A day of Islands and sun...

(written on August 6th in Kipawa Quebec)

We have been in Kipawa for 5 days and we have finally started to sink into the routine of boating, cooking, sunning, fishing and relaxing... with 2 days to go to enjoy it! Our weather has been unpredictable to say the least, with periods of sun, then cloud, then showers, then wind, following one after another in quick succession each day so far. A preponderance of clouds earlier this week meant that we relished a fully sunny day today.

Jack, of course, is not at all fazed by any sort of weather. He has been loving it here, with no conditions on that love. He mostly loves it because there is a momo boat (motor boat) and he gets to pish (fish) with his little Spiderman fishing rod off the dock, and there is sand (sadly, he is now saying “tuvel” rather than “tummy” when talking about his sand shovel. Yes, progress is grand, but I will miss that little mispronunciation of his. Sigh.) He also loves the stairs up to the cabin and the hill to the beach. I am not sure if he loves it as much as the dogs do. I am not sure anyone could love anything as much as the dogs love it here. Absolute freedom, water everywhere, woods, intoxicating pine scents abounding...

This morning Nat, Jack, Corydon and I headed off in the canoe to explore the little island at the entrance to Echo Bay. We had boated past it in the momo boat two days ago and were entranced by the collection of pine and beech trees clustered there, and vowed to explore it on foot the next nice day. We had the most lovely time and I have to say that the island is now officially my favorite place at camp. We docked at a lovely shard of glacial rock slanting gently into the water, leading like a ramp up to a profusion of blueberry bushes, soft-needle pines, and exactly 3 perfectly porportioned, split-trunk birches. Jack loved tromping about on the “iyand”. When we asked him where we were, hoping to hear that adorable word, however, he must've been looking at Cor, because he confidently said “Dog.” So, Dog Island it is, and ever more shall be.

Upon our return from Dog Island, Jack got it in his mind that a momo boat ride was in order, so we invited others to come along. Auntie Becca came along and we decided to head back out to Blueberry Island, as Jack had not been along on our first trip. Off we went. Jack greatly enjoyed island number 2 for the morning, as well. More challenging climbing and clambering here, over giant slabs of rock and boulders, tight-knit pines and, of course, blueberry bushes. We didn't stay all that long. Turns out, exploring one's way through the woods is more appealing without a two-year-old in tow. We wandered a bit, found a few stunning views of the lakes, and then headed back to the boat. We made it just about haldway back to camp before the motor died. Yep. We had to paddle the motorboat back to camp. We estimated it after the fact as about a mile, mile and a half. Took us the better part of an hour and involved lots of rowing, Nat pulling the boat while balancing along the shore, and simming alongside. I cannot say enough good things about how Jack did, sitting in the boat while we clambered about, oard everywhere, slogging our way home. It's truly amazing what being in a boat can do for a little boy's patience...

We were all ready for a nap when we got home.

Jack finished his day with time playing on the beach, throwing the beach ball around in the cabin, eating a bit of dinner, and watching some Blue's Clues on my computer. A memorable day here in Quebec!

Back home...

We have been back from Farley's for a week tomorrow and we are starting to settle into the routine of being at home again. Back to group, shopping at Target, keeping up with the house. The contrast between the lake and Cleveland Heights has been pretty surreal. I am finally adjusting to the noise level and the lack of lakefront here at home. Sigh.

Jack, on the other hand, is a flexible little monkey and slipped right back into his routine. He's been sleeping a bit better now that we are home, I think because his room is distinctly warmer than the cottage was. Only up once a night to nurse this week. I can handle that.

This weekend we took a day trip to Pittsburg to see some college friends and visit IKEA. Great fun and the boy was a trouper, going on only 30 minutes of nap and being put to bed in a strange place so we could stay later and drink and chat... He's a good kid.

Recent milestone changes center on the verbal, as per norm. We are hearing some sentence being put together.
Often heard:

"Iwanhabit" I wanna have it! Often followed by "viemin"-- vitamin-- as Jack has developed a bit of an obsession with his gummy bear vitamins.

"guy on mino (motorcycle)" Yesterday this was followed by "hat on. Go!" A very cute discussion of a motorcycle crossing the intersection.

Here is a recent update post from BZ:
Jack is obsessed with motorcycles. He calls them "my-no"-- weird huh? He will walk around going myno, myno,myno,myno....etc, on and on, kind of singing it....

He also loves to count and will start from random places and count, over and over. He can go 1-13 but he skips 9 and 11... its really funny.

Whenever we say a phrase he likes the sound of, he'll parrot it back and them repeat it for a while. TOday, DH hurt his foot and I said "poor daddy" and Jack repeated that for about 10 minutes, off and on!

He also loves to say "mommmm-eeee" and have me say "Jackie!" back in the same tone of voice. We'll play that back and forth for a while.

Also we hear "hab it" (Have it) and "want it" alot! He also says "oh no...happened!" when anything is out of place, spilled, knocked over etc...

He is also learning the concept of "mine". This is usually yelled. He is quickly approaching his second birthday after all and he likes to remind us that the orneriness is only going to increase! but he is so stinking cute. SO stinking cute. He is getting more into hugs and kisses and tickles and running up to us and grabbing our legs and giggling. Very giggly these days. Very loveable.

News of the day...

Jack's big news today is that he has learned how to ride a tricycle, all by himself! After sitting on the bikes and pushing the pedals up and down a lot, for a week and half...today he got on the trike and pushed a few times- and moved forward! When we noticed, and started cheering, he did it again.... and he was off and riding. He had quite an audience gathered to witness this occasion here at the point. Very fun! He can now ride about 10 feet forward or 5 feet backward, provided there is no real slope to the road... As you can see in the pictures, the look on his face as he experiences independent, wheeled locomotion is priceless.

