Mini-forest and Ithaca Drivers

 Yesterday Theo and I Baby Bjorned it to the park up the street.  There is a play area, then a mysterious lawn that goes down the hill.  It was our mission to figure out where it went, since the path is obscured by trees.  We started walking along the lawn, and discovered that it doesn't lead to anywhere.  It surrounds the park's main event, which is a beautiful mini-forest.

 So we cut through to get back to the park entrance. Can you believe there's a place that looks like this just up my street?  As we plodded along, dodging branches and trying not to get too many sticks in my sandals, I kept having visions of Theo as a toddler running around and exploring.  That will be a fun time.

Here's a glimpse into the Ithaca culture that I admire.  There are not many sidewalks, especially in the residential areas around our house.  But I've seen this time and time again.  Whenever there is a pedestrian or a bicyclist on the side of the road, cars will make sure to give lots and lots of space as they drive by.  The picture above is just one example.  Every car on the road will do this, and I'm so impressed.  Ithaca drivers obey the speed limit, they're not aggressive, and they actually obey road signs.  I know I'll probably encounter people who are not like this, but overall, I'm very impressed.

Book Club!

The branch ladies got together last night and decided the year's book club books.  I can't even tell you how excited I am to participate.  I love reading, and this will be a great way for me to branch out into genres I usually don't explore.  Plus, it's at least one night a month where I'm guaranteed to get out of the house.

Not to mention getting to know the women of the branch even better.  There was an excellent turn out last night.  The room was packed, babies everywhere, and delicious treats.  I get to host the club at my house in a couple months.  Can I just say how glad I am that I have a home I am excited to invite people to?

If you're in the club, you will be lounging in this lounge!

(Sidenote: I love that my fridge doesn't freeze all my food.  We've had a bag of baby carrots in there a week and I can still eat them!  Also, I was vacuuming the house today, and there are outlets everywhere!  Yeah, life is good)

If you would like to read along with us, below is the list of books dates to read them by.  Seriously, I would love to discuss them with you, even if you can't come to the meeting in person.  As an educator, I implore you: GET YOUR READING ON!

And here's a sleeping baby

• The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. September 26th
• Is Everyone Hanging out Without Me? by Mindy Kaling.
• Little Bee by Chris Cleave. November 14th
• Still Alice by Lisa Genova. December 12th
• Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. February 13th
• Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. March 13th
• My Name is Asher Lev by Chaim Potek. April 17th
• The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway. May 15th

Chillin'

 Nothing monumental going on with the Millers.  We've been having fun though.  On Friday we had home made Cafe Rio salads made by Micquel Swigert, and it was delicious!  Those Swigerts are pretty great too!

 Then on Saturday we had a branch opening social.  Lots of great food, and we met more new people.  I'm excited to be a part of this awesome group!

 Last night Theo had his first experience of trying to feed himself.  We tore up bits of tortilla, threw them on his tray, and let him at it.  It's tough trying to get those tricky little pieces into your mouth.  Pictured below is the baby's red chin from his fingernails scraping against it as he attempted to shove the tortilla down his gullet. Very cute!

Also, I got set apart as the new Relief Society secretary for the branch. I'm so excited because, call me crazy, I love clerical work.  I have plenty of work cut out for me, and I can't wait to get into it!

Ponds in Plantations

Today L. and A. joined us on another romp through the Cornell Plantations. Let me tell you, we are mighty women.  There were some intense hills that we were not anticipating, and pushing baby strollers is an extra workout.  But it is a sunshiny day, beautifully clear, and the ponds did not disappoint.  I can't believe I didn't take a picture of the lillie pads or the grand views, but I think we may just go again some day.

The bumpy roads were apparently very soothing for Theo, but A. kept it real by staying awake.And look how lucky I am to have two very cute babies in my car!

New Neighbors, and Close Parks

 

Our upstairs neighbors moved in last week, and they are great!  Apparently L. had dreams that she and her new neighbor would become best friends.  Well, I had that same dream, and it's on the path to becoming reality!  

They have a sweet little 6 month old girl, who is craaaaazy cute!  A. and Theo are a match made in heaven, although she is a bit more forward than him.  

L. invited me to go to the park with them yesterday.  We are lucky enough to have a very cool little park just a block up the street (straight up.  It's rather a steep hill).

We went and put the babies in the swings and chatted.  Then we all came back to our place and had some nice cold water.  

