Thunderstorms all night and ominous gray skies in the morning didn’t diminish Griffin’s excitement for starting school again this year. (There was nervousness, too, but mostly he was looking forward to getting back into the swing of things.)
Tag Archives: milestones
Maggie’s First Haircut
Maggie’s Birthday Bike
Maggie started showing interest in her balance bike at the end of February, and by the time her birthday loomed near at the beginning of April, it was clear she would probably be ready for a bike with pedals this summer! She’s much smaller than Griffin was when he started on a pedal bike, so I hunted down a smaller version and we gave it to her on Sunday for her birthday. She was beyond excited to try it! However, it was raining pretty hard all day that day, and even into the morning on Monday. She begged me to let her try it, but knowing there would inevitably be some spills, I told her we needed to wait until it stopped raining.
Well, Monday afternoon it stopped raining, and she was raring to go! I wasn’t sure how it would go for her, but low and behold, on one of her first tries, she took off! I pulled my phone out and grabbed some video. We spent the rest of the day touring the neighborhood with her practicing her new pedal bike. She’s hooked and asks to ride it at every opportunity now! It’s pretty amazing, and such a testament to the balance bike.
I hope you enjoy these short videos of her first rides!
https://youtu.be/VHzvlUPWVV0 https://youtu.be/F5PubCaf5CA
Falmouth
The culmination of our road trip was a glorious fourth of July weekend on Cape Cod with our friends Nate and Christine. (Nate and I went to high school and college together… whoa!)
The original seed for this crazy road trip was planted during the summer of 2010 by Nate and Christine. We were at Karen and David’s wedding (our friends from Ithaca, a few posts back) in Arizona and we had such a good time that we agreed we should do it again (it = hanging out, wedding not required, though it was a good one). Nate mentioned having access to a family house on Cape Cod. We were interested. But then Maggie was born and life got busy and years went by. It wasn’t until this winter that I reached out to see if the invitation was still standing. It was. And a road trip was born.
The house is in West Falmouth, at the southwest edge of Cape Cod. The time here was the definition of relaxation. Tons of room for the kids to romp, an air hockey table, plenty of bikes for all of us, nearby beaches, mojitos, great food, puzzles and conversation in the evening… what more could you want?
The time was made even better by getting to know Nate’s cousin, Emory, and his partner, Ben. They were both awesome in their own right, and were unbelievably good with the kids—seriously, I haven’t had so much time-off from parenting in years. We were all sad to see them go on Sunday, but none more so than Maggie and Griffin who remained cranky with us for days over this betrayal.
We also hit a new milestone for Griffin’s physical endurance: a 16-mile round-trip bike ride to Woods Hole. He was on an unfamiliar “big kid” bike with gears and handle breaks, and he did a fantastic job. No complaints at all. (The photo of him in the two-seater below was on a different, shorter, ride.)
The best part of all of this is that Nate and Christine will be driving through Minnesota in August so we’ll get to see them twice in one summer. Feels almost gluttonous.
Click on any picture below to see larger versions in an interface that makes it easy to scroll through the full set.
The Falmouth house
Dinner on the veranda
Like a Burley, but the kids are in front.
Swan nest by the trail
Ready to go
Bike path to Woods Hole
Woods Hole Aquarium
Dinner at the farm
Teeth
Air hockey with Emory
Air hockey with Ben
Loving mama’s hat
Prepared
Staring at the sea
Happy daddy
Great fireworks view from the balcony
The kids with their new besties, Emory and Ben
Face full of sprinkles before heading inland for the journey home.
Andrew on Ice
I’ve had a lingering paranoia since moving to Minnesota: what if I can’t skate? I skated as a kid, sure, but that was long ago. Now I’m older and stiffer and more fragile. I’ll probably fall immediately and break my wrist or my head. Today I banished this demon by slowly working my way around my school’s ice rink with the 8th graders zipping past. They were a supportive crowd.
Now I can’t wait to finally buy a pair of skates that fits. (There is only one pair at school, and I had to share them with a large-footed student.) I’m hopeful that Griffin will get comfortable on his skates this winter too, so this will be another winter activity we can enjoy together.
