Weekend wanderings

We’ve developed a typical Saturday summertime routine. Our first stop is the YMCA, where Caden plays and Mama and Dada get some exercise. When we get to the Y, Caden always climbs the stairs to the front door. He has become quite a determined climber of anything climbable and often refuses help—or a hand placed to keep him from falling—by pushing us away, saying, “No! I do it!”

From the Y, we go to the Marblehead Farmers’ Market to do as much of our week’s veggie shopping as possible and share lunch or a treat. The Farmers’ Market is at the middle school, which also houses the Magic Hat thrift shop (it benefits the local schools), so we wander over to the Magic Hat, where Caden plays with the toys while Mama and Dada look for bargains. After that, we usually swing by the post office—which sometimes involves a walk down the rail trail—before heading home.

A week ago, our friends Sal and Liza invited us to spend a beach day with them (and of course, Caden’s friends Summer and Mae!) in Cohasset, which is south of Boston. Liza grew up there, and her dad has a sailboat moored in the harbor, so the boat served as our base of operations. Caden had a great time experiencing different boats: we spent time in a canoe, on the sailboat, and in a skiff. And he still talks about the neat Scooby-Doo life jacket that Sal and Liza shared with him. We ate lunch on the sailboat—the kids lined up along one side—before heading over to an island in Cohasset harbor for the afternoon. The beach was great, with sandcastles to build and destroy, shells to collect, and a not-too-cold ocean to wade in. Mama and Mae even went swimming! Caden spent most of the day sitting between Summer and Mae, because they kept arguing about which of them got to be next to him. After an entertaining dinner at a pizza parlor—the kids lined up along one side of the table—we headed back home.

No, Mama, I paddle!

Little sailors

Sandcastle

I a big kid

For lunch on Father’s Day, we stopped at Woodman’s, a neat old seafood restaurant in Essex. We ordered way more food than we could eat: a crab roll for Mama, a clam roll for Dada, and a kid’s clam strip meal for Caden. Caden ate a few clams and made a valiant effort on his fries, but Dada ended up with enough to eat for both lunch and dinner.

Caden has been trying on “titles” for himself these past few weeks. He seldom calls himself a baby anymore, and really wants to be a “big kid.” When he does something correctly, especially if he’s really pleased with himself, he’ll announce,“I a big kid!” Sometimes, he teases Mama and Dada and says, “I adult!” He also throws “toddler” into the mix. It can get pretty silly at times.

Lately, he has been saying “I a big kid” a lot when he uses his potty chair or goes to the bathroom using the big toilet. And, best of all as far as he is concerned, he gets to flush when he’s finished.

In other news, our last swimming lesson was this past week. Classes run for six weeks, and we’re leaving for California in just over three weeks, so we’ll have to wait until we get back for more fun in the pool. As you can see, Caden loves the water!

Big kid potty

Eating clams with Dada

Row, row, row your boat

For Father's Day, we ventured up the coast to Essex, where more wooden fishing boats were built than in any other place in the country. We wandered around the outdoor exhibits at the Essex Shipbuilding Museum, where Caden found this song-inspiring dinghy:

A bittersweet trip to Oregon

Two weeks ago, we travelled to Oregon to remember Caden’s great grandma, Ama Jean, who passed away on May 25th. It was a bittersweet visit for Mama and Dada, but to Caden it was a great adventure and a chance to spend time with some of his favorite people, especially Ama and Adad.

It was Caden’s first jet trip in his own seat, which gave us all more space and made him feel comfy in his carseat. We spent lots of time outside while we were in Oregon, especially at the Godard family filbert orchard just south of Corvallis, and Caden was especially excited about the tractors. Cousin Sandy even learned to drive the small tractor so that he could give mini hayrides!

Caden was also able to play with Auntie Sally, Auntie Misty, and Uncle Jerry. While we were there, Auntie Sally left for her Teach for America assignment in Hawaii, so it was extra-special to get to spend time with her. We also spent a fun afternoon with Auntie Misty and Uncle Jerry at their place in Dallas, Oregon. Caden was so worn out after days of nonstop fun with few chances for a good nap that he fell asleep on Jerry and Misty’s living room floor.

