2015 End of the Summer

August (and early Sept) photos

I don't have nice things to say about August this year, so maybe I shouldn't say them.  What started as a short trip to Cape Cod turned into 11 exhausting, scary, misery filled days in the hospital with Orion.  But we came out the other end with an apparently happy and healthy child, and Ronan had a great time on a family vacation in Vermont without us (thanks, guys), so I will count our unlucky experience as lucky enough, and cross my fingers we don't see anything like this again.  

The ambulance ride was not one of the scary parts

September kicked off better, with a trip to the tri-county fair.  They fry twinkies!  They race things gratuitously!  The rides were the best part, and Ronan was finally old enough to join us on rides exciting enough to challenge the inner ear.  September also brought the official start of childcare for Orion, and several playdates in advance of Kindergarten.  The semester is getting underway.

Piglets don't actually understand races very well

Orion now grabs everything, enjoys cooing conversations, and even laughs. Ronan is more grown up than ever.  He plays chess and khet and iPhone racing games voraciously, he can read more than he admits, he has become camera-shy much of the time, and he says "uh, hello-o-o" with the rich intonation of a sarcastic teenager.  (He also says "awwwight" with enthusiasm).

Full lotus!

Also, he has started making up jokes!  I blame Brent and Dawn and action at a distance. Here are the two I remember:

OK, so there's a kid sheep and a kid goat.  And little goats are called kids, right? So the goat kid says to the sheep kid: "I kid you not"!

When ninjas are young, do you know where they go to school?  Ninjagarten!

Finally, in the department of mundane but sad/funny, my Fitbit stopped working because I got barfed on (down the shirt) too many times by Orion and it got waterlogged.  Things have been too hectic to correct the situation.

Quotes:

Ro in VT: I'm not tired, but I bet my mom could tell us why my brain feels like it's tired. [Promptly falls asleep]

R: Orion doesn't know how to cut the quiche, but he does know how to cut the cheese

R: Labor Day? Is that like a day when you can try to make a baby brother?

Still happy after all the unhappy 
(Ro playing Asphalt 8 or AG Drive in the background)

Snuggle party

A perfect temperature day

July 2015 (2 months)

July photos, proving a younger child can be over-photographed too (in this age of camera phones).

Here are 5 things that have happened since Orion joined us.  Guess which are funny and which are sad!

1) Getting pooped on during a diaper change
2) Getting peed on during a diaper change
3) Crashing on the couch and talking in my sleep about mice
4) Missing events because I slept through them
5) Accidentally washing milk-absorbing bra inserts on hot

Answer: 1) sad, 2) funny (only because there were two of us), 3) funny, 4) sad, 5) hilarious

Before

After - that's not going in my bra!

Don't you want to pinch these?

This month Orion started smiling at us and cooing (around 7 weeks), making him the current cutest baby on the planet.  He sticks out his tongue when he sees Ronan (who spent a long time sticking his tongue out at Orion).  Aside from a propensity to launch his meals onto our shirts, he is the quintessential easy-ish baby, and has come with us on many small adventures.  His cheeks continue to exert their own gravitational pull.

Ronan finally wondered where babies come from, starting with how amazing it was that I made Orion in my body.  From there we quickly progressed to "did Dad help lay the baby?" and a lesson on how eggs need to be fertilized.  Next up was "does it happen when you hug?" Assured that it's not that easy he proceeded to wonder how you know you're pregnant, but I managed to save a detailed explanation of dipstick-based enzyme immunoassays for an older age.

Happenings:

• Fourth of July fireworks and visits with friends
• The children's concert at Tanglewood with friends
• A most excellent day on Hammond pond with friends
• O came with me to an R workshop on campus and snoozed through the lectures
• A visit from L&P&E
• We all went to see "Inside Out" at the theater (Ronan's first big screen film)
• We went to a children's circus at the fairgrounds
• Ro tried his first Slip N Slide at a friend's house
• Ro opened his first coconut (inspired by reading Swiss Family Robinson at bedtimes)
• A visit from D&L&D
• We started working part-time and had a sitter (Marie) for a couple hours each day

Ro Quotes:

Don't we just live in the perfect environment for happiness?

