Month: September 2012

Theo was very adamant about wanting to go on the “choo choo train” yesterday morning. We hadn’t been doing too much because he’s a bit under the weather so I figured we could at least take a quick trip on the S train (shuttle) to the other end of Prospect Park and walk around a bit, maybe visit the ducks at the Audubon Center. We’ve never taken the train down there before. We usually walk. The Prospect Park Zoo is down there, the Carrousel, Audubon Center, and also a playground we’ve visited a few times. Anyways, it was a good idea I had to hop on the shuttle (a regular subway train that only goes back and forth between about 6 stops?) down there so Theo could get a quick choo choo train fix (it’s only 2 stops). Here we are on our way to the train!

Once we were down there, I decided a quick visit to the zoo would be a nice idea. The Prospect Park Zoo is great because it’s teeny tiny and you can just pop in for an hour. They have sea lions, a barn with goats, sheeps, chickens, and llamas, also some babboons, and a kangaroo!, plus some other random animals. Theo enjoyed feeding the ducks and watched me feed some sheep. I think a nice time was had by all.

“Like Charlotte!” he said…

Theo’s sweet friend, Charlotte, has taught him a new trick for swinging on the big kid swings.

Happy fall! I can’t believe it’s almost October. September flew by like crazy. The weather has seemed to turn so quickly. It has still been beautiful and sunny, for the most part, but there is a crisp chill to the air. Each time I leave the house I’m quickly reminded that I need to start wearing socks again very soon! And, of course, Theo has come down with a bad case of the sniffles. Poor guy has a very runny/stuffy nose and even sounds a little different when he talks.

Theo’s hair is super long in this picture. I think we got his haircut the next day. It had been since right before we got married… so, exactly three months ago. I love his hair shaggy and long but every so often a trim is good (and fun!), too. It grows fast.

It seems we will be having some big transitions soon. We are getting a toddler bed for Theo. Should be an interesting change since he is pretty much in our bed with us every night. We resigned to the fact that we are all in one room so it’s pretty unavoidable to not plop him in our bed with us every night when he wakes up at midnight, one AM, or whenever, and says, “mama!” “dada!” “uppie!”, and we’re just laying right there in bed. Not that we mind. The only issue really is that he is huge and, if we ever have another baby, we should probably get him used to sleeping in his own bed sometime soon. We have been talking about the exciting new “big boy bed”. I hope it’s not as crazy and tough as a lot of people say. I think he really wants out of that crib. He’s gonna love it. It’s really cute and perfectly low to the ground. I want to get this out of the way so we can move on to other transitions, like, potty training, and maybe getting him off of his obsession with his naptime and bedtime bottle. It’s always something, I guess.

I really think Theo is going to be some kind of musician when he grows up. I’m so excited to watch this guy blossom and to see the types of interests he has. What’s better than that? He is so in love with guitars and, yesterday, we were at story time at the library and he wouldn’t let this piano out of his sight once playtime began. We have to get him a real keyboard.

I also think Theo might be a lefty. We have been debating this for awhile because he still does use both hands when he eats, but, when he uses utensils, he seems to favor the left. Who knows. I snapped this shot of him today eating some lentil soup with broccoli.

I was super impressed with how well he was eating with his spoon. He can certainly use them he just usually chooses not to. I hope we are heading down the road of more, and better, utensil use. It must be confusing when some foods are “finger foods” and others are not. He got the picture with the soup today. He also tried feeding Elmo and monkey. Then they all got a lot of kisses.

We were eating dinner in the kitchen last night, and when Theo heard his favorite Crosby, Stills, and Nash song, he popped up and promptly ran into the living room to do some serious dancing…

PS – How cute is his new birthday sweater?

