Bike-n-Boston

Hi everyone it is I, Casey.

 I'm blogging today about my sweet bike ride through Boston with Dean. We started off in Winchester which is approximately 8 miles from the city. We took the Paul Revere bike path which winds through a couple little towns and follows the Charles River. We stopped in a bike shop to get me a bike map of Boston which was very helpful. On to the city.

 It was a beautiful 90 degree day. We had a great time winding in and out of traffic, stopping for beers, and doing a little shopping. All in all we rode just over 30 miles round trip.

I finally got to see most of Boston and this was definitely the right way to do it. 

This is at Harvard square where inside the used book store is Dean was reminiscing about his good old college days at Harvard.

CHEERS!

We made a special stop for me at the bar that inspired the TV show Cheers. We had a Magic Hat beer there which felt great although the bar didn't look like the TV show's bar.

 Oh well, it was still cool.

The revolutionary Paul Revere trail...

Dean riding ahead of me, yes I am riding while taking photos, I know pretty talented.

This was about halfway to the city from Winchester.

Downtown Boston.

 This an old church next to the Prudential building.

Don't forget to ride your bikes...

 it is the best way to site see and it doesn't require gas or parking. 

One Love

Reggae Music

Last Friday, Casey and I took Orin to see Bob Marley's band, the Wailers.

My sister made a special visit to Andover to come see the show with us.

Unlike the Indigo Girls concert, where he mostly just slept, 

Ori seemed to genuinely enjoy the Wailers show. 

He was awake the whole time and danced (in baby terms) 

around with his parents and auntie to all the classic Bob Marley.

As an added bonus, this time he got to wear his gear.

On Sunday, we headed off to the Cape to check up on Colleen, Cody, and Rowan.

As it turns out, Rowan is still quite fat.

Deciding it was time for Orin's first ocean experience,

we headed off to one of the many beautiful Cape Cod beaches 

for a little sun, fun, and barbeque.

This is how Casey and Orin were introduced 

to the East Coast lazy summer days.

Orin loved the ocean and went in up to his hips with no complaint.

While I have no picture of his first "swim," we did get a shot

of the first time his little toes touched the sand.

After all of the excitement, it was time for a nap.

However, his trusty basket was far away,

so we were forced to be resourceful.

This is Orin, seconds from sleep, nestled in Rowan's bathtub.

Goodnight.

Vaccine Day

Today was a mixed bag.

We went to the pediatrician's office this morning for Orin's 2 month check-up.

The visit started out great...

we found out that Ori weighs 13 pounds,

which means he is bigger than 95% of babies his age!

But after the weighing things took a turn for the worse.

Turns out 2 months equals vaccine time.

(Very Bad)

The band-aid makes it look like it was a pleasant experience.

Ori's screams told a different tale.

But by the time we got home, most of the trauma had subsided

and it was time for a well-deserved nap.

A close-up of the most wonderful baby.

After his nap, Ori awoke to find it was time for 

one of his favorite activities:

his bath.

After the bath, it was clear he had completely recovered 

from the early morning unpleasantries.

He was even willing to smile for the camera.

Normally, he is deeply suspicious of the camera

But not today.

In other news,

 did I mention that we went to see the Indigo Girls last weekend?

They rocked.

But with an all-acoustic show we didn't get to try out Orin's protective ear covers.

Tomorrow we are going to see The Wailers.

I heard babies love reggae. 

I will let you know how it goes.

This picture doesn't fit any of the stories I just think it's funny.

Casey goofing off at the concert.

And another random shot...

Auntie Andy eating the baby's toes.

Finally, one more time,

the happy baby.

Hope you all have a good night.

Late Updates

I realized that I have not done my "baby updates" section for a while.

But because I have very limited pictures to describe the recent changes,

and I know that you all really log on just to look at the pictures,

here is an unrelated picture of Casey and I at the lake.

And now for the updates:

In the last two weeks Ori has been making a variety of different sounds,

expanding his previous vocabulary which consisted mainly of different types of crying.

Now he can make cooing noises, gurgles, and can say "wow"

(only by accident, but it's still cute).

He is also smiling more than ever, although they are still hard to catch in a picture.

Like his cousin, he is intensely fond of bookshelves

and his Duke mobile.

He stops crying whenever the Fight Song is playing.

He also likes the Indiana Jones theme song.

And, of course, he still loves to stick out his tongue.

That's it for now.

The Bottle Mistake

The other day, we decided it was time to try to teach Orin to use a bottle

 so that, if necessary, I could be away from him for more than 3 minutes 

without a full-blown crisis.

We left Baby's R' Us loaded with new gear for the operation

 and feeling quite optimistic. 

However, we quickly learned that there is 

one fundamental problem with bottle feeding, 

which is that this:

is not Booby.