[Re: thank you note to his buddy William]: We should write on the note that maybe W and I might get married when we're older, 'cause we really like each other.

Isn't is awesome that I have a baby brother?

Tongue!

(Click on any picture for a larger version)

Starting smiles

Free cuteness

June 2015 (aka month 1)

Ro & Bro 

The "& Co" part of Ro & Co has expanded!  On June 6th we welcomed Orion to the fold.  The jury is out on whether this blog should become Ro & Ri, Ro & O, or Ro & Bro.   

June photos: week 1 & the rest of month 1

I make being a baby look easy...

Orion is so new we don't know much about him yet.  He's cute, and likes to gaze into your eyes during the few minutes he's awake during the day. He's also huge (>98th percentile for length, and all cheeks).  When he was coming out the first thing I thought of was the opening scene of Star Wars where the panning view of the ship just keeps going and going and you wonder when it will stop (we watched it recently with Ronan).  Amusingly, he has two behaviors consistent with before he was born: he is very strong (he kicked dramatically in utero), and he gets hiccups a lot (he hiccuped almost every day in my third trimester).  He's already working on holding up his head, and if you spend a lot of time sticking your tongue out at him, he'll stick his tongue out at you. Behold the power of a baby to turn adults into weirdos!  (OK, we already were).

...but this is what my parents look like

Orion is a spit-up machine, and he's growing like crazy.  He really wants to figure out how to get his fingers in his mouth, but mostly rejects pacifiers.  This makes him less calm than Ronan as a baby, but only slightly.  Actually, that could be totally wrong.  I only think I have memories of the time after Ronan was born because there are pictures (so we must have been there).   

He's now had a month of firsts -- first sort-of smiles, first spit up through his nose, first bath, first peeing during a bath, first spitting up through his nose during a bath... I think I'll stop there.  Our life is mostly about taking care of inputs and outputs with a little funny-face making in between.  I expect next month may come with more of the funny-face making (and also the other parts).  

DS: Dependent: Noun.  A being that emits fluids that are your responsibility to clean up.

(Our cat was joining in the fun of dependency this week).

First bath in a tub.  Do you like my fig leaf?

First all-family photo (including cat)

Ronan

Ro is taking the big brother thing in stride, mostly by doing his own thing as usual, although he is very gentle with Orion.  All the kids at school are currently obsessed with Star Wars, and Ro has been making light sabers in addition to his scores of paper airplanes.  Strangely, he insists that they are called "light savers" and that all adults have it wrong.  He and his gang at school (they call themselves that)  have all the lore down, so that even though Ro hasn't seen much of the series he knows about all the characters.  We decided after the first Star Wars that it was a little advanced for him (and too violent) so we are waiting indefinitely on the rest of the movies, but we may yet look at some picture books so he doesn't feel left out.  Back to Wild Kratts and Octonauts for the time being.  This month Ro got to see the makers of Wild Kratts in person (which he talks about all the time), we took in our first Tanglewood kids concert where he enjoyed trying out the french horn, and we had a few great weeks of grandparent time with Nana and Papa.  Ro also learned to pump his legs to swing recently, which he has been enjoying greatly.

In a recent house cleaning we purged some of the paper airplanes Ro has been making (by testing them all in flight, of course), and there were probably more than 50 of them in the house.  He's gotten into folding several of his own designs, and one morning he decided he wanted to make a wing suit so HE could fly.  He made two different versions.  When the first, single-wing variety didn't work he tried a split wing.  He was genuinely disappointed when neither worked.  Another morning he woke me up saying he wanted to design a cardboard C-5, and could I help him make it?  It's hard to resist an earnest plea for an art project!

