Laughing Ry

It took us a while to figure out what makes Riley laugh other than random things that go on around the house or something behind you that is unseen. It turns out that she is going to be one of those kids who goes on the roller coaster 15 times, then throws up on the way home. We'll be getting the optional rubber mats in the back when we buy our new car. Anyway, she seems to delight in anything that appears as though its going to hit her or if we pretend to drop her. Thrill seeker already, which makes us concerned for the years to come.

Exersaucelicious!

After a long hiatus, we're back. Between grant writing, figuring out the move and tending to the beast, we've all had our hands full over the last little while. However, that hasn't stopped us from buying Riley a few things, which is where the exersaucer comes in. Our doctor mentioned in passing that Ry's head was getting a bit flat in the back at our last visit. Nothing to be concerned about, but keep an eye on it. Then, three WEEKS after our appointment, the receptionist called and said that she was booking us an appointment with a baby head specialist, whatever they call those. Of course, no one likes to be told that their offspring needs a de-flat-head specialist, so despite the fact that her head is just fine and this is something that almost all babies go through, we decided that it would be a good idea to get some things to entertain her that would keep her standing upright. By the miracle of the internet, there happens to be a large community of (semi-crazed) online moms selling used baby gear around Halifax and if you hit it right, you can get some good deals as long as you own a hose and some anti-drool disinfectant. So, for $10 we got ourselves a spinning, rocking, noise-making exersaucer to keep the beast entertained and off her not-so-flat head. I'm considering billing it to our doctor.

Parental instincts

We just got back from a successful trip south and are settling back into things at home. After a brutal stretch of heat in Mass, we returned to spring in Halifax, with temps in the mid to high 60s. I have to admit, it's a bit of a relief to be able to go outside without sweating profusely.

After securing our house and making several trips to RI for various meetings and a nice bbq hosted by one of the members of the department so that we could meet everyone, we had some time just to catch up with family. The time flew though and we did not get a chance to see even half of the people we had hoped to, but we knew that it won't be long before we will have the time to do that on a regular basis and not in short visits.

In any case, I was afforded the opportunity to check on my parental instincts, just to make sure they were firing. We spent a decent amount of time on Megan's parent's deck while we were at their house. We even set up Riley's bathtub as a mini pool for her to splash around in. Being a responsible parent, I thought it would be a good idea to move her into the tub one hot afternoon and picked her up to do just that. Despite my familiarity with the deck, I momentarily forgot that it is multi-level and as I turned with Riley to place her in the tub, my foot found no purchase since it was extended over the lower portion of the deck, whereas the rest of me was comfortable on the higher part of the deck. Suddenly I was falling sideways, offspring clutched between my two hands, and heading for a flight of stairs that end on a concrete pool deck. Somehow I managed to hold Riley sky-ward, land on the deck with my back and contort so as to avoid the stairs-swandive (which the Russian judge would have under-scored me for anyway). Staring up at Riley, dangling in my extended arms, I saw only mild surprise at the unexpected ride, but she was hardly bothered by the experience and with only a few patches of skin sacrificed to the porch, I was happy with the end result. Since I am generally lanky and lacking in coordination, I'm sure I will find other ways to endanger her in the future, but its good to get one under the belt with doing too much damage, just as a test-drive of the parental emergency systems. Everything checks out.

Traveling

We have been bad about updates while we have been on the road. We left last Friday after after a long week with lots of things to take care of, then flew into Boston, picked up our rental car and headed down to Megan’s parent’s place near Cape Cod. We weren’t sure how Riley would be with flying, but she had no problem with it at all. We fed her on take-off and landing to keep her ears clear and she pretty much slept the rest of the flight. Even when there was a medical “situation” on board and a considerable commotion surrounding that, Riley stayed asleep or smiling for the whole trip. I think she was the only one.

We spent the weekend in Carver with Megan’s parents and her sister’s family. Megan’s two nieces were enthralled with Riley, especially Sarah who couldn’t believe her good fortune to have the opportunity to brush the hair of a real baby before the age of 5. It was great to have them meet their cousin and know that we will be seeing them more regularly soon.

Today (Monday) we went down to RI to look at rental houses and saw two. The first was near some prime beaches and was priced accordingly, despite its fairly substantial short-comings. If I’m going to pay your mortgage for you in rent, I wouldn’t mind having wall paper that is younger than I am, thank you very much. The second house was closer to campus (15 min), backs onto state forest, has an upstairs, tremendous gardens and even a fish pond. The rooms are a bit smaller than what we have now, but there are more of them, which is nice. There is also a basement and shed for storage and beach access at the end of the road. The landlord obviously cares for the place and has a few small pieces of furniture, which we liked a lot. She also is alright with cats and small dogs, giving Megan all the motivation she needs to start combing the local SPCAs for the oldest and sickliest dog who “just needs a good home” so that we can pay a fortune in vet bills over the next few years. At least it won’t chase the cats.

The realtor seemed to indicate that we could have the place as long as our references made no indication of an axe-murderer past history, so we have an appointment set up on Friday to meet the landlord and sign the paperwork. That, of course, frees up our schedule considerably for the rest of our time down here, so tomorrow we plan on looking at cars. Having been car-free for almost three years now it’ll be interesting to see what is out there that we like. The rental we got was a jeep liberty, which has been good so far and surprisingly good on fuel. We’ll make the tour of the local dealerships and see if we can’t decide on something small enough for Megan, but that I can still fit in….