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.

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.

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.

Spaghetti Mess

You might have forgotten, but when Orin was very young,

we attended a baby sign language workshop.

Orin slept through it, but it sparked enough interest in Casey and I

that we decided to give it a whirl.

So ever since we got home that day,

I have been trying constantly to get Orin to sign "bird"

"Why 'bird" you ask, "instead of something useful, like "hungry"?

Because.

Anyway, a couple months ago we were reading and,

out of the blue, Orin signed "bird" at the appropriate time.

I was ecstatic.

It was time to branch out.

Within a couple weeks, we had added quite a few more signs,

including one specifically for Tails

(different than the regular sign for "book")

Now, I would love to show you some picures of Orin signing,

but since they are impossible to get, I don't have any.

Instead, I decided to take some unrelated pictures

to go along with this post

for those of you that just scroll through my writing

(which, I might add, is probably not a bad idea).

Anyway, what started out as a regular photo shoot ended up

documenting the most amazing mess in the history of Orin.

It all started with an inpatient baby ready for supper.

Spaghetti was delivered.

Intense concentration followed.

Noodles were consumed.

Noodles were dropped.

Noodles were smeared.

More noodles were consumed.

Pretty soon the pile had vanished,

although there were clear traces of its contents.

More noodles were demanded.

More noodles were delivered.

At some point it became obvious that the feast

was wearing on him.

(Please note the two noodles under each eye...

this was not staged)

Thinking that he had had enough spaghetti,

dessert was presented.

There is a rule which states that regardless of how full one is...

there is always room for dessert.

Tonight was no exception.

At last the meal was over.

The baby had turned completely orange.

It was a quick trip to the sink.

He was placed among the dirty dishes.

and thoroughly scrubbed.

Although he insisted on completing the finishing touches himself.

Then, just like that,

our clean baby was back.

Until next time.

Orin's Chair

The other day marked the beginning of the end of our kitchen.
My friend with a similar-aged baby told me recently that
all of her kitchen chairs live permanently out on her patio.
This is why.
And if you think he stops there,
you are wrong.
Luckily, he can only get the proper footing for his acrobatics
if the chair is pushed out, so for now, we still have chairs in our kitchen,
but I am sure, like everything else,
it is only a matter of time...
In order to quench Orin's thirst for a throne,
and reduce the risk of a concussion-induced emergency room visit,
Casey decided that we should get Orin his own, much smaller, chair.
Here it is:
Have you ever seen a baby look more content?
Ori loves his chair.
Sitting in it makes him so happy,
he has been known to burst into song.
The chair is perfect for reading...
exploring from a new vantage point...
and, of course, climbing.
As a bonus, the chair is light enough that Orin can move it himself,
in case he gets bored in the bedroom.
To further assist in his climbing, we got Orin a stool.
And no, the stool was not totally necessary but it is important for the
recliner sofa-footstool combo look that Orin has going on in his
Special Corner
not to mention it helps with the whole mounting/dismounting process.
Here is a close up of the stool,
notice the bonus baby thigh footage as well.
and more baby thigh:
Here is one last glimpse of the stool,
right before Orin throws it at me,
thus ending the photo session and the long sequence
of pictures that you have just been subjected to
that contain nothing more than a baby, a chair, and a stool.
Well, almost.
Just one more.
Now I am really done.
You're welcome.

HOT!

Greetings from the inferno!

(quite literally)

As I write this, I am sitting in my bedroom, virtually

taped to my box fan trying to ward off the 107 degree temps outside.

We are now four days deep in this heat wave,

(which is apparently one of the worst in Portland's history)

and if the weather forecasters are correct, we will see

temps over 100 for the next couple days.

To beat the heat we have been frequenting the Clackamas River.

We bought this baby float for Ori a couple weeks back,

and although it was clearly intended for a swimming pool,

we have found that it braves the river rapids just fine.

And, no, he is not just free floating...

he is attached via leash.

Orin loves getting pushed out into the current

and dragged back again.

The first time we brought his float to the river,

he swam around happily for over an hour.

When he is finished with swimming,

Orin stands on the shore and tries to look tough.

He has also been known to gather rocks,

which he then throws in an effort to look tougher.

(Please note the rock flying at me in this picture)

If rock-throwing begins to wear on him,

he simply resorts to eating mud

while listening to his daddy play the guitar.

Back at home, it is more difficult to stay cool.

But rivers can be (poorly) reproduced

with back-deck kiddie pools.

And, when all else fails,

there is nothing like dunking your head in the sink and then

sitting back to enjoy a lemonade popsicle.