Cardboard and duct tape C-5

Early flight attempts before school

June 2015 Quotes:

R: Mom, look.  Orion is counting in binary.  See his fingers?

R: Dad, do we have a billion dollar bill in the bank?
D: No.  Only a few people in the world have a billion dollars, and they’re called billionaires.
R: Do we have a million dollar bill in the bank?
D: No.  More people have a million dollars, but still not that many people.
R: Dad, do we at least have a few thousand dollars?   [spoken with some concern]
D: Yes sweetie.  We’re doing okay.

R [After hearing that M did something nice]: We should give M a bottle of wine or something!

R: I agree with myself...

[Ronan is rifling through silverware drawer at a non-mealtime]
A: What are you looking for, Ro?
R: Nothing you really want to know about.

R&T: You don’t know us.  We’re explorers.  You don’t know our names.
A: I see.  Have you known each other long?
T: Um, I think since high school.
A: Oh, so a long time.
R: Yeah, and we’re married
T: No we’re not!
R: We’re not?
T: No!
R: Oh.  Well I’ve been getting a little confused lately.  

Spring (April-May) 2015

Summer, finally!

Designated wagon puller

It's finally green and lush and summery here.  The garden is planted with new asparagus bare roots, blueberry starts, sungold cherry tomatoes, sugar snap peas, and some colorful things Ro picked out.  We are raising tadpoles in the kitchen.  The school year has ended, summer research has started, and life is just a little bit slower than it was.

New photos (Easter through now in bottom half of the album).

We are expecting #2 any time in the next two weeks, so here are a few updates before we disappear into the land of sleepless nights.  (And hello to grandparents!)

Mother's day snuggle 

Popular seat!

Another great lap

Ro is at a remarkable age.  I've always thought 5 was a great age from my babysitting days (Ro turns 5.5 today) and oh how right that was.  From the parental point of view, his growing independence is amazing.  He wakes up and putters around until 7:30 when he gets one of us up.  He picks out his own clothes and dresses himself, entertains himself building things or flying an RC helicopter around the house, bikes around the cul-de-sac, and runs back and forth to the neighbor's house to play with T&J after school.  One particularly remarkable morning in April I stumbled downstairs at 8:30 to find he had already made some art on his easel, tried to make himself toast and thrown away the burned product, and unloaded the dishwasher (nothing broken)!  It hasn't happened again, but that's okay.  He also continues to exhibit surprising self-restraint.  On Easter he proposed that the right amount of chocolate bunny to eat each day might be about a half inch, and he actually stuck to that until the bunny was gone.  

We've started reading chapter books (currently Dinotopia and Harry Potter).  Harry Potter is definitely a little scary and advanced, but he seemed to be taking it in stride.  That was until Harry started breaking the rules.  Never mind Voldemort sucking the blood out of unicorns...it was Harry leaving Gryffindor after the night curfew that made Ro cry because it was all too much!  HP is currently on hold, and Dinotopia is at a much better level.  Ronan still likes to hear poems after lights out.  Current favorites: Why English is Hard to Learn (Anon.), Little Seth has Garlic Breath (Silverstein), Wayne the Stegosaurus (Nesbitt), and Ticklish Tom (Silverstein).  He is also obsessed with hearing (and singing) La Bamba.

Browsing Dinotopia with T and Gandalf

Babysitter Sara

Ro Quotes: 

SK [babysitter]: It looks like we are out of ice cream sandwiches for dessert
R: Well Sara, I think we have to consider the breakfast options

A: Not a lot of 5 year olds have swords, you know
R: Yeah, well it’s a relief that this one is only plastic

R: Uh, mom.  Do you really think you should wear a black shirt with a burgundy skirt?
A: Well, what do you think about that?
R: It kind of clashes.
A: What do you think would be a better color with this skirt?
R: Well, maybe gray.  Yeah, or maybe pink.

A: Star Wars is kind of a grownup movie, so it might be a little too scary

R: But why would they make a movie with bad guys and superheroes for grownups?
A: You know, grownups like that kind of stuff too
R: Really?  I thought they just liked boring stuff like newspapers and such.

