Twistin' by the Pool

It has taken Jack a while to warm up to the water. He and I are enrolled at the Aqua Shrimp program at the gym. It is basically a Mommy and Me type of swim class where we sing songs about ducks and practice kicking. Most of the time Jack has a death grip on my bathing suit straps - which has lead to a few compromising situations - but he tends to loosen up by the end of class and indulge in some splashing. We got a little plastic pool for the backyard thinking he would enjoy cooling off during the stifling Pennsylvania summer. So far he likes sitting outside of the pool and leaning over the edge to splash in it. Otis, on the other hand, loves the pool and will get in and lay down before we even get it filled with water. Jack of course finds this hilarious just not enough to join in. We have a week of Aqua Shrimps left. I am hoping that he will continue to get more comfortable with the water and maybe even get in the pool.

Invasion of the Flatlanders

It was hot in Vermont this past weekend, dog danglin' hot. We made the seven hour drive to the Green Mountain State to visit our friends Mark and Anne. They are both teaching at the aptly named Green Mountain College in Poultney, just across the river from New York. Poultney is a tiny little town of old Victorian homes, a main street with a few shops and restaurants and not much else. We drove 30 minutes to the nearest big town, Rutland, to get coffee at the closest good coffee shop and visited the farmers' market (where we stocked up on cheese from several Vermont dairies). On our first day we made a pilgrimage to a local sugarhouse so Dan could indulge in one of his passions, maple syrup. Jack had his first taste of maple candy and Dan greedily bought up his favorite Grade B syrup. When the heat hit - 95 degrees with 90% humidity - we packed Jack into the backpack and walked to the river for a pick-nick and to cool off in the water. Jack was a bit hesitant about being in the water but as he seems to have inherited his mother's propensity to overheat, it didn't take too long for him to enjoy the cool water on his toes. Jack did really well during the long car trip. He slept, played on the grimy floor at the service stop, and ate lots of finger food and laughed with whoever was sitting in back with him in the afternoon. He really only fussed during the last 45 minutes or so - the boy's gotta move. This was the first time that Jack has met any of our friends who knew us pre-baby which was probably more exciting for us than him. We are lucky that it was Mark and Anne who were fabulous hosts, not easy with a nine month old who takes over schedules and space in the blink of an eye.

First Things First

There have been a lot of firsts for Jack lately. On Memorial day we took Jack to his first baseball game and saw the local minor league team the Lancaster Barnstormers versus the Long Island Ducks. We made it through 2 1/2 innings during which Jack enjoyed his first soft serve ice cream and funnel cake. At the game he worked on another of his firsts and waved to the fans around us. One of my favorite firsts was the trip to the pool. Dan and I took Jack to the warm pool at the gym. He was a bit hesitant at first but quickly got into it and splashed and squealed while we bounced him around the pool. He has gotten even more proficient at standing - not technically a first but fun none the less. He can and does pull up on anything, some favorites include Otis, the bookshelves, me (he especially loves using my pant legs to pull up on which has lead to some embarrassing moments when I'm in my elastic wasted pj pants). Jack has started to play catch a bit. He has a hard time actually throwing the ball, it is more of a spastic jerk that results in the ball being launched behind him, but it is a type of proto-catch that we have fun playing. The next first that we are looking forward to is Jack's first long roadtrip. We are driving to Vermon to visit our friends Mark and Anne. We're not quite sure what to expect of a 6 hour drive with a 9 month old but we have our fingers crossed.