The video is hardly worth watching, but I was so ridiculously proud of myself that I thought I should preserve the moment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5qSFM08Dr8k
Escape to the Cabin
After our glorious summer, the school year feels like we’re barely hanging on to a runaway train. On Friday, we fled the crazy for another taste of summer (with a dash of autumn).
The yellow cabin delivered big time. Not only was the weather outstanding, but the kids were 100% engaged, Â hiking with gusto, begging to get out on the water in the kayaks, and playing together relatively peacefully during down time. We also enjoyed some unexpected firsts: Griffin’s first time fishing, and our first family D&D game (more on that in an upcoming post). It felt like we were away for far longer than a weekend.
Enjoy the gallery below. Remember, they look best if you click on one to engage the full-screen slide show. (Also, don’t miss the postscript below for a glimpse backstage.)
PS: The last picture looks idyllic, and it was, but the picture misses a few telling details. As I floated in my kayak, taking in the stunning colors, Griffin, far behind me in the center of the lake, decided to start playing “echo” across the water. The echoes were, indeed, spectacular, so he proceeded to yell louder and louder, until his tremendous battle cries reverberated across the lake, drowning out all other sound. He was far enough away, and focused enough on his bellowing, that he couldn’t hear our fierce, whisper-shouted admonishments to cool it. As he continued ramping up, I wondered if any of our well-armed neighbors would take things into their own hands. Fortunately, and I’m not naming names, one of us channeled the voice of Thor, delivering the following carefully considered advice at 150 decibels:
“GRIFFIN . . . SHUT . . . UP!!!!”
As the echoes faded, we were aware that this sonic event was not only permanently etched into the minds of the Spring Lake community, but that scientists of the future will be able to see evidence of the interchange in tree rings and sediment cores.
Yup. That’s how it’s done at the Yellow Cabin.
First Day of Camp
Griffin’s 5th Birthday
It’s been a rather extended celebration this year. We began on Griffin’s actual birthday, April 8, with cinnamon rolls for breakfast and family presents at dinner. Then he was honored at both of his preschools.
Then Sarah baked a spectacular cake for his party on Saturday, but the kids both woke up with pink eye and we had to cancel the party! (Noooooo! But we ate the cake, which made it ok.) We rescheduled the party for the following weekend and this time everything worked out, including an even more magnificent cake. (Six layer rainbow cake with all natural ingredients? No problem.) And grandma and grandpa presented a new bike. Woohoo!
Click on the pics for larger versions.
A new, bigger bike!
It has a kickstand.
It has a hand brake.
It is awesome.
Sarah’s masterpiece.
I want it. Now.
Hug for the birthday boy.
Happy guest.
More happy guests!
Everyone is singing for me!
Big breath!
Five candles.
First slice.
Six all-natural layers of joy (no food coloring!)
Hard work
Yummy!
What has Griffin learned? Birthdays last for three weeks and include numerous celebrations, multiple cakes, magic bunnies that hide eggs, lots of chocolate, and special trips to the ice cream shop (those last tidbits were for Easter and my birthday, but the distinctions may not mean much to him). We’re setting ourselves up for success here. 🙂
Heavy Breakfast
Just another Sunday breakfast at the Stocco Roy’s where we discussed slavery, the civil war, armor, and guns.
[Slavery came up because Griffin wanted to know what the song “Jimmy Crack Corn” is all about. (Good question!) This led to the civil war, but interest waned before we could delve into the rise of the KKK and Jim Crow, the Great Migration, civil rights, the war on drugs, white privilege, and the glorious post-racial utopia which we’ve created for him. (Also didn’t get to the dangers of wearing hoodies.) Instead, Griffin examined his medieval-themed placemat and asked if armor was “real.” This prompted a detailed discussion about the history of armor. Cool stuff, which led, eventually, to kevlar. At which point we had to talk about guns and what to do if he ever comes across one. It was quite a breakfast!]
A Minute in the Life of Maggie: 17 Months
So this video is a little more than a minute, but I think it belongs in our Minute in the Life series because it shows how much she’s changed in the last few months!
http://youtu.be/4IgEkoXamvE