Fresh Air

We enjoyed some beautiful weather this weekend. We started by hanging out at the playground.

Hanging out! Ha HA! Mommy is hilarious! Also, how did Noah become so boy-shaped? Wasn't he baby-shaped the last time I looked?

On Saturday we went to a neighborhood party and Noah got a purple kitty on his hand.


He also got to run around the Mission Hill Art Park, which was lots of fun because there are lots of tiles to step on. Chad got to follow him around the park, which was not so much fun because there were lots of tiles for Noah to possibly crack his head on when he launched himself down the hill...


We checked out the JP tot lot, which is a neat kid's playground with lots of hand-me-down toys to play with


On Sunday we went for a hike in the blue hills reservation.


Daddy did a good job of tiptoeing up and down the giant hills. Intimidating, huh.


The cats remained inside, totally unimpressed with how far Chad carried Noah.


Pretty usual stuff.

Zoo!

Quitting my job so I can take my kid to the zoo at 2:30pm on a weekday was such a great idea. At that time, the zoo is awesome and perfect for toddlers who feel the need to run all over the place ("do you want to ride in the stroller for a while?" "no no no no no no!"). There is almost nobody at the zoo, and definitely not enough crazy people running around (aka older kids) to run him over. Apparently everyone else went home to take a nap.

Noah examines a zebra. Or "bah!" as he likes to call them

We went to the Franklin Park Zoo, which, turns out, is awesome. It's pretty small, but the animals are in really big pens so they seem pretty relaxed. Also it's laid out so you can see the animals well. The animals are mixed up a bit - the zebra above was in a big yard with some other zebras and some ostriches (or "bee!").

Noah checks out the giraffes and more zebras.

We saw Christopher the lion, who was just chilling out in the shade on top of his hill. Noah was totally unimpressed with the lion, preferring to run around the benches outside the lion area until some other moms pushing strollers came up to the window. Then we were all business. Noah pointed to the babies "baby!" and then pointed to the lion "die-o!" in order to tell them what to look at. I then asked him what the lion says and he responded "ROAR!" Apparently he has been paying attention after all. Also it was a nice opportunity to show off our genius child.

After we left to look at the tigers, Christopher let out a bunch of actual roars. I will just say an actual lion roaring is very impressive.

On the way up to the lion's area, Noah stopped to check out a (fake) elephant skeleton. I imagine this is what it was like for uncle John as well. But with fewer bones. And more lions (hopefully)

Noah prepares for his future career as a paleontologist

And of course, we don't go to any public place without spending some serious time on the playground. Especially when the playground has little trains with steering wheels.

Noah prepares for his future career as an Engineer. But not the kind mommy had in mind.

Boston Children's Museum

Noah and I have been spending some time at the Boston Children's Museum. One awesome thing about staying at home is going to the museum on weekday afternoons when it is practically empty. Basically, we got a membership so we could use it as our indoor playground and go for an hour or so whenever we feel like it.


Today we spent a lot of time in the toddler play area, where Noah found a shopping cart with a baby doll.


Apparently the baby doll needed a detailed tour of the play area, conducted at high speeds.


And then he found even more babies to add to his collection


But not all of the babies could come in the car


Elsewhere in the museum, Noah got to play in the Arthur exhibit.


(he's dancing in front of a green screen and watching himself in the monitor)

What do you think? Should I give PBS a call and demand an audition?

From the "OMG I can't believe I forgot to post this earlier" department

What might be the best Noah video so far:



While the shaky camera work does leave something to be desired, I think the unbearable cuteness sort of makes up for it. Also, Bucky likes being on camera.

From the "what the heck is that noise" department

Just in case you needed proof that Noah is all boy and fart noises are funny. Also, I think it is important to note that Chad is the one who taught him how to do this. Or rather, Chad taught him how to flurburt. Noah took it to the next level on his own.

Good Shabbos

Noah and I made challah today for Shabbat. Noah did a good job of kneeding (smacking?) the dough.


Though he wasn't as excited about playing with the dough as I had expected - he was kind of wierded out by getting flour on his hands.


Which surprised me, as he spent most of yesterday morning in a sandbox, and when he's extra hungry in the mornings he has no qualms about eating his oatmeal with his hands. But whatever, I don't understand why some days he hates yogurt and other days he loves it either. No matter, the challahs looked great.

