Aunt Amy Visit and Time in the Crick

First: A week ago we had a visit from Aunt Amy. Much fun was had by all--and Amy even had the chutzpah to recover quickly from her migraine Saturday evening. Sam and A.A. had a great time, as did we! (Photo of A.A. and Sam below.)

That same weekend we took Sam, for the first time, to the Rochester Museum and Science Center. He loved wandering around and seeing the new (to him) exhibits. We took him to an imax-esque show at the planetarium. It was 40 minutes and a little repetitive, so he was ready to go after 30 minutes, but it was still a pleasant experience. Outside the museum is a nice garden which has a cast-iron sculpture just right for a little boy to climb.

Also shown:

• Mommy getting Sam's help skewering veggies to be grilled.
• Sam playing with a little maze device.
• Sam playing in the stream near the culvert.
• Sam playing on the far shore while Daddy cut down unwanted foliage.
  

This weekend had lots of fun puttering around the home, and plenty of time outside in between rain storms. Most notable was the time spent in the creek. I got a lot of cleanup done, and Sam had a blast in his swim suit and water socks floating things downstream and wandering among the trees on shore with his friend Ian.


I am certain there's more to report, but that's all that my mind can recollection right now. More later if I remember!

Here are a couple of late additions: Sunday morning Sam and I were killing some time while Susan showered, and we found a game I bet you haven't played (except maybe with a spouse?), called Throw The Pajama Top In The Air. We had a great time, lofting his pj shirt up and running to catch it. It's a great way for Sam to practice hand-eye coordination.

What's even better: Yesterday while Susan was getting her thyroid biopsy (needle in the throat--gulp), I stayed home with Sam. He had found a floppy rubber frisbee we've had for a while, and wanted to play with it. So we went out on the driveway, and amazing, he really took to it! Now at least 1/3 of his tosses are really good, and go as far as 20-30'! What fun!

He never leaves the imaginative play behind, though. He loved the "game" where Susan pretended the frisbee was food, and pretended to eat it, or the game where I pretended it was a hat, insisting it wasn't a frisbee. At one point in denying the frisbee-hat theory, he started his sentence, "P'shaw!" He wasn't going for a laugh, either, though he got one! Guess we're at the stage where he picks up the weird words Susan and I use!

Similarly, he's recently begun to bargain with us using phrases like "Yes or no:..." or "Now don't argue with me, but..." I guess that's better than hearing him use swear words!

A visit from friends

Great week last week: Lanse and Jess, our friends and old neighbors when we were all living on Edgemont Rd, visited from South Carolina. Many of these photos are courtesy of Jess. They got along with Sam like a house on fire, and it was great seeing them again. Hi Jess and Lanse!

Lanse was great with Sam. He played with Sam, even to the point of swinging Sam, and letting Sam stand on his hands. Sam was apparently a little uncertain about this last!

At the end of this post is a movie Jess took. It is of Sam showing Jess and me a long line of toys and things which he assembled, I think as a way to show off a little.

* * *

Also pictured: Sam at a birthday party of his friend Isaac, and Isaac's friends. It was held at the "Sandbox", a play facility--a sanity-preserving method of hosting birthday parties which Susan was happy to pioneer last year.

* * *

In other news, the following exchanged happened when Sam was drawing a woman in chalk on the driveway. Here, he describes her in detail to Susan...

Sam: This is a woman. These are her eyes, that's her hat, that's her dress, those are her arms. Oh! She needs hands.
Sam: She needs a husband. Actually, she doesn't have a husband. I'll draw her little boy.
Susan: Why doesn't she have a husband, Sam?
Sam: She wants one! God promised her one, and then he forgot!

I am recording this specifically so his therapist can use it in thirty years.

* * *

Had a fun Sam moment the other day: We had gotten a slushy-like frozen drink from Taco Bell and were all sharing it. It has a very tangy taste. Sam drank some, looked thoughtful, and said, "The taste is very intense!"

* * *

One last demonstration that Sam, while learning subtlety, is still a delightfully open book. The other day Sam was talking to Susan while I was in another room. He said that he loved us both (Susan and me). Susan had to ask, "Who do you love more?" Sam replied, a little artlessly, "Daddy... uh... you!"

A week in the woods

Last week was spent at camp with Nana and Grandad. We all had a great time, despite a few days of constant rain. (To put it in perspective, my officemate was canoe-camping a couple of hours away. He and his boys spent a day just sitting in their two-man tent with their wet dog.)






There were so many fun experiences that it's hard to know where to begin! Like last year, we took Sam on several hikes at the local state park, which Sam loved. The longest was about 1.8 mi., and this year it was rare for me to pick him up. Shown here is a photo of Sam with a field of new-growth trees, most of which he was taller than.

He had a great time spotting the trail markers. He would run ahead and yell at the top of his lungs when he found one. So we didn't see any deer this year, but it was great to have a place where he could just yell like a 3-yr-old.

Sam really enjoyed seeing Nana and Grandad. (And not just because of the books and the gift they gave him!) They puttered, threw rocks into the water, played hide-and-seek, goofed around and generally had a good time.

Sam even got to join Grandad and I when we towed the raft out away from shore in the little rowboat. You'll see from the photo, it's good that the seas were calm that day.

Unlike last year, Sam was more interested in canoeing and kayaking. We went on two long canoe rides, one on Arbuckle, one on Higley. All fo us joined in for both rides, brought us right down near the surface of the water--prompting Sam, on the second trip, to ask if we were going to sink. Despite high winds and waves for Higley ride, we stayed out of the water.

While canoeing we explained to Sam what a "buoy" is. At first we tried to maintain what Nana says is the correct pronunciation, "boy", not "boo-ey". (Though Merriam Webster has bowed to popular usage.) This led to some confusion, so that later in the week Sam spotted one and said excitedly that he'd seen a "fake boy".

Sam had a classic 3-yr-old moment yesteday when I wanted to take him on his second kayak ride. He fussed and complained and I had to "compromise" and tell him he only had to go out for one minute. Naturally, once he was out in the kayak he loved it and there was no talk of going back.

On Arbuckle we not only saw several frogs, but at least half a dozen turtles. Last week we also saw a nest filled with baby birds (at the head of the Beaver Trail, in the registration area, so we could go right up to it), snails, slugs, caterpillars, turkey vultures, wild turkeys, and even a bald eagle which swooped down and grabbed a fish out of Higley. (According to wikipedia, fish are their main diet, and they do indeed live in this part of the US as well.) The life guard at the state park said they'd seen some as well. And to top it off, when we were just about to leave on Sunday a chipmonk got into the act and ran into the camp, and it took all of Susan's and my curling skills to shoo it out with our brooms.

Since we were on the water, Susan got Sam some beach toys at the dollar store, which included a very large squirt gun of sorts which resembles a pump-action turkey baster and can squirt quit a distance. You can see it here, being used with glee on a fleeing Susan.

Susan also got Sam a package of sparklers, and he had a tremendous time playing with those. I am relieved to find out (again from my officemate) that the sparks they give off won't even light paper. Perfect for Sam!

All in all, an excellent week. Beforehand I was worried Sam wouldn't have enough to do. Such a delight to see that hiking and swimming were plenty. :-)