1st Birthday! (Today!)

The first birthday is an occasion for many firsts, including my first opportunity to paint my face with chocolate icing. Thanks to all the well wishes and visitors today. The first year has been quite a ride and I look forward to many future adventures. Stay tuned.

Lobstah!

Weddings have dominated my first year of existence and it's been a complete joy. Sadly, I think Emily and Steve's wedding in York, Maine might be my last for the foreseeable future. I like to take advantage of these great weekends - check out the local fare, spend time rolling in the grass and cuddling with all my old and new friends. (That might be the 4th or 5th time I've mentioned cuddling in recent posts. There's a reason - I've become really cuddly.) Thanks to Bruce and Pam for letting me and the rents crash at their beautiful home.

He Gives His Gentle Bells a Shake

I'm a sleeper. My mattress is solid, I have great tunes to lull me to sleep (B. Marley and the Beatles) and I'm a cozy kid. I'm still learning my favorite position, but all involve having my eyes shut and my little cheeks looking cute (yes, both sets).

Rubber Ducky, You're the One

Baths feel spectacularly good. The water, the bubbles, the toys, my chub - all are great - but nothing, I mean nothing, feels better on my chompers than chewing on my washcloth.

Viva la France!

Bonjour! Je suis une traveler du monde! Je visite la France cette ete pour une marriage d'amour! Okay, I can't really speak french, but it's fun to try. Here are some picks from a long weekend I had in Normandy this past July (sorry for the delay). Dad and I took a redeye and landed in Paris on Thursday morning. We met up with mom who had spent the week celebrating our reason for being there - the marriage of Moira and John. It was quite a whirlwind, but we stayed in Balleroy with old and new friends, spent a day visiting the site of the Allies' D-Day invasion, including Omaha Beach, and generally had a time that by all accounts was superchouette! I was crying the last night because I wanted to celebrate dinner with mom and dad, so dad (being the best dude on the planet) decided to let me hang with everyone. Here's me in my birthday suit at a black tie dinner.

Some Final Shots

Finally, here are a few of my favorite memories. Thanks again to Matt and Susan (congratulations), Julie, Kendra and Matt, the Angst family, and all my new friends. Special thanks to rice cakes for keeping me occupied on those long trips, guide books for getting us there, and, of course, mom and dad for letting me drag them around the wild frontier.

A Clear Day in Denali

On our second day in Denali we went about thirty miles into the park (it's bigger than the state of Massachusetts) for a short hike. I looked around and found the highest mountain I could see and asked mom and dad to show me what the world looked like from the top of it. Pretty amazing. As I write this I am thinking seriously of returning.

Denali Hiking

This vacation was all about being outside. I am a heavy beast and like to hike with mom and dad.

Talkeetna

After a night in Anchorage we headed north to Denali National Park. Alaska really is just a wild place. Everywhere I went I saw something new and different. We stopped in Talkeetna, the staging ground for climbers on their way to the summit. I am planning my own summit in 2038. Do you wanna come?

Seward

On the way north from Homer we stopped in Seward to take a quick boat cruise around the Kenai Fjords. I was able to see porpoises, sea lions, puffins, gulls, glaciers, and, yes, fish galore. There always seemed to be a fishing contest going on no matter where we went. There was actually a marked fish in the water that was worth $50,000 to the lucky bugger who caught it. That's a lot of clams.