New England weddings

Claire spent half of her 15th month in New England.  We had two weddings to attend on back to back weekends.  Our college friend Ian got married on Father's day and my cousin Darryl got married the next weekend (June 23rd).

Jeff, Claire, and I flew up on Friday the 15th.  We got Little Miss Busy her own her seat so we could strap her into her car seat for the flight.  Absolutely the right decision.  It was a little rough because she didn't fall asleep for her nap until 3.  That was about 2 hours behind schedule and about 30 minutes before we landed. So she was cranky for much of the flight.  (We learned later that she just needs to be left alone to cry for a few minutes before passing out.  We kept trying to appease and entertain her.)

We stayed with our friends Sally and Nate for the weekend.  They made us a nice grilled meal and we went our for ice cream Friday night.  Saturday morning we went for a walk and then drove north to drop Claire off with my parents.  She wasn't allowed at the wedding on Sunday and my parents took her early so we could have a kid-free night with our friends.  (And so Grammi and Paaps could have more Claire time!)  And why were my parents there?  They flew up to Maine for the family wedding a week early so they could spend Father's day with their own dads.

Saturday evening Jeff and I got to head into Boston with friends from college.  We wandered around Quincy Market, the waterfront and the North End, just like college days.  I kept trying to pretend that I was back in college.  It didn't work!  I couldn't pretend away that whole little person in our lives even for a few minutes.  :)

We had an awesome time getting our pizza fix at Pizzeria Regina and finally finding a bakery without a huge line at Bova's.  Mmm, giant lobster tail!  (The delicious cream horn like pastry, not the crustacean).  We rounded out the night with some board game fun back at Sally and Nate's.

Downtown Boston

Night time at Quincy Market

The gang

The gang+ Nirali

Gluttonous pizza eating

Sunday we acted like lazy bums until it was time for Ian and Kristen's wedding.  A lovely affair in the Amesbury/Newburyport area.  It was great to see a bunch of our college friends again.  Kristin and Ian were an adorably happy couple!

Monday we headed up to Maine to spend time with my relatives. My grandfather got Jeff and I a special rate for a hotel room right on the beach that night.  So we had quiet evening to ourselves. Then Jeff had to head back on Tuesday for work.  The rest of us continued to eat, drink, and be merry!  We took Claire to the Wells and Ogunquit beaches.  She loved it (the first day at least).  We got ice cream a few times, which she also loved!

Lemme have some of that!

View from our hotel room!

Beach baby!

What's this wave stuff?

Oh, cold!

This is pretty fun!

Waiting to eat at Mike's Clam Shack

A little golf to pass the time

Friday we loaded up and headed to Rhode Island/Connecticut for the wedding.  The rehearsal dinner on Friday was an informal backyard BBQ.  Apparently it ended with couches being thrown on the bonfire.  Claire and I missed that excitement since we headed back to the hotel early for her bedtime.  I was able to snag one s'more before we left though!

The wedding on Saturday was at 2.  Which doesn't work with Claire's naptime from 1-3.  So we hung back at the hotel until after she got up.  From the pictures, it looks like we missed a beautiful ceremony.  At the reception, all Claire wanted to do was tear up the dance floor! She definitely stole her share of the spotlight. She also became infatuated with a boy in a hat and with the table cameras.

Let's get this party started!

Looking at a flower with Grammi

Me, my sister, and my dad

Fancy moves

Claire with me, my mom, and my grandfather Clair

Everyone except Claire, Grammi, and I left by Sunday.  The three of us headed back to Atlanta on Tuesday the 26th.  On Monday morning, my mom, aunt, and grandfather headed to northern Maine to visit my grandmother's grave and to see my great uncle.  Claire couldn't handle all that driving so instead we got to spend time with my friend Kate.  She and her husband Kyle are friends from college and live in Portland, ME.  Kate gave us a quick tour of their apartment, let us see the bunnies and kitties at the animal shelter she works at, and then showed us some of Portland.  We went to a playground right by the water and then had pizza on Congress street.  It was a very lovely morning.  And I didn't take a single darned picture! 

And of course, no Maine trip would be complete without going out to breakfast at least once.  So we squeezed that in on Tuesday morning on our way to the airport.  A great way to see everyone one last time.