpet had puddles under it. But someone is here fixing it now. There are definitely benefits to renting!

Packing up.

Claire has been helping me pack by decorating the inside of the boxes.

She wants to pack her stuff in this one. I'm sure she'll be playing in this same box on the other end of the move.

Graduation

Three years ago, Mike, Claire and I went to the residency graduation. We sat in a huge room full of strangers and watched a handful of people we didn't know receive their diplomas. This past Friday, Mike, Claire, Milena and I sat in the same huge room filled with familiar faces as Mike and some of our best friends accepted their diplomas. Amazing what three years can do.

It was so nice to have Jim, Monnie and Henry here for the big event. Its been a while since we've had visitors who wanted to see Maine. It was fun making the rounds one last time.

But now its back to business. You can make a lot of friends in three years, and you can also accumulate quite a pile of stuff.

My View

It wasn't that long ago.

'"Mom, do you remember a long time ago Milena's room used to be Dad's office?"

At the Park

In light of having only 18 more days left of living in Maine, I've been trying to take pictures of regular, day-to-day events. I've been bringing my camera along for things I usually wouldn't bother to take pictures of, like picking up Claire from school and stopping at the playground for a few minutes. After all, this is what I'm going to remember when I think about Claire's first year at school.

Happy Birthday, Mike!

Enjoy your jetpack.

The Beach

Milena's first visit.

So many new things to look at, hear, feel and smell. She'll be joining Claire in no time.

Jump!

On our way home from school Claire tries to jump up to reach the leaves.

The Last Day of May

The past several days have been rainy, which combined with being down a car means that I've been spending my fair share of days inside the house. I'm sure its great for the flowers, however. I love the irises we have along our garage.

This afternoon the clouds broke and we couldn't get out the door for a walk fast enough. Lately Claire and I have been playing the 'Alphabet' game on our walk. Weeks ago, when my parents were in town, we started with thinking of something, anything , that starts with each letter.

We've advanced a few levels since then, and now and we have categories. Tonight I had animals and Claire had geography, which we quickly expanded to 'ANY place you can go', meaning Dairy Queen was fair game. We always try to finish before we get home, and since we tend to take longer walks, thats never a problem. With the extra time we play 'I'm Thinking of Something', which is something that Claire could still use a little practice with, specifically her line of questioning:

Is it a person? No.

Is it a thing? Nope.

Is it a place? Yes!

Can you pick it up? No.

Can I go there? Yes.

Does it start with a G? No.

With a bit of help and hard thinking, she always figures it out.

After, we went inside and had a dance party, which we all enjoyed. Milena has been smiling much more often now. I used to have to work hard to get a smile, but now her face lights up

with just the sight of one of us. And if we happen to be dancing, thats a bonus.

Smile!

Robinsin Woods

Robinson Woods in Cape Elizabeth has a beautiful series of trails . Its an easy walk with a lot of bridges over gurgling streams and small waterfalls.

The perfect hike for a 5 year old who recently started a "Nature Club".

Comparing Photos at One Month

I really liked the side by side Claire/Milena pictures at five days old, so here are two more. Both were taken right around one month old and right after a bath. First Claire, then Milena, if it wasn't obvious.

Also, Monnie sent some super cute leg warmers for Milena (as well as a box of goodies from her ArtFire store. Thanks Monnie!). Claire found them and figured they'd be perfect on her arms, especially when she's dressed up as 'Gymnastics Girl'. Turns out she can jump quite a bit higher with leg warmers on her arms. Who knew?

Growing

So Milena is putting on some weight and being much more alert lately. I was even able to get a real smile out of her today (the first I've seen), not a half asleep reflex smile. She likes to make noises, she likes to lay around naked, and she likes to sleep. Who doesn't, right?

Tonight I was on my own with Claire and Milena. Its not the first time, but it is rare enough that it deserves mention. Mike has been able to be home a ton, especially during higher stress times (such as Getting Claire Ready For School Time and Bed Time), and it has been awesome to be able to divide the responsibilities. Still, tonight was great just the girls. We had some popcorn and watched Wall-E, during which Claire very sucessfully held Milena for quite a while. It doesn't always go so well. Usually Milena starts squawking and Claire insists "I don't mind! Really, I don't!" She is very sweet about it.

Claire is in bed now, and Milena and I are soon to follow. I'm hoping for a repeat tomorrow night.

Kite Flying and Baby Pictures

We have been having the most unbelievable weather, so we've been spending a good amount of time outside. Earlier this week we went to the Bug Light to fly a kite. We weren't exactly in the same league as the others with our $4.99 hardware store kite, but we didn't let it stop us. Claire loved it. Milena slept.

She sleeps a lot. But when she's awake she's pretty good natured, and she looks like this:

Or if Claire is around, she looks more like this:

5 Years Between

Here is Claire at 5 days old...

And Milena yesterday, at 5 days old...

Definitely some resemblances going on there.