With morning sickness being less of a factor during the last two weeks, August has shaped up to be a great month for us. Reagan started ballet and swim lessons at the YMCA this month and is really enjoying herself. Mike has been fortunate to have a couple of Saturdays off which we have taken advantage of and gotten out to enjoy the beautiful New England summer.
The first Saturday, we drove up to Hampton Falls, NH to the orchard where we went apple-picking last Fall. It is the end of blueberry season up here and we picked a giant basket full of blueberries. The bushes were full of plump, juicy, beautiful blueberries. Reagan and Caleb both ate their share of them while at the orchard. It was a beautiful, cool day and we all really enjoyed being out on the farm that day.
Our NT Scan which was scheduled for Friday, the 11th, went very well. We all got to go together to see the baby, who was mostly sleeping from what we could tell. This baby seems to be very laid back like Caleb was. Toward the end of the scan, the baby kicked a few times but that was about it. The doctor said that all of the measurements looked normal and Baby was measuring about 4-5 days ahead. The ultrasound tech even let Reagan use the wand to find and see the baby and press the button to take a picture of her very own. I got the results from our scan back yesterday and all was negative for Down's Syndrome and Trisomy 18. Here is our favorite picture from the scan which was taken at 11 weeks 2 days.
This past Saturday, after Reagan's ballet lessons, we piled into the car and set off for Maine! We took the coastal route from Massachusetts and drove up the coast of New Hampshire and crossed the NH/ME border on Rt. 1 in historic Portsmouth, NH. It was really beautiful! Portsmouth is a classic New England fishing town with towering church steeples marking the humble skyline.
The moment you cross the Piscataqua River Bridge into Kittery, ME there are giant lobster-shaped signs everywhere you look and seafood restaurants on every corner advertising the best lobster rolls in New England. It was about 5-10 degrees cooler in Maine than it was when we left home in Massachusetts and the smell of cedar and the sea was abundant. Cruising along in the beach-goers traffic with all of the windows rolled down and the sunroof open was a little slice of heaven.
About a half-hour into Maine, we arrived at York Beach and made the turn up a crowded coastal road to Nubble Light. It was beautiful! The lighthouse, itself, is on a private island surrounded by rocky New England coast and the Atlantic Ocean. Reagan enjoyed watching the artists with their canvas, easels, and paintbrushes and jumping from rock to rock while Caleb seemed fascinated by the waves and the seagulls. I think I could have found a quiet rock facing the waves and spent the entire afternoon in peace.
We heard rumors of a famous ice cream joint while at Nubble Light, so after spending about an hour at the lighthouse, we got back in the car and went in search of Cape Neddick's famous ice cream. It didn't take long to find it as there was quite a crowd! And it really was as good as we had heard. We explored the coast for a while longer before heading home, made a few discoveries (such as Perkins Cove, which looks like the perfect place to go on vacation), and decided we would definitely go back for a longer trip and go further north up to Acadia National Park. I already can't wait for our next road trip! Leaf-peeping season is creeping up and I can't wait to drive up into Vermont to see the beautiful maples!
Our next prenatal appointment is a week from today, which is also the first day of the second trimester! Hooray for milestones! I will have updates then and hopefully some more adventures to brag about. :)
