Elliott

Sorry there haven't been many posts lately - it's been a busy few weeks. On August 12, we welcomed Elliott Martin Cormack to the world.

I have to admit that having a baby in the midst of a global pandemic was.....interesting. The hospital had lots of strict guideline we had to follow. I wasn't allowed to leave after the baby was born, if I did I wouldn't be allowed back into the hospital (thankfully my Mother-In-Law was able to watch Jonah for us). We had to stay inside the room at all times, we weren't even allowed out into the hallway. That meant that we had to get all of our meals from the hospital, which was ok (but annoying since there is literally a Popeyes right there that was just out of reach). We also had to wear a mask whenever a doctor, nurse or hospital worker was in the room. But after a few days we were able to take Elliott home, where he was able to meet his big brother for the first time. Jonah so far seems thrilled to have a baby brother...

Arkansas Arboretum

The other weekend I took Jonah for a little hike around the Arkansas Arboretum Trail at Pinnacle Mountain State Park. This is a great trail, especially for a four-year old. The trail is easy, and is just long enough to wear out my little one, who sometimes seems like he has an unlimited supply of energy. The trail is a nice and pleasant hike, and is usually less busy than the other trails at Pinnacle (we only saw one other family out there that day).

At one point, the trail runs by the Little Maumelle River, which was perfectly still with a mirror-like reflection.



The trail then runs up and curves through the woods, with moss growing along the sides of the path.



This is my favorite part of the trail, and I always try to take pictures here (much to the annoyance of Jonah, who would much rather run full-tilt down the trail while I'm trying to take pictures).



My poor kid has grown up with me taking lots of pictures of him, and I think he's already over it. I wanted to get some pictures of him during this hike but he wasn't interested. I finally convinced him to sit still for a few minutes and managed to get a decent shot. Here he is actually holding out his finger saying "just one picture Dada."

Triple Falls

Before heading home, we made one last stop at the Buffalo River. I took my car back down the steep hill to Triple Falls, and Jonah was thrilled to see the waterfalls. I feel bad, like a negligent parent, that this was the first time he has been to a waterfall like this in person (but it won’t be the last for sure). This is a cell phone shot my wife took of Jonah and I looking around the base of the falls...



The first few times I went to these falls they were barely flowing (the joke being that they were more like Trickle Falls instead of Triple Falls), so Jonah is lucky that they were flowing well on his first visit. It is a good waterfall to take kids though. Other than the road down the hill being steep (and sometimes rough), the walk to the falls is short and easy. The pool below the falls is usually shallow and seemingly great for little ones to explore. The only downside is that your 4 year old might get in the way of an annoyed nature photographer trying to take pictures of the 48 foot-tall falls.