One more week...

...of vacation left. I am so grateful we have such a nice long stretch at the lake this year. We are really getting into this whole relaxation thing. The weather's been perfect all weekend and we've done a lot of kayaking and lazing about in the sun at the point. Lovely big family dinner last night here at the cottages. Jack and Cousin Alex played together like champs! Alex loved being the "big kid" and was super sweet to Jack. Saturday was Aurorafest-- a parade and a real live joust to watch (Jack was fascinated with that-- very concerned when the knights 'fell" off their horses -- "oh no!! Guy! Back on horse!" said with a look of utmost concern.) as well as a concert and food on the lawn at Wells. Friday we went the 2 of us to Ithaca for a concert at Cornell. So Jack's been having a very stimulating time of it! He is ALWAYS happy to return to his bikes, though!

We had a "milestone monday" on BZ today; here's my "quick update" copied from that site...
Jack is saying 2-5 word sentences a lot more often this week. He is getting into imitating the play of older kids, thanks to being here on vacation with his cousins. This is a good thing (pretend play and gross motor skill development) and a bad thing (hitting things with baseball bats, for instance, or trying to climb up and over railings...) He is now eating watermelon and raspberries (this, the kid who would eat NO fruit). He is very into bikes and can get onto one by himself and will sit there and pretend to pedal by moving the pedals up and down really fast. He is also into "pretending" to fall and being very dramatic-- "OOOF! Uh oh!" and then giggling. This may be because he's taken a number of real falls this week as he runs full tilt on the gravel road. We've currently got scabs on both knees and the side of his nose. He can also help to paddle a kayak and a canoe and love love loves to help drive the boat!

And, here are some photos from the vacation thus far!

Updates from the lake...

Jack and I write to you today from the porch of the little cottage. Barb is rigging her sailboat and there are a couple of kayaks rounding the point. The cove is still and sunny and all is well here at Farley's..

Jack is loving his trip to the point so far. One of the best things about this place, in his opinion, is the large collection of bikes that have been amassed at the yellow cottage, for his cousins. The bikes are slowly migrating across to our yard as Jack pics new favorites. He like to sit on them and practice climbing on and off. He knows to put his feet on the pedals but does not yet have the concept of pushing them around. Pedaling, and indeed moving at all on the bikes seems to be irrelevant to him. He loves just visiting with them. He has learned to push them to the side of the road when there is a car coming, and now pretends that there are "Carsh comeen" just for fun.

He has also been exposed to a large number of watercraft. As of day 3 of our stay, Jack has been out on the lake in a canoe, 2 different kayaks, and 2 motorboats. He's watched daddy waterski and get gas for the boat. He loves, let me repeat LOVES, to drive the boat. He's learning the ropes we getting sunscreen applied and a lifejacket on before we head out, as he simply adores all of the boats. He is a great passenger, sitting very still and investigating both the scenery and the interior workings of the boat as we go.

So far we have gone on one day trip to Ithaca, had 2 dinners with Uncle Randy, Aunt Amy, and the cousins, engaged in numerous conversations in the front lawn with fellow Farley's residents, and played at the playground 1-3 times daily. I have gone on a run all 3 days and have, at current count, made 5 scrapbook pages. It's shaping up to be a pretty nice vacation! Pics to follow soon!

Wonderful Wade Oval Wednesday!

We went to our first WOW of the 2009 season tonight-- and the first one ever where Jack could be such an active participant. And active he was!! Here's a quick run down of his antics.
Arrival: We got rock star parking, which happened to be right behind a motorcycle. Resounding chorus of "Ooooh! Dat!" from the backseat. This was made even more momentous when another motorcycle pulled in and parked beside the first, as we got out of the car. It took some serious convincing and a small amount of complaining on Jack's part to get him across the street.
Inflatables: Jack, as it turns out, is magnetically drawn to giant inflatable bounce-castles. He spotted them from across the Oval (along with 3 different planes) and stared at them the whole way. We were pretty much against him going in, but he was not about to leave that area without getting a turn, somehow convinced that he loved inflatable bounce-castles, despite having never gone in one before. We gave in. I must say he was fabulous about waiting in line, once I explained it. His turn came, I helped him in... and promptly scooped him back out, screaming in terror. Porr guy. Those things can be pretty intimidating. See below for a funny and potentially very embarrassing-to-future-Jack video of this experience.
Wandering the crowd: We saw a total of 5 acquaintances from the Parent Center, and were stopped numerous times by people wanting to pet and complement the dog. As we left the food and booths of crap area, we spotted the mounted police. Jack loved seeing the horses. On our way back to the center (AKA reggae central, an interesting amalgam middle class families and swaying hippies) we talked to a man with a Barred Owl.
Dancing and Frisbee fetch: Okay, so Jack didn't really dance. He was too interested in VERY seriously studying the drummers in the band. He did enjoy being assisted to jump off the low wall into the grass, as well as trying to pick up stones out of the asphalt. Frisbee fetch really happened, though. Turns out Jack will chase a Frisbee and return it to us. Handy.
Seed Statues: We were trying valiantly to leave and take our tired pumpkin home when he spotted the seed statues by the Botanical Gardens, and was pulled by a siren song equal to that of inflatable bounce-castles: Other Children Playing. He had a blast climbing around on the seeds. My camera battery died before we could get a picture of him in the radish. That was the best. It was a lovely little moment in time, there by the seed statues. Corydon's fan club swarming around, including a 16 month old girl who did not stop hugging her. Monkey-like little boys swinging around on the statues with Jack watching in awe. Beautiful slanting sunlight cutting though the cloud cover. I was so sublimely happy to be right there, right then, with my wonderful little family. It was a great way to spend our 3rd Wedding Anniversary.

Pictures from Aurora and Strasburg