R: What I really like about living here is we have a nice house and we also have a good network.

A: And after spears, people developed bows and arrows.
R: And after that they developed quiches.  So they didn’t have to hunt as often!

Subscript to school self-portrait (at right)
R: What's important to know about me is that I do not have a bunk-bed but I'm going to build my bed into one.  I do not really like fighting but I do like the fighting where it's kind of like kick-boxing.  I don't like other people being the boss of me.  I love running around, and especially galloping, and skipping too.  And also I wish I had a tail because then I would wind it up and squish it and launch myself upwards like Tigger does.

The long winter meant lots of pillow forts!

Winter (Jan-March) 2015

Another March, another Spring bulb show!

Picasa album: Photos mid-Jan through March 


It's hard to believe we've only been back home for three months.  Already we have settled deeply into life here, and serious winter.  It snowed today (March 27th) for most of the day, and we are really ready for Spring (ahhh...sun and warm temperatures the next day).  But the winter is not so bad and our lives are full.


Art:  Since our return, Ronan has been making tons of drawings.  He has a unique style, which is neat to see developing.  Here is an album of his art over the last three months (should be public access), and a few examples throughout this post!

Events:
Moving home, return to school and work and new workplace
Sledding.  More sledding!
Our dear cat Maile died
Ethan's birthday
Bulb show
Visit from Autumn and her dad
Visit from Tata and Boo (and weekend in Connecticut with them)
Visit from Nate and family

Expecting
Ronan's little brother is due in 2 months, not long after the semester ends.  We are all looking forward to it and enjoying the relative calm before the storm.  I am looking forward to never being pregnant again!  

Ro Quotes:

D: Oof!

R: It was the airplane's choice to do that.  Not mine.

R: Do you know how good I am at making paper airplanes?  At school I'm even popular about it.

New words in common usage: filthy, precious, subnivean zone.

Ro and Autumn

Did you know vikings meditate??

Pajama and stuffy day at school

Jamming with dad

Winter (Nov/Dec 2014)

So much happened in the last two months!  Pictures are here (last 10 or so photos) and here (post-turning 5).

November:

• We got away to see a production of the Tempest in SF (with a friend as Ariel)
• We sailed the bay on board the historic Alma with Cousin T, passing under the Golden Gate bridge and out to Fort Baker where we enjoyed birthday cake #1
• After much anticipation, Ronan turned 5 years old, which we celebrated like pirates.  Pirates enjoy chemistry-themed parties at the Lawrence Hall of Science followed by cake and booty, right?  Ro’s grandpa turned 5+n years at the same time, leading to cakes #2 and 3.
• We enjoyed thanksgiving with family (turkey day 1) replete with cake #4 for my birthday.
• We then celebrated TD2 (turkey day 2) with many friends and a second round of cooking.

December:

• We took our third trip to Bear Valley this year, this time back at S&A’s cabin.  Ronan tried skiing (video here) for the first time, and much fun was had with remote monster trucks and glitter glue
• Ronan spent multiple overnights at Tata and Boo’s, while we did crazy things like stay overnight on a houseboat in Sausalito, watch movies, see Chanticleer, and go kayaking
• Ronan attended a messy but fun cookie decorating party!  I took another glass-blowing class with my dad.
• Pre-school finished with a kid concert featuring African songs and percussion.
• Christmas was a huge day for presents and a little overwhelming!  There were only a few tears late in the day.  D and I got each other art for Christmas — our first grownup purchases of paintings from the very talented Ellen Zucker (wife of my PhD advisor)
• We took a trip on the holiday-decorated “Train of Lights”
• We got ready to move!  Craigslist, donation runs, packing the container, shipping the car…
• New Years Eve gathering complete with a visit from G&B and S from Montana.

