Self Discovery

Ren has a new preoccupation when he is daiperless.

Thats a lot of Somen

The seven of us that get together regularly failed to eat it all. This was a special occasion, a sending off of one the regulars. A new job and new address in a different state. 

Rainy Day

Today was first rainy day since we got to NY and it rained all day. We were thinking of going to Chittnengo Falls (or "Crappy dango"as Adam F., an old friend always called it) but the rain kept us in the cabin. We played Catan with T. drinking cranberry juice and vodka.

Splashing

Ren splashing in the water at Green Lakes. This was his first time in a natural body of water. He was much less appehensive than we expected. He was so happy and played so hard. He slept for over two hours after playing whaile we drove back to Sears pond on the back roads. 

再従兄弟 Second Cousin

We went to Syracuse today and visited my aunt, uncle and cousins. This is Ren's second cousin James. He is such a good baby.

Root Glen

Today we went to the Root Glen in Clinton within Hamilton College Campus. It was nice to be in a real arboretum after having UK's "grass collection" arboretum in Lexington. I always think it should be called something else, with a prefix that means grass instead of tree. It was very hot but well worth the trip.

Breakfast

Almost everyday Ren has been taking his breakfast on the deck with full veiw of the pond thru the trees.

Corning, NY

We drove out to Corning today to see the glass museum. I've been before but it has changed quite a bit since the last time went. It was very nice to be in a museum / gallery again. I think it is the first time we've been to one since we had Ren. But Even then we end up wondering how long his temper will last and we will have to make a dash for the outdoors. There was this nice piece for example which I was able to photograph but not look long enough to learn it's title or creator. I like it. I wanted to go to the studios too but the drive was long and Ren was needing some play in the grass time so it was out of the question. He was so well behaved on the way there and back and didn't fuss too much while we were there either but I could tell he wasn't enjoying it like he did, say the Newport aquarium.

Ren helping us pack for the trip

 

Eating the greenery

Mmm. Maple tree. 

Pizza Crust

We went for a walk around the pond this morning
in this fancy all terrain style stroller that T. Has inherited and has at his house. It is nice but the front wheel doesn't rotate so curves aren't as smooth as we're used to but the big wheels seemed to make the ride on the dirt road more comfortable. I noticed that maclaren makes a model with a front wheel that does swivel!
The pond is really beautiful. Since there are only about three other houses on the pond it is very quiet.

After the morning nap we made a trip into Shurburne to Joe and Vinnie's pizzeria for lunch. I can't remember how long it's been since I've been there. At least 15 years? The Pizza was good and Ren was very popular. They were very curious about what language we were speaking and were very friendly. We gave some pizza crust to Ren figuring he would like to chew on it and he went crazy over it. He really likes pizza crust. He must have finished off a whole crust by himself by sucking one end continuously till it turned to mush.

After that we went to Hamilton to be tourists. It's fun being a tourist in your hometown when you haven't been there. Or maybe only if your hometown is Hamilton I don't know.

We found Panda Bear, Panda Bear at the new (to me) Colgate bookstore and had to have it. Ever since Ren got a Panda Bear teddy as a miyage from Jason and Junko from the DC International Zoo he has shown a distinct preference for Pandas. We let Ren wonder around in the grass in the park for he got tired and then drove around while he slept. And I remembered growing up.

 

Sears Pond

This is Ren the day after our arrival
at sears pond, our vacation destination.
As arrived in the middle of T's Birthday
party, my head was throbbing as I took this picture, trying to calculate how many hours I slept and whether I should take another shower. The first one didn't help enough with the hangover. This log cabin we are staying in is built of whole Larch tree logs on the pond. A day of listening to Johny Cash and recovering from too many Saranac Pale Ales. 

Ren At Play Pics

see previous post

Ren at Play

Ren is here playing with one of his favorite books, one full of different textures which also introduces animals, colors and shapes. For now I think the textures are all he's interested in. Another one is of him reaching for the string to the blinds.

Over the four-day 4 th of July weekend we went down to visit with my parents and brohter's family. It's a long ride for Ren but he's always happy when we get there because of all the additional entertainment. There is Fritz the Rottweiller a cat the cats toys a fireplace to climb up to, lots of magazines, a couple of coffee tables, big couches, DVD cords to suck on dogs water to splash around in and best of all the greasy tracks that the sliding deck doors run in. I must have wiped the black grease from his hands 50 times. He like to put something flat that will slide under one hand and crawl around like that sliding the one hand. My mom seeing this said, "He needs a trian to push around". The next day it was there. Grandmas are fast!