Month: April 2013

Today we visited the Brooklyn Botanic Garden as the cherry blossoms are now in full bloom. But first, we began with our usual stop off at the fountain to make a wish. Or two, or three, or four…

When I ran out of coins I taught Theo how to pretend. “Make a wish and throw your coin in!”, I would say as I acted out a dramatic toss. Theo began to follow suit. I told him I wished that everyone in the world would love each other and be happy. Cliche, I know. And you know what he said?

“Let’s take other people’s pennies out!”

I can see why that might seem like a good idea! I’ve told him before that we can’t do that. Those are other people’s wishes and dreams (just like in The Goonies!). At this point, he can’t help but want more coins to toss in. Who can blame him? We’ll have to work on that lesson. 😉

The end of the week/weekend gave us wonderful weather and we did not let it go unnoticed.

We visited our friends on Friday morning for a playdate and got to enjoy their amazing deck. Then, Friday afternoon Theo and I packed up again and had ourselves a picnic at Prospect Park. I scored our favorite type of bubbles at the dollar store near my friend’s house that morning and they were quickly put to use at the park.

Theo also enjoyed kicking his soccer ball around, digging in the dirt a bit, running around the grass, eating oranges and generally soaking up some rays. My friend Jennifer came a bit later with her two boys, so we wound up having some company. Theo and Sam chased each other a bit, shared decently and otherwise ignored each other.

Saturday we had a gorgeous morning at the playground with Daddy. More bubbles were blown.

Saturday afternoon we stopped by Habana Outpost (a local watering hole) to say “Happy Birthday” to a friend and have a quick drink. Theo is a connoissuer of their fresh mango juice.

The weather was so amazing and a few friends were there with their new babies so we got to see them! Then we headed to Bay Ridge for dinner at Cori and Scott’s. They made a Bouillabaisse, yum! We had arranged a sleepover for Theo to stay with them and his cousins, Will and Sam. As we were leaving they were fully enthralled in their movie for the evening.

I picked him up in the morning and he had a really great time. I’m so happy he gets to have the chance to spend time with them and that he feels completely comfortable and enjoys it. He doesn’t seem to miss us one bit! He was super happy to see me when I got there, of course, and that felt sooo good. To squeeze my boy and snuggle him after a night away. Here is the happy boy running to the car after I picked him up.

We stopped in Ditmas Park on our way home because my favorite herbal store, Sacred Vibes Apothecary, was calling. It gave us an excuse to run around the unfamiliar neighborhood that I adore, stroll through the mini-farmer’s market, play on a playground briefly and share an ice cream cone.

This afternoon, we hopped on the shuttle train to the carrousel, just as Theo had been asking to do. All three of us rode the carrousel and, afterwards, meandered over to the Lincoln Road Playground on that end of the park. Theo was sliding like a champ and was keeping up with many big kids. Some were being quite mindful of him and making sure he had his turn and didn’t get trampled (thankfully!). I stepped back and let him work it out for himself because they weren’t all super friendly. He did amazingly.

We took the lovely stroll back home through the park, stopped for slices of pizza, a quick grocery store visit and topped it off with a delicious chocolate chip cookie from Joyce Bakeshop before we strolled the rest of the way home.

Theo was so exhausted from the sleepover, and only napping in the car today, that the poor guy could hardly get through bath and bedtime without breaking down in tears about every little thing. We got him cozy in bed as fast as we could for a nice an early bedtime.

I think a fun weekend was had by all!

Every day I hear new and amazing words, phrases and comprehension from Theo and I can’t stop from wanting to write everything down so as to never forget any of it.

The other day we were walking to the Prospect Park Carrousel and I was just babbling away to Theo about how lovely a day it was outside. He looked up at me from the stroller and said, “what are you saying Mama?”. He sounded so adult. So innocent. So serious.

When he first wakes up in the morning this is seriously the best time of day to listen to him ramble on and have a conversation. I love hearing him talk and talk about something completely random that he woke up thinking about. The other morning it was the shuttle train. He was going on and on about the doors opening and closing, the lights, the springs that connect the trains, the steps we walk up and down, and so and so on. I told him we would go on it this week and he said, “yesss, let’s DOOO that!”. When he decided that would be our afternoon excursion today, our conversation went like this:

Theo: “Let’s take the shuttle train to the carrousel and then go to the playground… with Daddy… I will hold Daddy’s hand”.

Me: “Sure, we can do that. You want to hold Daddy’s hand on the train?”

Theo: “The train and the carrousel”.

Me: “Oh, okay, sounds good”.

Theo: “Yeaaah, let’s do that! It will be pretty cool”.

Another funny phrase Theo says a lot is, “what’s that smell?”. He puts his hand up by his face, scrunches up his nose and says it in the most adorable way possible. Sometimes he’ll say it when we walk into a coffee shop and the air smells strong of toasting bagels and coffee. It usually gets some giggles from other customers, as he shouts it loudly. He asks it a lot when we are walking up or down the stairs of our building and people are cooking various meals. Other times he asks when there’s a yucky outdoor construction smell, or something of that nature.

He has been asking a lot lately about sounds, too. “What was that?”… “What’s that noise?”. I guess it’s partly due to apartment living. Hearing your neighbors walking above you and also getting used to the outdoor sounds of the city. He’s grown up with it so it’s all he knows but he has certainly developed a bit more of an interest, or concern, for the random sounds around him lately.