We flew to Aspen last weekend for Jay’s brother, Zander’s, wedding and we left the sweet boy in Brooklyn with my Dad and Sherry (Papa Bruce and Grammy Sherry!). I talked about it a lot in anticipation of the weekend so that Theo was clear they were coming to stay at our place and me and Dada would be in Aspen. Jay left a couple days ahead of me so I prepped him for that, too. Theo seemed very excited at the prospect of have Papa and Grammy here and I knew he would really enjoy the time with just them. In the days prior he would say, “Papa and Grammy stay HERE!” while pointing his finger directly at the ground and touching the floor. “Mama, Dada, airport, Aspen”… discussions like that were had. It all really seemed to go off without a hitch. He was upset when I left initially, but I think it was mostly because my Dad and I both left as he drove me to the airport. Sherry said he was fine moments later. So, Jay and I got to have an adult weekend away and Theo got to be spoiled right here at home. A win for everyone, I believe. I missed him a lot, though. Other friends at the wedding brought their kids, and the many times we were frolicking at the pool and hot tub during the weekend, I knew Theo would have been so happy to be there. BUT, nonetheless, we all needed the break and I certainly believe it’s healthy for all of us.

Aspen is insanely beautiful. Actually, I never even made it to Aspen proper. We stayed in Snowmass Village the entire time. A picturesque village with condos and hotels scattered up and down the mountain. At our condo, we were at 8,800 feet! Coincidentally there was the Snowmass Balloon Festival happening that weekend so, if you woke up early enough, you could walk out to see colorful balloons dotting the sky. I’m sure it would’ve been amazing to have actually gone to the bottom and seen the balloons from that view (I saw some others pictures) but I didn’t make it that far.

Mostly we spent our non-wedding free time by the pool and hot tub, sipping Bloody Mary’s and other spirits. The weather was insanely perfect. Beautiful blue skies and baking in the sun, and then cool, cool evenings.

Yia Yia with her vodka soda in the hot tub

View from the pool

Friends in the other hot tub

Their wedding was also beautiful. Probably the best food I’ve ever eaten at a wedding, and with that kind of setting, it was just lovely. Many close friends and family made the trek there so I can’t imagine Zander and Ali were anything but touched. It seemed really perfect.

Ceremony

Theo’s cousin, Rowan

Reception, wedding party table

Balcony outside of reception

Andreas and Amara (awww!)

Brothers

Us

And then I came home to hang out with this adorable, yogurt face

Theo gained 3 lbs and grew 3 inches in the past six months! He weighs 28 lbs (51%) and he’s nearly 38 in tall (off the charts!). Basically he is the height of a 3 year old. He had his blood drawn to test for lead and anemia and all was normal. He also had a flu shot and we started his Hep B vaccine since we are behind on a few shots. He is doing very well in all aspects. He took his shots like a champ and watched the blood draw closely. I’m so proud of my little guy. His shoulder/clavicle injury is healing well and she doesn’t see any cause for concern. He is using it much more normally now. When we were mentioning the trip to Portland, and his shoulder, with his pediatrician he took off chatting away… “Uncle Dreas'”… “fall bed”… “Portland”… “airport”… “suitcase”… “vacation!” That is the stream of conscious of our sweet boy with an amazing memory. He got a lollipop and we went to our first art class afterwards! I guess fall is practically upon us. I feel like a new chapter is beginning. Age two. Looking forward to a fun, fun year.

