Gingersnap Cookies

The last few days of our trip Orin and I hung out with 

Grandma Elisabeth and Grandpa Dean.

It was while we were staying with them that Orin

had an eating breakthrough.

When I used to feed Orin I would give him control of the spoon.

(I saw his eating as a game more than an attempt 

at productive calorie intake).

With Orin at the wheel, food would occasionally end up in his mouth,

but more often than not, it didn't.

After watching Matthew and Robbi feed Alden,

I decided I would take control of the spoon for a while.

The result: Several empty jars of baby food,

Orin's first solid poop,

and an open door to new culinary experiences.

All of a sudden, Orin was eating everything:

bagels, cheerios, gingersnap cookies...

The solid foods had more to do with the fact that we were 

staying with my mother 

(motto: gingersnap cookies... why not?)

rather than having any relation to the change of spoon control,

but either way, Orin is now an official eating machine.

The last day of our trip we went to the Cape to follow up on a rumor

that Rowan has started to walk and also occasionally

"dances around shaking his bottom and snapping his fingers"

Here are his parents trying to get him to show off his snapping ability:

Turns out, he was a little shy of snapping infront of new people,

but Orin and I did get to watch him walk all over the house,

a professional at 11 months!

The boys had a nice time together.

Rowan was a very gracious host and showed Orin all of his new toys.

He also demonstrated how both the top and the middle of

the Excersaucer could be used for entertainment purposes.

Orin's favorite part of the visit was definitely his discovery of this toy:

a large mirror with flashing lights, various music beats,

and dancing characters.

I have seen a toy like this before in my worst nightmares,

but for Orin it was a dream come true.

After saying goodbye to Colleen, Cody, and Rowan

Orin and I drove back up north to my mother's house,

packed up the last of our suitcases,

and got a couple hours of sleep before catching our early morning

flight back to Portland.

I think that even though we had a great time visiting everyone

we were both glad when we finally got home

and were reunited with Casey.

Hope you are all well.