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Dear Baby MC,

We knew you were a girl, we had found out at my 20 week sonogram, and we were all excited...and relieved. After 3 boys in a row, 2 years apart and 1 year apart, we were ready for you! So we got to get to know the girly you, still tucked inside your little hiding place for the last 20 weeks. Daddy had picked your name from the beginning, and we all started calling you MC. Your due date came and went (typically) and on this morning 1 year ago you were ready to have your birth day. We called Marmar and she ran over to watch your brothers and sisters so we could go to the hospital. The labor was typical, stalling as I got to the hospital, adding pitocin and an epidural, then waiting. Progression is normal and, like all of my babies, as soon as I get to 10 there is no waiting, no time for the midwife to get her gloves or gown on (I always warn them), and 1 or 2 pushes and you are out. Honestly I forget what time it was but sometime in the early afternoon I am holding you finally - all 10 pounds and 14 ounces of you! Good Lord! Baby, you didn't fit in the newborn diapers so they had to run down to pediatrics to get you a size 1! The nurses were teasing you about your fat gut hanging over the diaper, but we didn't care...like mother like daughter. Of course Daddy and Geema were there and held you as the afternoon sun came through the window. We all commented about how you looked different, but the same. Something about your nose...oh yes! You had poochie's nose! We love you so much. Happy Birthday, my sweet Baby MC!

More posts on Monkeybird:

Friends

Springtime Baby - 1 Week Old

The Good Shepherd's Pasture and Baby MC - 2 weeks

Baby MC - 3 weeks old!

Announcing the newest member of the Church...Baby MC!

CAM 2011 - Black Hill

From the Geocaching website: With more than 2,000 acres, Black Hill Regional Park offers such a wide variety of outdoor activities that its impossible to experience it all in a single visit. You'll enjoy picnic shelters near playgrounds, volleyball courts, paved and natural surface trails, and spectacular views of Little Seneca Lake. The lake can be enjoyed from your private boat, rental boats, pontoon tour boat and the fishing pier. For those who love the solitude of the forest, miles of trails can be explored by foot, horseback or mountain bike. Nature programs and interpretive tours will enhance your understanding and appreciation of this beautiful park.

Our experience: Like others have stated, we knew we were in the right place when we pulled up to see so many cars, many with GEO-related accessories. We quickly ran into Mrs. Moonpie and Mrs. Bocco (and Ziggy) at the bridge and took a few minutes to chat. The kids were happy again for more chances for stream hopping like at Dan's Mountain and we enjoyed the nice walk along the reservoir. We passed WWCD while weaving along the wooded part of the trail. When we got near GZ we spotted a dad and his two children, who had passed us back at the bridge, with the cache. We gave them a few minutes to finish and we headed into the woods as they were coming out. We didn't catch their name but he remarked what a bizarre activity this must appear to be, running in and out of the woods with excitement Seany made the find after the bigger kids overlooked the hide spot. While signing and swapping we saw Mr. Bocco and Mr. Moonpie up on the trail. The bushwhacking wasn't too tough but getting the double jog stroller, which held the two youngest, off and back on the trail was difficult. (But the stroller has been to Maryland's highest point so it wasn't complaining.) We made our way back down the trail and decided to try the Turkey Loop trail to see if we could run into some more cachers who we knew were ahead of us but the steep hill made us slower than usual and we never caught up to anybody else. On the way back more stream hopping led to some wet feet and the discovery of a large cluster of frog eggs in one of the streams. We looked unsuccessfully for the cache at the bridge and the kids explored the water underneath, then it was time to hit the road after saying hi to Czar7 and Dad's GLC once again. TFTC!

CAM 2011 - Dan's Mountain

From the Geocaching website: Dan's Mountain State Park serves as a day use seasonal recreational facility that covers 481 acres and offers a wide variety of wildlife,

mountain streams, overlooks and scenic beauty. The park is located on a 16-mile long mountain that takes its name from Daniel Cresap, one of the first settlers in Allegany County.

Daniel was known for being adventurous, often hunting with a Delaware Indian named Nemacolin. While pursuing a bear in a tree, Daniel fell and lay unconscious until Nemacolin found him, and dragged Daniel home to safety. Since that event, the mountain has been known as Dan's Mountain.

Our experience: This was our second stop Saturday morning after Friend's Delight. As soon as we entered the park we knew it was going to be a nice one. The big kids enjoyed exploring the bridge and the fish pond while we got the two littlest ones set up in the backpack carriers. We enjoyed the nice hike and the kids had a great time crossing the small stream near GZ. We were quick to use the clue with all the potential hiding spaces and Joz made the find. We signed the log and swapped trinkets and the kids took the opportunity to hop back and forth across the stream a few times. As we figured they might, Czar7 and Dad's GLC pulled up just a couple of minutes behind us and we passed them on the trail and chatted again for a minute. When we got back to the van we were happy to have two CAM's done before noon (that's pretty good for us!). We hit the road with plans for a lunch break before making our way to Black Hills. TFTC!

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CAM 2011 - Friend's Delight

From the Geocaching website: In October of 2008, the Maryland Park Service acquired Friend's Delight, an 81 acre tract of land, originally settled by John Friend in 1769 after bartering with the Shawnee tribe. The area that is open seasonally to the public includes a picnic shelter near the river and an Appalachian mountain heritage Store. Friend's Store has been a central point of contact for the Sang Run community for well over a century. The Friend family proprietor sold food staples in the tiny store and also bought, sold and traded ginseng. Look for the Friend's Store to reopen on weekends during the summer. The Youghiogheny River shelter, also known as Friend's Delight, is a great place to host your next event!

Our experience: We were excited for CAM 2011 to start and we staged ourselves in LaVale Friday night before. Our plan was to hit the farthest west caches and then CAMing our way back east to home. The hotel was pretty close to Dan's Mountain, but we decided to do Friend's Delight first. We pulled up to the first two stages and then figured our math was wrong because GZ seemed awfully close and we were expecting a longer hike. Czar7 and his daughter pulled up behind us and met us at GZ while the kids raided the well stocked cache. We enjoyed the quick history lesson and were glad to have our first CAM 2011 cache under our belts. We took some pictures on the hill and in front of the little building and then were off to Dan's Mountain. TFTC!

St. Patrick's Day 2011