Yesterday’s party was a hit. We were to have it in Prospect Park but the weather forecast looked a bit iffy with scattered thunderstorms, heavy winds, and a tornado watch (of course today was absolute perfect)! It poured in the morning and then cleared up in the afternoon, but we didn’t want to press our luck. Not to mention the park was surely still wet. Knowing us we would set up and start BBQ’ing only to look over the park and see black clouds headed our way. What then? Pack it up and run home? We didn’t want to risk it… so, we settled on plan B: Taqueria De Los Muertes. This is, without a doubt, Theo’s favorite place to eat. Coincidentally, it’s only a block and a half away AND we know the owners. I called them on Friday to ask if they could be our plan B. It was incredibly kind of them because the place is tiny and I knew if everyone came who said was going to come, it would be packed. He didn’t charge us anything. He just knew that people would order a bunch of food and drinks and since we did it from about 4 – 6ish that would be during their slowest time. My friend Lalena helped me set up, and once we decorated the place, it looked ready for a kid’s party. I made a birthday pennant banner for Theo using felt, stencils, and paint and it turned out beautifully. I will be able to use it for years to come. We brought puzzles and books and crayons from home to set up a kid-friendly area and I made party favor bags for the little ones that were a hit. During the party, there were bubbles flying everywhere, kazoos being kazoo’d, colorful twisty straws being sipped from, and rubber creepy crawlers being admired. Most of Theo’s friends came by to wish him a happy birthday and many of our adult friends (kid-less and with child alike!) came to celebrate. I was so delighted to see the place packed, all for Theo. When he walked in and saw the Taqueria all decorated for his birthday, he was SO happy. When the whole room was singing “Happy Birthday” to him he had his head buried in Jay’s neck, and when he looked up, he was beaming and giggling. It was so awesome. He had so much fun running around outside of the restaurant playing with his cousins. The crazy, black clouds and rain did arrive around 6pm so it was a good choice to stay indoors. All in all, it was a complete success. Theo definitely understands what a birthday is now. The past few nights when we are singing our night-night songs he has requested none other than, “Happy Birthday”. What a sweetheart. Happy Birthday my big boy!

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We had our birthday party for Theo today. We had a last minute change due to weather that was coming our way so we couldn’t do our BBQ in the park. The party wound up at the Taqueria near our house and it turned out to be really great! Albeit very muggy and sweaty. I’ll post photos tomorrow but, for now, here is a video of Theo and one of his favorite girls, Ayla, screaming their little heads off outside.

The sweet boy is two today. Hard to believe, as most people usually agree about their children becoming another year older. I still think about the day he was born like it was yesterday, and I’m still so thankful that his birth itself was such a wonderful experience. Those early days were so precious and, at times, seem sooo long gone when I’m chasing and disciplining and trying to actually parent this child. I am so lucky to be the Mama to this happy, loving, funny, smart, independent little guy.

I have now been home with him full-time for exactly a year. The year seems to have flown by, in retrospect, but really when I think back so much has happened… so much mental, emotional, and developmental growth (from all of us). He is speaking very well these days and it’s amazing. Learning what he’s thinking about, and who he is. He will repeat pretty much everything you say so I’m always reminding myself to tell him everything we’re doing and to try the best I can to explain what things are as we go about our day. He remembers everything. I wish I was still like that. He can say 3 – 4 word sentences, too. I love watching him process something in his head and then say it, like, “Have water? Theo have water?, is an example from yesterday. He loves to point and tell you where we are going… “library this way… home this way”. He actually says, “this-a-way”, so it’s even cuter. He loves to jump and dance around the house and he knows the words to many songs I never even realized (like from this Crosby, Still, Nash, and Young CD we often listen to). He giggles in an amazing, infectious way and it brings me immense joy when I know I’ve made him laugh that way. Usually it’s a silly song, or a special peekaboo game, or tickles. He loves tickles. And he will do it back to you and expect laughs in return… “tickle Mama… tickle Dada”. He is so infatuated with lights and telling you whether they are on or off, and also he will obsess over any light switch possible. Also, it’s buttons. I often hear, “press buttons”. It makes me think of a robot. Maybe it’s the way he says it, too. Like, “must.press.buttons!”. It makes him a happy boy.

We are going back to his pediatrician on Monday for his 2-year well visit so we will get his physical updates then. I’m looking forward since it’s been six months since our last visit. I think they will be even fewer and far between after this one. He is such a tall kid. Every single person is always shocked when I say he’s almost two. He’s starting to pick up on it. When everyone says, “Really? Wow. He is tall!” I’m like, yes, I get that a lot.

Anyhow, thank you Theo for picking me to be your Mama! I am honored and thrilled to watch you grow. What will always make me the happiest is simply knowing that you feel secure, supported, and loved. Loved, loved, and loved.