Mainely... we have been celebrating Birthdays!

You will have to forgive me, I am feeling a little shell shocked and fragile after the last few days. Coco and I have just returned home (Newport home) after a fantastic trip up to Maine for Coco's 1st Birthday. It was the most perfect few days. The hotel was lovely, the weather was gorgeous, Coco was on fine form and everything went beautifully smoothly.I just didn't expect to feel like this. Everyone tells you that the 1st Birthday is a 'real milestone', and to be honest, I didn't take it all that seriously. It's just a birthday after all, right? Wrong! It is SUCH a milestone. It felt incredibly significant and I now feel terribly melancholy about the fact that my baby is growing up. I'm not usually overly sentimental about this kind of thing but this feels like a really big deal!

I am so pleased that we made an effort to mark the occasion properly. The celebrations - which lasted for an impressive 24 hours - began on Friday afternoon with Coco's first ever bike ride. As first bike rides go, I can't imagine that it gets much better than Acadia National Park. The scenery was breathtaking and the cycling not too challenging - a perfect combination for nearly 1 year old beginners! We did have to make the difficult decision whether to let Coco choke herself with her helmet strap (literally!) or travel unprotected; we opted for the latter but rode with extreme care and caution.

During the evening we met up with some of the boat crew for cake and champagne at the Bar Harbor Inn, a traditional hotel with a lovely terrace overlooking the harbour. Coco relished all of the attention and fought tiredness to keep her guests entertained as well as consuming a huge amount of chocolate cake! We are hoping that there isn't any significance in the fact that all of her party guests were male?!

The evening ended with a delicious meal at a little restaurant a bit off the well trodden tourist track. Cafe This Way offered an interesting menu and relaxed atmosphere for us to kick back and relax with Gabe while Coco slept peacefully in her buggy.

As the big day dawned, Angus and I were far more excited than Coco. She took it all in her stride although she did seem to love the present opening. From her In The Night Garden magazine to her enormous moose, each present was met with the same intrigue and appreciation. Angus and I were in a state of bizarre confusion. A year? Are you sure? Where did that go?

Finally, just before Angus had to rejoin the boat for a guest trip, we managed to squeeze in yet more cake (this time it was my less professional attempt which everyone was forced to enjoy) in a little party of our own, just the three of us, sitting in a sunny park.

With the Birthday celebrations complete it was time to wave goodbye to Bar Harbor, Maine and travel the seven hours back to Newport. It was the first time for ages that I really struggled to leave Angus - and Bar Harbor, I loved it there. It felt like we were enjoying a well needed holiday which was over far too soon. Ho hum - I did have a good little chortle on the way home every time I saw a 'beware of the moose' sign. I'm not sure why I found them so funny but I really did.