I think this is a start to a beautiful friendship!

Shrub Collection

 On Tuesday, we went to the Cornell Plantations.  More specifically, we went to the war memorial trail and the shrub collection.

 Of course, we had to find the perfect ensemble to sport (even though he didn't end up wearing half of it.  Can I help it that it looks cold and cloudy outside when it's actually hot and cloudy?)

 Once again, the baby loved being strapped to Daddy.

 Look how green and beautiful it is!  And this is in the middle of the town, people!

 So many beautiful flowers along the way.

 This is a sideways picture of stairs. Only the first few were stone, and the rest looked like...

 ...this.  The baby especially loved Daddy trying to dodge all the low-hanging branches.

 Can you believe all the different colors of green?

 I'm not sure if Corbin already knew how to do this, but I'm just going to say that I taught him how to whistle using an acorn cap.

 The following are awesome plant life from the shrub garden.

 These particular flowers were as big as my head!

 We had such a fun time, and can't wait to explore the rest of the Plantations!

Ithaca Falls

 

Corbin and I took a stroll on Cornell Campus.  I guess it really is and Ivy League school.

 

On Saturday, we visited Ithaca Falls.

It was a quick trip, but we had lots of fun!

 It was a beautiful day.  And the falls are so easy to access.  You only walk a minute or two from parking.

 Then you end up here. 

 I had to get a closer look.

 As it turns out, they're rather wet.

 Corbin started skipping rocks on the water.  He was shocked to learn that I'd never done it before, so he gave me a quick lesson.  Come to find, I'm a champion.

 When we got home, of course we had to wash off the baby sun screen.

Hello internet world! We're back!

My father-in-law's wife asked for an update, and I wrote her this email.  Since in had just about everything I wanted to say, I'll share it with you!  I'll also post bunches of pictures... later.

Our new place is AWESOME!!! I mansion compared to our last place.  3 bedrooms, a sizable living room and conjoined dining room, and a kitchen!  A real kitchen that has an occupancy of more than one!  Plus we have a washer and dryer, so my life has been transformed.  We're all settled in for the most part.  We have pictures on the walls and everything.  We even bought a matching living room set last night, which means we have places to sit!  And since it's like matching, and new from the store, it means we're grown-ups.  You know, the whole being married thing and having a baby didn't really count.  A nice couch is when adulthood hits.

The only negative thing was that when we moved in, we had fleas.  Come on bug kingdom, I had to move from bedbugs to fleas?  Again, I was the only one getting bites.  But our incredible landlords came in and helped us get rid of them fairly quickly.  I haven't gotten any new bites for a few days, so I'm feeling confident.

Ithaca is gorgeous.  It's so green, with many many rolling hills and country roads (a bit hard to navigate, but beautiful just the same).  We have a grocery store a little over a mile away, so just in case we need to do a midnight milk run, we'll be ok.

We're attending the LDS student branch here, and the people are wonderful.  They helped us move, and have been so accommodating and friendly.  A few people brought us dinner the first couple nights we were here, which was a life saver since we hadn't unpacked the kitchen yet.  It's a pretty small congregation, but it will grow when everyone comes back for school in a week or so. 

Corbin has been going to "math camp" since the 6th, and he says it's a bit boring.  Apparently he's more mathematically inclined than many of his econ and PAM peers, so that bodes well for the year to come.  He is crazy excited for school to start on the 22nd.  Me, not so much.  It's been wonderful having him home so much, especially while getting settled in.  But school is the whole reason we're out here, so press on! There was an econ PhD pot luck last weekend, and it was really fun.  I got to meet most of Corbin's classmates, so now I'll know who he's talking about when he tells stories of classroom adventures.  And this may sound silly, but it was mt first party where people were drinking and smoking.  I guess I'm not in "the bubble" of Provo anymore. =)

Theo update: we've started him on a sleep schedule, which hi is rocking.  He's been wanting to go to bed at about 8, and waking up at about 6 or 7.  He's also eating and loving solid foods.  We haven't given him a wide variety yet (carrots, peas, rice cereal) but he's a champ.  Now we just have to wait for his guts to acclimate and we'll be good.

He's discovered that the cute baby in the mirror is a fun play mate, and watching him give himself high fives and kisses is adorable!  He's also the same old people person he's always been, putting on a sweet smile show every time we go out.  At the grocery store, he would laugh and laugh until the person shopping next to us would look up at him and smile.  What a ham!