Early January:

• We spent the night “camping” in a rustic cabin right on the coast at Steep Ravine in Marin.  This was reserved 6 months in advance, before we realized our camping gear would be mid-cross-country trip!  Thanks to a gear loan we got to enjoy this lovely closeout to the year, complete with a “wolf moon” of incredible brightness lighting the sky and ocean all night.
• Throughout we had visits with many wonderful people, and inter-house dinners most Fridays.

Preparing inter-house dinner

Science:

Winter is a good time for nature in California, and on one bike ride Ro I found a swallowtail caterpillar on some fennel growing in the community garden.  We took it home and enjoyed learning how to take care of it and spot the signs it was ready to build a chrysalis (a big gloppy poop), which it produced right before building its case.  It didn’t hatch out, suggesting we caught it late enough in the fall that it had plans to overwinter.  We also enjoyed looking at lots of things under the microscope (from the undersides of different kinds of leaves to silverfish), found a strawberry sprouting leaves from its seeds, and had a blast playing with dry ice in the lab and at home in new and interesting ways.  Ronan has started folding his own paper airplanes, and his favorite models are the “dart” and the “sharp blades of the sky.”

Catching and holding dry ice bubbles!

Ramblings:

Five has brought so many new competencies and more confidence.  With these have come the first lies (usually about having washed his hands when he didn’t) and greater frustration if he doesn’t get his way (although he is starting to understand the concept of compromise).  All in all it is a really fun age.  We are slowly transitioning from caretakers to companions, and get to enjoy the company of this amazing small person (42” and 38.5 lbs as per the doctor, a few days ago).  I suppose it must be good, because we are doing it all again!

This year in California has been beautiful, fun, hectic, complicated, strange, and wonderful.  We tried to milk it for all we could, and we were especially glad to give Ronan the chance to spend time with family and friends.  Although we are heading back to a really cold January, we look forward to having a less transient home base.  It turns out that a year is a long time, and this one has been a memorable adventure.

Marin trail with friends

Ro Quotes:

Ro: I want you to get up and play with me

A: How do you have so much energy?  Did you steal it from your parents?

Ro: No, I just have it

A: Well can you give some to us so we can get up?

R: Then I’ll be tired!  Wait, I know.  How about I suck the energy out of dad and give it to you, so you can play with me?

A: And then dad will have a nap?

R: And then dad will have a nap.  [Mimes sucking out energy and re-distributing]

[while riding the bus]

R-I think I learned the pattern.  I think the light goes on when we are approaching the bus stop, and it turns off when we're going.

A: Make sure to put the lid back on so the dry ice doesn’t melt

K: You mean so it doesn’t sublimate?

[minutes later]

A: Look, if I shine a light on the bubble it’s opaque

R: Mom, do you mean translucent?

[We’re doomed around all these little nerd kids!]

R: When I’m a little bit older I wanna see uncle Bob and I want to go with him into a room where nobody else wants to be.  And I want him to whisper in my ear.

D: What do you want him to whisper about?

R: I want him to tell me how to be a magician!

A certain self-trust and seeing-is-believing attitude appears to have been paternally transmitted:

[Ronan is searching his room]

D: Whatcha looking for Ro?

R: Oh nothing

D: If you tell me what it is maybe I can help you find it.

R: Well, mom said my shoes were downstairs but I didn’t believe her.  But now I do.  

[We have for a while referred to the cats as Problem 1 and Problem 2 - link]

R-There are actually 5 problems in this family.  Problem 1 is Maile, 2 is Gandalf.  Three is dad, four is mom, and five is Ronan!  

R-Actually there are like 20 problems!

A- What, including all the ants? [meaning in the kitchen]

R- Yeah, and all the uncles and grandparents and godparents.

M [a friend] - What does nifty mean?

R - Nifty means awesome.  No, it actually means great.

Mispronunciation: Ro says Turbyl instead of Turbo, so we fly Turbyl-jets around the living room.

We've moved!  Actually…the unpacking has just begun...

Leaving CA

And arriving to snow!