To my dogs back in Oregon...

I miss you.

For all of the trouble that you cause,

you do save me from cleaning up rejected baby food,

because lord knows there is always something on the floor.

Only one more day...

Fishing

Yesterday Orin decided to go fishing.
Initially, he was fishing for his grandmother's new kitten, Pi,
but when Pi got scared and ran away,
he turned his attention on another potential target: me.
Because I was larger than the kitten, two poles were necessary.
First, he attempted to catch me using a plain, boring lure,
but I didn't go for it.
Next, he tried a really snazzy, colorful lure,
but, alas, no matter how interesting the bait,
I would not bite.
Frustration ensued.
Eventually I was forgiven for my stubbornness,
but only after several laps around the house in the laundry basket.
Ah, the joys of life with children...

Hamper Baby

Since arriving at Grandpa Jack and Grandma Carla's house,

the weather has taken a turn for the worse.

Well, I suppose that is actually a matter of opinion...

I am not sure Orin minds being cooped up inside all that much.

After all, there is so much to do in a new place,

especially in a house that is far from baby-proofed.

There are phone calls to be made,

baskets to hide in,

cat doors to attempt to escape through,

brief cases to steal

(and then dance on),

and foot stools to climb in.

(Here is the stool pre-baby...

I don't think I will ever know where the idea to flip

this over and climb in it came from, but that's how I found
him when I came around the corner)

My favorite stunt of Orin's so far involved him

placing both his soccer ball and a tupperware lid

in the washing machine, closing the door,
and then pressing the "on" button.

(He did this all by himself, I am not making this up)

When he is not getting into trouble,

he has been spending a lot of time

playing a new game in which I get to push a laundry hamper

around the house again and again as fast as possible

while he screeches with delight.

Orin can't get enough of it.

I think it's fun the first 16 times,

then, not so much.

Every once in a while we get a break in the clouds

that allows us to venture out to the pool

where Ori amuses himself by throwing rocks into the water.

But the sun never lasts long and soon we are back inside

and back to the laundry hamper.

High five that.

A Passion for Stairs

One of the highlights of this vacation for Orin has been

the countless opportunities he has been presented

with to satiate his unending appetite for stair-climbing.

As his mother, I can assure you, there is hardly

an activity that Ori is more fond of.

In fact, I worry that if we left him alone near a stairwell,

he might never choose to stop climbing.

He has been obsessed with stairs ever since his first climb,

but his love has been thwarted at home

by the presence of a permanent baby gate.

On the road, however, there are no gates to slow him down,

leaving Orin free to tackle one set of stairs after another,

while I succumb to spending half of my day

creeping behind a rapidly ascending baby,

arms outstretched...

Thank goodness for gates.

Leaving Andover

The rest of our time in Eastern Mass went by in a blur.

Casey flew home on Monday, leaving Orin and I to a couple days

alone with Grandma Elisabeth and Grandpa Dean.

During the daytime, Orin got to run around my mother's library

and play at the local playground,

(Orin's new favorite thing is the slide,

thanks to his Uncle Matthew)

and at night we ate popsicles and watched the RedSox

The only trouble with the trip (besides the RedSox losing repeatedly)

was that it went by too fast.

But, these crash-course vacations are certainly getting familiar,

so I wasn't surprised when Wednesday rolled around and

we were on the move again, this time to Grandpa Jacks.

A Baby Reunion

On Sunday we drove to Cape Cod to visit Colleen, Cody, and Rowan.

They had recently bought a new house that we had yet to see,

so upon arriving we immediately set out for tour.

Their new place is amazing with beautiful hard wood floors

and an expansive backyard with a raised-bed garden that

puts my garden to shame.

Rowan was a gracious host and took Orin on his own tour,

mostly just of the back deck.

Later, Orin returned the favor by pushing Rowan into a wall.

It was a beautiful day so Colleen and I took the boys

to a local pond for a little splash-around time,

while Cody and Casey set off on what was to be yet another

unsuccessful fishing trip.

But fish or no fish, we all had a great time.

Orin even gave Rowan a hug goodbye before we left.

I am already looking forward to the next time these two get together.

Night Out/ Night In

Our trip to Massachusetts began on Thursday night

with a rather unfortunate overnight -but yet sleepless- flight east.

After arriving in Andover, we only made it a few minutes

before collapsing into a heap for a long family nap.

We awoke hours later to the sounds of Orin's cousin Alden

arriving with her family for a special 48 hour reunion.

The long standing threat of a cousinly dual

disappeared into a round of high-fives

As the alert level dropped to yellow,

Orin and Alden discovered several mutual interests,

including toys,

swings,

and sugar.

Meanwhile, Casey and I had started to prepare for our trip

to Connecticut that evening for the Phish show.

The original plan was to take Orin with us,

but his Uncle Matthew insisted that we leave him behind

for some more cousin bonding.

We hesitated at first, but then agreed.

It was the right choice.

After all, there is only so much Phish that you can subject

a child too before they begin to look like this:

Our decision to leave Orin behind

was further supported once we got to the venue and

saw the main entrance into the show.

It certainly would have been a low point in the evening

trying to haul the stroller up those stairs.

The concert was great,

although we both admitted that we missed Ori.

By the time we got home, we literally ran up the stairs

to see him and were greeted by this:

I think it was the last step in solidifying their love,

or maybe this was:

Right before Matthew, Robbi, and Alden

left on Sunday morning, I made sure to get one last picture-

a mirror image of a shot taken last summer,

although this time there were 3 babies present

(one more in Robbi's belly!)

Until next time.

A Great Journey

Tomorrow we embark on a journey.

It will be a great journey.
It will span thousands of miles and include highlights such as:
A Phish reunion at Meadows Music Theater in Connecticut

A rematch against Cousin Alden in baby sumo wrestling
(you are going down this time, Alden).

A day in Cape Cod with Colleen, Cody, and Rowan
Not to mention bike rides
with Grandma Elisabeth and Grumpa Dean
and hikes through western Mass
with Grandpa Jack and Grandma Carla.
It will surely be a great trip.
However, when we first told Orin about our plans
he insisted on not going.
"Massachusetts is stupid," he whined.
"I bet they don't even have cool baby stools there."
But after a re-cap of all the exciting upcoming events
(with emphasis on the revenge- filled wrestling rematch)
he had a change of heart.
"I'm in," he said.
New England, here we come.