Maine Trip Part I

A trip to Maine just isn't complete without lobster
After finishing up work in NYC, it was finally to Maine on Sunday for the real fun - my Maine vacation.

Unfortunately, I was the victim of a false start.

My flight was canceled due to storms and so I didn't actually make it to Maine until Monday, after spending a night at my friend Jet's place who lives in Astoria, Queens.

The delay was unfortunate in that I missed quality time with literally all the McLeans (Roz, Martha, Ray, Sylvia, Brad, SAM, Margaret, Jack and Carol were all there). Luckily enough, however, I got in on one of the last two seats available on the 9 AM flight from JFK to Portland where Jeff, Margaret's Godfather and my best friend arrived just in time to get us to Five Islands for lobster lunch with the family.

"What's in this bag? The ribbon is fun!"
Jack and Carol had to leave right after lunch, which was sad. However, Margaret wasn't, because this new person in her life, Uncle Jeff, had brought with him some presents.

There were books, stuffed animals, puppets, ribbon, wonderfully crinkly wrapping paper, everything a baby could want!

"Should I let him bribe me for love?"
Margaret, true to form, took right to her new Godfather, and snuggled right in for storytime.

The two, and the rest of us, would get along famously for the next few days.

"Yeah, why not."
Jeff was there from Monday through Thursday and part and party to the full-on McLean family MacMahan experience.

He took full ownership of his experience, pitching in the cooking and cleaning and fun. Not only did he make lots of yummy breakfast foods, but he led the charge on kayaking (during which he capsized), boardgames, barbecuing and more.

It was truly great for me to get to share this experience, which is so close to my heart, with him.

Splashing (and eating rocks) in tidepools with Aunty Sylvia
On top of the vacation, there was, of course, the baptism, which we did on Wednesday, right on the island, in St. Cuthbert's, the MacMahan chapel.

The ceremony was simple and Roger, the pastor, was wonderfully gentle and tolerant of Margaret's squawking and crawling on the floor during it.

The baptism was done with sea water that Jeff brought from off the rocks in front of the house, and Jeff officially became Margaret's Godfather, something which was extremely meaningful to me, and I hope Margaret in the years to come.

Clue (which Jeff won)
The days with Jeff on the island seemed to pass like a blur, and before we knew it, it was time for him to leave.

It has been years since I've spent any considerable time with Jeff, and so I really treasured our time together, and him making the effort to come out and spend a few days with us and meet the McLean side of my family.

S'more S'mores at night
During the time that Jeff was there, Margaret showed off a large number of her new developments that were new to many of us (including me).

She can now gleefully clap her hands together when instructed to do so with the magic phrase (in Chinese), "Pai Pai Shou."

Whenever she saw Lily or Stanley, she would reliably say "Ga," which we (perhaps wrongly) take to be her trying to vocalize "Gou" which means dog in Chinese.

On top of that, her second upper tooth is starting to come in (as evidenced by a white spot and constant fussiness).

She's just growing so fast!

M in her party dress, showing off her ability to clap
She's so long now in the bed, and moves with confidence and purpose.

She seems to think about what she's going to do next (as evidenced by her pausing and tapping her foot between switching activities) and then gets upset if thwarted.

I'm not sure what's next, but I can't wait for it.

After the baptism at St. Cuthbert's
As I said, Thursday came all too soon, and before we knew it, Jeff was on his way back to New Hampshire and so with the return of our last guest for a few days, we were able to focus on a few other tasks for the second half of our MacMahan vacation.

Projects.

That will have to wait for the next post, though.

Until then, enjoy the photos!

A moment in the woods with Mimi

Hard at training

Fun with Aunt Martha

One final pic with the Godfather before he's off