Another Mega Post: Summer & Fall

And then, suddenly, summer was almost over

Summer didn’t really fly by, but we were forced indoors by storms a lot.  It rained every day for a week in July, including rampant flooding.  It rarely got in the 80s this year.  I’m not really complaining; I do prefer milder weather.   It was a great summer for reading – I’ve lost count of how many books I’ve read.  However, despite a strong start the garden has become fairly lackluster this year.  Still, we’ve been grateful for the nice days, and we have kept busy with our (mostly) usual summer adventures.

Playing in Canadaway Creek

Being cute in the creek

Being cuter in the playground tube

I definitely called this one

Last summer I grumped a fair bit about Rowan’s new fear of water that kept us away from the beach many hot and sunny days.  I kept saying: “Well, I’m sure soon we’ll have the opposite problem; soon we’ll be dragging him OUT of the water!”

 

Contemplating the vastness of Lake Ontario

I hate being right all the time.

This summer was a great deal cooler and stormier than last, so we didn’t have as many opportunities as we would have liked to get to the beach.  However, we spent a few afternoons at Durand Eastman Park, one wonderful day at Canandaigua Lake, and we got to take several frigid dips in Cayuga Lake.  Rowan still likes to throw rocks and play in the waves, too, but now he will play in the water for as long as we will allow it.  The first couple trips to the beach he was brave, but wanted one of us nearby.  He was so brave during our first trip to Durand Eastman; we were super impressed after he lost his balance and dunked his head, he quickly said he wanted to “try again.”  He eventually graduated to wading chest-deep with one of us nearby and letting us help him jump and splash.

So brave!

 We visited Erin, Joseph, and Avi in July and were able to make use of their apartment complex pool.  Rowan seemed a little nervous at first; I held him and walked around the shallow end but he wanted to go back to the steps.  Then I realized he didn’t want to get out – he just wanted to be in shallow enough water to play without help.  After playing on the steps for a while, he started inching his way along the pool’s edge.  I spotted him at first, but it quickly became apparent he could handle it.  After a sun break he even got back in the pool without me! (Of course, I was sitting about three feet away on the pool’s edge – but I was still impressed.)

 

"Swimming" with daddy

 

I just really like this picture of Ben.

Fredonia aka Cousin Time 3.0

Rowan loves playing with kids.  He makes friends quickly and easily at the playground, the park, and the museum.  But his favorite kids to play with are my sister’s kids.  Ella always had a soft spot for Rowan and indulges his attention, but William was more aloof.  However, now that Rowan’s a little older and braver William has started paying him more attention.  Nowadays Rowan can keep up with William’s races around the yard, water fights, and any other crazy games he makes up. 

Just some cousins shuckin' corn ...

Will really likes yelling. Rowan likes it.

OMG Rowan's giant ribs and Ella's goofiness. I can't.

Rowan is definitely his bravest around his cousins.  A few weeks ago he even went out on the boat for the first time!  He was definitely apprehensive at first; I am sure that his cousins were the only reason he didn’t have a full meltdown.  He stayed on my lap for the entire ride, but he did eventually relax and started laughing and singing. 

 

The view from the boat

He refused his hat and sunglasses, of course.

I was very proud of him, especially since he had just been terrorized the day before when we rode the Jeep into the woods to meet everyone at Big Ron and Tina’s cabin.  He had fun running around in the woods with the cousins, but he was definitely NOT interested in trying the zip line.  He got a huge kick out of watching the other kids ride, though, so I’m sure he’ll be interested one day.

Relaxing at the Farm 

We have worked really hard to raise Rowan to be a kid who doesn't constantly need to be entertained by tons of toys and definitely not one who requires electronics all the time.  I was pleased to be complimented on this by some older relatives at my friend Sue's bridal shower.  I had taken Rowan along and only brought a couple puzzles and a couple small figures for him.  He was well behaved and charming the whole time.