On the way back up to Seattle for our flight east, we stopped in Portland to visit with Amy, Owen, and the chickens. Owen showed Caden how to fish from a kayak, and we all enjoyed tasty burgers on their back porch.

Our jet trip back featured a bit of excitement: a tornado warning evacuated our Cincinnati airport terminal into the baggage tunnels. Caden’s a big fan of tunnels, so he liked our underground adventure. Once the storm had passed, we headed back up to our terminal and eventually caught our flight home.

Godard cousins

Cousin Sandy's hayride

Bubbles with Juliana

Napping at Jerry and Misty's

Farewell hugs from Auntie Sally

Corvallis riverfront park

Fishin' with Owen

Tornado tunnel!

The BIG sailboat

We no longer run errands, we go on adventures. This slight change in nomenclature makes Caden excited to leave the house, climb into the white car (he climbs into his own car seat, now), and go wherever we want to take him. He even chants as we pull out of the driveway, “Goin’ on adventure! Goin’ on adventure! Goin’ on adventure!”

We recently discovered a Rails to Trails path that goes through Marblehead; an extension into Swampscott may eventually run right behind our backyard. A couple weekends ago, we explored a section of the trail and ended up walking from downtown Marblehead across to Salem Harbor. Caden was in the backpack most of the way, but enjoyed exploring part of the trail (including the boardwalk in the picture below) on foot.

One of the highlights of the past month was our Mother’s Day adventure to Salem. Our first stop was Derby Wharf and the Salem Maritime National Historic Site, where we toured the Friendship, a replica merchant ship from ~1800. Caden and Dada had seen the ship on a previous visit to Salem, and Caden couldn’t stop talking about the “big sailboat.” Caden really wanted to show Mama the ship, and he was soooo excited to get onboard. After our tour, we got a bite to eat at a café, then did some antiquing and picked up some bread and treats at a favorite bakery.

The following weekend, Mama flew west to see Auntie Sally graduate from Whitman. Dada and Caden had a great time together, especially on Sunday, when we took the blue train to the aquarium to see the big sharks, big turtle, and especially the diver who was feeding the fish. The diver even gave Caden a high five through the glass!

The past few days have been sunny and warm, and we’ve even eaten our breakfast on the deck a couple of times this weekend. It finally feels like summer has arrived in the northeast.

Here's a slightly belated message from Caden to all of you moms out there:

Congratulations, Auntie Sally!

Exploring the railroad path
Pickin' dandelions

Lobsters at the lab

Yesterday evening, Caden was running around, making mischief of one kind and another, while Dada made dinner. At one point, the sound of scattering and clattering came from Caden’s play room. Dada looked around the corner from the kitchen and asked, “What’s going on, Caden?” Caden replied, “Dada making pizza. Caden making a mess.”

Caden started swimming lessons last Wednesday. On Tuesday night, Mama made swimming caps for all three of us—they are required at the Y’s pool—and Caden loved his so much he wore it to school on Wednesday. He also demanded to bring his “Beavers ball,” which provided an irresistible photo op. After school and a quick dinner, we headed over to the Y, where Caden had a fantastic time playing in the water, singing favorite songs, and sliding down the slide into the pool.

Spring semester is over at Northeastern, which means Friday lunch barbeques at the lab. Mama and Caden drove in to join everyone for burgers and pot-luck side dishes. Caden especially liked running around outside, playing with the grad students, and checking out the big lobsters in the running seawater tanks. Sal invited us over to their place after work—Liza and Mae were at a Sox game—for dinner and playtime. Caden loved watching their hamster and playing with Mae and Summer’s toys, and we all enjoyed a tasty dinner.

The weather was crummy all weekend, but it’s been nicer these last couple of days. Caden had fun on an unplanned visit to the lab today—his teachers sent him home claiming that he was sick—where he and Dada checked out the animals in the tanks and played with a soccer ball outside. Jeremy let Caden borrow his lobster hat, which led to some pretty cute clowning around.

At the Boston Public Garden