Summertime + time at home

Look at that! It's been exactly one month since my last post.  We are now fully into our summer routine (or lack thereof, really) but other than my being home more, not a lot has changed since my June post.  I was pretty antsy when school first ended - I often have a hard time adjusting from being very busy to not so busy.  With the longer days and later sunsets, Rowan has been going to bed a little later at night and then making up for it with a longer afternoon nap.  At first I wasn't really sure what to do with that time, but I ended up really throwing myself into the yard.  Our vegetables and herbs are looking really good - I can't wait for the tomatoes to come.  Rowan was good about helping pick them last year, I hope he has maintained that skill.

Still no major haircuts :)

Rowan still often gets antsy or upset (or sometimes downright hysterical) when we take him to new places or he meets new people, but he is getting better.  My parent's house has finally become a comfort zone - he is just about as comfortable and relaxed there and with Grandma and Papa as he is at our house with me and Ben.  It makes trips to Fredonia generally less stressful since he accepts Grandma's house as "home base."  Rowan and I have already made a couple extended trips to the Fredonia area this summer.  Both times he did really well at Grandma's and the neighboring playground, but not so great when we tried to venture other places.  During our most recent trip I tried to take him to Angola to visit with college friends - he spent almost half the time we were there just hysterically crying.  Finally, he calmed down a little, but the only activities he was interested in were throwing rocks in the pool and running around naked.  Fortunately, almost everyone at the party had a child under 3, so they were understanding.  Of course, as soon as we returned to Grandma's, everything was fine - and thank God, because if I hadn't been able to sit in a cool bath for a little bit, I was going to start hysterically crying, too.

Yay!! Papa has a cool yard!!!

Oh, nooo! (How he refers to the sprinkler)

Hey, Little Boy Blue!

The trip before this last one (a couple weeks previous) we had the same problem - no major issues at Grandma's, but we tried to take him to Midway Park and we might as well have been torturing him.  Granted, it was very hot that day.  Maybe next summer he will feel a little braver and follow his cousins onto some of the rides.  Kevin and Kate were really great about it, though, and Kate tried to gently coax Rowan into some participation with essentially a V.I.P. tour (Kate manages the park.)  But he was just not feeling it.  However, we went back to Kevin and Kate's for a little while after dinner and Rowan was pretty relaxed playing in the backyard with Geoffrey.

One thing he DID like at Midway

Throwing stones in water - always a fave

Goofy cousins :)

Other than our Adventures in Other Counties, the summer has been pretty quiet.  We have our usual haunts - Ellwanger & Barry Park (our favorite playground in the Southwedge), Hedonist Ice Cream,  and Highland Park.  I like taking Rowan to Highland Park for walks because I can actually relax a bit - the winding path is quiet and I don't have to worry about him trying to make a break for it and run towards the street.  We tend to take our time meandering around the park, then Rowan tries to keep up with the big kids at the playground by doing crazy things like climb the rock wall (which is taller than me!)

Oh, hi.  Just meandering.

Crazy rock climbing action!

Demolishing a cone at Hedonist

Sliding at E&B park

So strong! :)

I try to mix it up a little, too, without spending a fortune on daily entertainment.  The Rochester zoo is great and actually a good place to go cool off in the summer (there's a pretty shaded playground and water play area in the center of the park.)  We'll probably get a membership when Rowan turns 2 (he's free until then.)  I took him there a few weeks ago on a Saturday morning and he actually did really well.  He was very good about getting in and out of the stroller so he could check out animals.  Actually, he was more into just running around than looking at animals, but at least he was in a good mood and cooperated with moving around the park.  He did say hello to several animals, including the tiger, the snowy owl, and the penguins.

(Rowan was busy running in circles.)

A cute little turtle!

Playing on big slides with big kids