Heading towards the chickens

The farm is a place where we expect Rowan to entertain himself (with supervision, obviously.)  There is plenty to explore and I think it's also good for him to be able to just relax.  He used to get kind of anxious exploring the property but now he loves it, especially the chickens.  He also always looks forward to jamming with Kevin.  During one of our summer visits, Kevin hooked up a microphone with auto-tune so Rowan could "sing" along.  It was pretty awesome.  Kevin really encourages Rowan and gets a kick out of playing with him.  He even dropped off an amazing surprise a few days ago: a real drum set!  It's kid-sized, but includes a snare, high hat, and kick drum as well as a cymbal.  Kevin is hoping to get Rowan to his recording studio soon and we will probably start him on music lessons if he is still interested when he gets a little older.

CHICKENS!

 Birthday Party #3 (or, Scaling Back … a little)

I tried to calm down about Rowan's birthday party this year.  I got out the old Happy Birthday sign, but I kept other decorations and activities pretty minimal, including a paper bag pinata.  My friend Lea laughed and said I threw such a "teacher party."  I kind of did - I set up stations at various tables instead of having structured activities (except the pinata.)  I laid out big paper, various drawing supplies, and temporary tattoos.  There were more kids and it worked out well.  I think everyone had fun.

Ok, we didn't scale EVERYTHING back ...

Pinata time!!!

On Rowan's actual birthday we took him to the zoo, which has become a sort of tradition.  The Rochester zoo is pretty awesome, but once a year generally suffices.  Keeping with the trend, he was more brave and interested this year.  He is definitely growing up and a lot of his hang ups are fading away.

He is such a ham for the camera. (If he's in the mood.)

Rowan, and Tiger, and Ben, oh my! (I had to.)

Birthday Boy!

Ithaca in the Summer & Fall
We managed to get to Camp Barton twice this summer.  As I mentioned before, Rowan was extra excited about the lake this year.  We did have to drag him out occasionally - it was a cool summer and Cayuga Lake is a deep, cold lake even during the hottest of summers.  We tried to get him out before he turned completely blue.

Rowan made friends with a couple little boys who were staying next door - he spent a lot of time running around with Caleb and Bryson.  He was so excited to have friends at camp - first thing in the morning he would lean out the door and yell, "Caleb?!!! Bryson?!!!"  It was pretty cute.

Ahhhh ... vacation!

Despite the fact that he was more brave with the water, and still content to just enjoy running around outdoors, he did backslide a little with camp sleeping.  Last year he was still able to cram into his travel crib which added a sense of security, I think.  This year his only option was a regular camp bed and he just wasn't going for it.  Poor Ben had to sleep alone while Rowan bunked with me in the big bed.  Fortunately, Rowan does not insist on co-sleeping after incidents like that - he's a big kid and he likes his space.

The cover of his birthday thank you note this year. :)

Rowan still enjoys the stone-throwing game.

We just spent a nice fall weekend in Ithaca, complete with all the attendant (and I think obligatory) apple-picking, pumpkin-patching, cider donut-eating, antique-looking, nature-walking, foliage-admiring, market-perusing, and big harvest dinner-making.

I picked an apple!

Phew, apple picking is EXHAUSTING!

Contemplating Six Mile Creek

Gretchen bummed around Ithaca with us and Rowan was delighted to put on a show for his aunt.  I wasn't feeling great, but it was a beautiful, brisk, and sunny weekend so that helped a lot.  The french potato and ham crepe at the Ithaca Farmer's Market helped a lot, too. :)

Mmmmm ... cider donuts!

Basking in all the fall-ness

Everything Changes
Most of the changes these days are gradual.  I know he is growing and changing, and he continues to look and sound older, but it sneaks up on me.  Then I see photos like the one above and I'm almost shocked at the change. 

The biggest recent change has been sending Rowan to daycare.  He attends a small home day care on Thursdays and Fridays now.  The transition was much smoother than I expected - the first couple of days were a little rough, especially at drop off, but he acclimated amazingly quickly.  It helps that the atmosphere is not overwhelming - it probably feels a lot like home to him, but with different people.  We were lucky to find an affordable and small daycare that we can trust - the provider is a teacher and a friend of a friend.

The first day was very hard on me - especially since I hadn't started school yet and Ben and I spent the day running errands.  It was just too bizarre and I had to stop to catch my breath a few times.  But now it has become habit for all of us.  I still worry about what we will do for school sometimes, and I'm sure that transition will be a lot harder on all of us.  But at least we've had a little practice now.