Saturday, August 22, 2009

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.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

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.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

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.

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Paddle Time

Last weekend, we bought a canoe.
It is 16 feet long and dark green.
It looks nice atop my car.
We took it out for the first time a couple days ago
and were pleased to discover that apart from looking pretty
it also floats.

Orin decided to join us on our debut voyage.
At first, he was not sure how to feel about being out on the open water.
He gave it a brief chance
and then rejected it.
The second canoe trip, he chose to stay with his grandmother,
leaving Casey and I to have some alone time...
well, almost alone...
Even with the added weight of the Bad Dog,
we managed to have a good time.
Casey spent most of the afternoon fishing
while I alternated between fishing, untangling my lure
(which I must have gotten snagged 34 times), and bird watching.
Although we saw a lot of fish, they were,
for the most part, not hungry.
Except this little guy, the Smallest Fish in the Universe.
Normally, I feel bad for the fish we catch, but this time I didn't.
Because had this fish actually eaten anything as big as
the lure we were using (at least 3/4 of his own size),
he surely would have been less happy
than he was on the end of Casey's hook.
There was simply not room in his stomach for such a meal.
It was good that we steered him in the right direction.

Orin has since promised that he will give boating another try in the future.
But for now, he is happy just hanging out on land.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Cleaning with Ori

Lately, Orin has become very interested in sweeping.
His enthusiasm may stem from repetition, for in a house
with three dogs and a truly embarrassing number of cats
(never to be publicly revealed),
animal hair collects in such large quantities that the floor would
surely disappear under the fluff within a matter of days
if the masses were not kept at bay.

Although Orin is very keen on helping me,
his help is not particurally useful,
because his favorite part of sweeping is
redistributing the piles I form.
Nevertheless, he takes his work very seriously
and seems to enjoy himself so much that
I don't have the heart to thwart his contributions.

Even if it takes twice as long to finish
I know that eventually he will tire,
leaving me to collect the piles in peace...
that is, if the broom isn't being used as a pillow.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Bedtime Routine

This is a video I took of tonight's before-bed play session.

The hardest part of making this video
was trying to figure out where to crop it.