It did not take Orin long to figure this out.

Everything went downhill from there.

It actually caused Orin to vanish altogether 

and sparked the appearance of Ori's Evil Alter Ego, Mr. Brussels.

Mr. Brussels normally shows up around 10:30 and makes his presence known 

in a very loud kind of way until about 2am.

But by the morning my lovely baby Ori is back

and everything returns to normal.

So I suppose the bottle will have to wait.

In other news, our friends from California visited the other day.

Orin slept the entire time, 

as he often does when company is around 

so that I am unable to conjure up any sympathy 

when Mr. Brussels arrives.

But it was nice to have the quiet so we could chat.

And Jenn brought him a beautiful blanket which she knitted herself, 

complete with his name in the middle. 

Now they are off for new adventures in Canada,

and we are off to go try to get some sleep.

XOXOX

A Tribute to Vegas

Yesterday was our one year wedding anniversary.

Therefore, I am feeling inspired to recap our Las Vegas trip 

and our rather unconventional wedding.

We decided to get married at the Little White Wedding Chapel for two reasons: 

#1 because it was highly recommended by one of our friends and, more importantly, 

#2 because it offered a drive-thru option.

Upon arriving in Las Vegas, we went to the courthouse to get our official documents written up.

To fill out the forms we were given golf pencils (you know, the little ones with no erasers)

It made me only slightly nervous to write my social security number with a golf pencil.

The plan had been to get married the day we arrived, but when we called to make a reservation (yes, you even make reservations at the drive-through)

we were informed that it was 7-7-07 and every wedding chapel in Vegas 

had been booked for years.

So we got married the following day.

No biggie.

This is what you see when you first drive up.

Notice the Please Pull Through sign

which takes you into the "Tunnel of Love"

I don't have the pictures to show you right now, but the ceiling is covered in plump little angels 

We got married in a rental car in the middle of a Vegas heat wave (110 degrees).

We were instructed to turn off our engine while we waited for the couple in front of us (the reservations are not strictly enforced), which meant no air conditioning.

Halfway through the service, which was actually quite thoughtful,

a delivery truck pulled up to the video store across the street.

The noise had no effect on the man who married us,  

a guy named (I kid you not) Buddy, but did manage to pull me back from the brink of tears.

I really don't think I could have been happier than I was at that moment.

Looking back on it we both agreed we wouldn't have changed a thing.

And here we are today:

For our anniversary we went out to Japanese food and then took the kayaks out for a sunset paddle.

While on the water, I asked Casey what his favorite day of the last year had been.

He said, without hesitation, the day Orin was born.

I think for me, it might have been the day after.

But really, there were so many amazing moments in the last year, 

if it wasn't for Orins birth (which clearly surpassed them all) 

it would have been impossible to choose.

Now it is time to look ahead to all the adventures to come.

Starting with Orin's first outdoor concert on Friday.

I only have one more day to prefect my design of his protective ear covers.

I will leave you with a picture of the trial pair.

Pretty stylish, huh?

XOXOXO

Nothing but good news

As it often is with long blog breaks, the draught ends with much news:

This weekend my brother and sister both came to visit.

It was a very special event because we are only all together once or twice a year. 

And the icing on the cake... Casey had the whole weekend off,

another event which never happens.

My sister arrived on Thursday night.

She works as a teacher in Haiti but has the summer off.

She was very excited to meet her nephew.

My brother got a short leave from the Special Forces and drove up from North Carolina,

arriving Saturday morning. 

Ori was very happy to see his uncle again 

and expressed his enthusiasm with a nap in Alex's lap.

But the arrival of the siblings wasn't the only great thing that happened this weekend.

It may have been sparked by all of the new faces 

or maybe it is just that Orin is the most amazing baby in the universe 

but yesterday (one day after his 6 week birthday)

Orin rolled over! 

3 times!

Can you believe it???

It was amazing.

Saturday also brought one more wonderful thing: 

I received a letter of acceptance to Johns Hopkins University.

So, if everything works out, I will start working towards a masters degree in the winter. 

To celebrate all of the exciting happenings, we decided to grill a fancy steak dinner.

My sister brought Casey some Cuban cigars as a present and the guys jumped at the opportunity to enjoy them as they prepared the meat and veggies.

The food was amazing and we all had a lovely dinner and a lovely weekend. 

The time went by too quickly though, and my siblings left today,

leaving me a little on the sad side

(although I will get to see Andy again really soon)

To snap out of it, Casey and I decided to take some goofy family photos.

We got dressed up in our patchwork and tie-dye and posed in front of the van.

Here are a few of the favorites:

I saved the best one for last:

 Hope you are happier than this baby.

Goodnight and sweet dreams.