Last weekend we visited Times Square. Not really for the heck of it, although I’d love to take Theo at night sometime so he can see the abundant lights and get a real feel for this crazy city. His cousin, William, turned 10 and had a birthday party at Dave & Buster’s. We stopped at Toys R’ Us first and took Theo for a spin on the Ferris Wheel.

It was his first ride on a ferris wheel. He was excited for the ride and had no qualms at all about it. I, on the other hand, was a bit queezy. 😉 It was fun, though! At Coney Island I was hesitant to take him on the Wonder Wheel, since it’s so big, but now I’m thinking maybe we’ll try it next time if he’s up for it! Not the moving ones, though, those are terrifying!

He had a blast running around Dave & Buster’s, mostly playing skeeball and being mesmerized by all the lights and games everywhere. It was nice to spend time with our family and watch Theo explore new territory. He got to pick out a prize from our skeeball tickets at the end and was probably a bit disappointed that the options were so limited with our small amount of tickets. Gonna have to wok harder for more tickets next time!

That adorable face! Those cheeks! Those eyes!

My friend Shia took this video while we were visiting today. Sillies.

We did the Liver Walk for the fourth time this past weekend. The first time Theo was in my belly, and we’ve brought him each year since then. Jay has several cousins in New Jersey, and one of them (his Mom’s first cousin, Basil), had a successful liver transplant four years ago. It’s been a nice way to meet them in the city and spend time with family since we don’t see them all that often. Normally it’s at Battery Park, and the weather beautiful. This year they moved it way up to W. 55th, along the Hudson River. Not the best location and it was chilly! We barely did the walk. Theo had more fun running around near The Intrepid and going up and down nearby steps. We met the cousins on their way back up instead and finished the rest of the walk with them. We finished off the day with lunch at a delicious Greek restaurant. A fun filled Saturday with family!

Here is Team Gratitude

I swear, Theo isn’t always on Jay’s shoulders. Well, almost always.

It’s April and time for the beautiful cherry blossoms to bloom at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden. Theo went with his babysitter the past two Tuesdays (it’s free!) and I was super jealous so last week he went twice in one day. He didn’t mind at all. He kept saying, “botanic garden TWO TIMES!”. He loves to see the koi fish, and the turtles, and to run up and down the small steps surrounding the pond. The trees weren’t nearly as bloomed, yet, as they were this time last year since it’s been much cooler. We didn’t go today because it was basically winter again but we will definitely be there next week for hopefully full blooms!

Look at that amazing smile!

Theo loves the color orange. He will always choose this color when offered. He’s even getting orange sandals for the summer.

He has been doing really well brushing his teeth ever since we visited the dentist. We either play dentist (Jay does this really well) or just ask him if he wants us to do it, or if he wants to do it himself. Sometimes we are met with opposition but we can usually get through it.

Self. “I want self!” or “Do it by myself!” is an EXTREMELY regular phrase we hear. This started quite a while ago but his strive for independence has certainly reached fever pitch. I mean, that’s fantastic, of course. But it can certainly be a challenge at times when we are on a schedule and just in general with regards to teaching him to listen, make choices and that he can’t always do what he wants, when he wants. Mostly, though, we let him do as many daily functions as possible himself, always offering it as an option. Especially things like flushing the toilet (this is helpful with potty training because he loves to dump the ducky potty by himself into the big toilet and flush it!), opening and closing any and every door possible (he holds doors for others often when we’re out) and opening his dresser drawers when we are picking out PJ’s or his outfit for the day. He has been really great with learning when his time is up and it’s time to transition to the next thing. There have been plenty of times I’ve had to chase him around and count to three hoping he makes the right choice.

Lights. The love Theo has for lights is like nothing I’ve ever seen. Everywhere we go, he points them out. Everyone’s house we visit, he is right there testing out light switches and lamps. And, still, stairs if he has a chance to go up and down them at somebody’s house.

When I’m getting him a drink, he loves to say, “I want a Big, HUUGGGE one”.

He loves to say the author’s name of the book we are reading. Jay has always read the book title and the author for the books in his room that we read at nap and bedtime. So for the one’s we have read a million times, he tells us the author and it’s adorable. Especially when he says “Dr. Seusshh” in the sweetest way possible.

We walked to our beloved Prospect Park this afternoon. The sun was beaming, not a cloud in the sky and the warm air was incredibly inviting, pleasant and needed.

I packed up our blanket, the radio, Theo’s soccer ball and some snacks. It was such a joy to not bring a jacket and just soak up the walk instead of rushing because I’m cold and it’s super windy.

Theo felt the same, too…

He ran up and down the little hills around us, kicked his ball around, dug in the dirt, ate oranges with me, guzzled water and did it all some more. He even said to me tonight at dinner, “run fast on the little hill, and on the big hill, walk slowly… only run on the smaller hill”. So proud.

We spent the morning at a friend’s house, and then we visited their local playground together. Back at home, the nap was stolen by a big poop but, surprisingly, I’ll take it. It was a lovely Wednesday. Munched on salad (he loves lettuce and cucumbers!) and corn-on-the-cob for dinner, had a bath and an early, quick bedtime.

We still can’t believe we created this lovely soul.