(Noah's is the one on the left)

And it was a nice thing to have for shabbat.

(Noah can simultaneously enjoy his challah and warn Chad that the candles are hot)

Run pigeon run

Noah is starting to enjoy one of the big perks of living in the city - the opportunity to chase pigeons.



Or "beeeeeee! beeeeeee!" as he calls them.

Also, he can really motor, huh.

Mommy's little helper

After dinner the other night I attempted to swiffer mop the floor, trying to remove the remnants of Noah's rice and beans all over his face and the floor extravaganza, and he wouldn't let me go two feet without grabbing onto the mop. So we gave him his own (the dry one).


Yes, we own two swiffers. Don't worry, this doesn't mean we keep a spotless house. Please note we are letting the 16 month old do the swiffering.


Hey - if your kid offered to help clean the floors would you tell him no?


The funny thing is he actually did a decent job.


He even got the cat hair under the couch...


I'm going to go ahead and assume this eagerness to help clean will stick around until he leaves for college. Right?

Some thoughts about where we are now:

Our house is awesome. I am writing this blog post while Noah plays in his new playroom.


Pretty sweet, huh?


This playroom is also our guest bedroom - aren't you excited to come visit?? Our house has some modern conveniences that we are still getting used to (note to self: no peach pits in the garbage disposal) but overall it is working out very well.

We live in the CITY now. We are on the subway, not the commuter rail. There are playgrounds all over the place but almost no one has a swingset in their yard. The other day, Noah and I went to the Trader Joe's in Brookline because it has a parking lot. The lot is tiny and totally packed with tiny cars, not SUVs. Also a ton of bikes. We used to go to this store all the time years ago when we lived in Cleveland Circle, since it's right on the green line. I guess I had forgotten how aggressive one has to be to shop there. Don't worry, it's coming back.

(That's Noah on the Mission Hill Playground. Nice view, huh?)

Noah is really talking a lot. He can say several actual words (doggie, kittie, mommy, daddy, more, yes, pea, etc), and several words that sound a lot like english words (biee = birdie, paay = plane, ahduh = all done, buh = book, pahee = potty, bi = bike, poo = spoon, etc.). He also has several words that are self-consistent and usually accompanied by frantic pointing so it is pretty clear what he's talking about, but they don't sound anything like the english (duhduh = truck, bohboh = ball, etc). He definitely expects us to understand him, even if we don't have a clue. My favorite is when we are driving downtown and all of a sudden he is frantically shouting "bye!" "byeeeeee!" bieEEEEE!!!" and I'm totally confused until the guy on a bicycle shoots past us.

"Dihee!!!" "Dihee!!!" (light! light!)

Friends

Yesterday Noah got to spend some time at the playground with Amelia, his new friend from the other side of the hill.


They're only a few weeks apart in age, and they really seem to get along great.


It's so neat to watch him play with other kids his age - they really can play together now. And by "play" I mean hand each other wood chips and follow each other around.


Whatever works, right?

Basil Fried Rice

Did you know that Noah loves spicy basil fried rice? Neither did we. He does.


Also, he apparently is ready to learn how to use chopsticks. He started this meal with a fork, but was so jealous of Chad's chopsticks we gave him his own.


This is impressive for two reasons: 1. It is not very easy to eat rice with chopsticks and 2. that rice was SPICY. Chad and I were sweating, Noah shoveled it in and maybe drank a little extra milk.

Eventually we decided that even if he liked it it was unreasonably spicy and diluted it with white rice. The chopstick use continued.



I swear he amazes me every day.

Pahee!

We're doing pretty well so far. This morning Noah and I took the train downtown with Chad and walked around the commons. Apparently it is Boston Marine week, so there were a bunch of Marines and their helicopters hanging out on the grass for people to see. Noah could care less about helicopters, because they are not trucks. Luckily, a nice Marine let him try out his Jeep.


The truck obsession is pretty crazy. We were walking among these giant helicopters and Noah was going crazy for the park utility truck. Oh well.

We continue to enjoy our new place. Noah loves to hang out on the small deck off of the kitchen. When he decides it's time to go out he'll point furiously out the door and call "uhdye! uhdye!" Then we go out.


As for the unpacking, well, it continues. Noah is helping.


But the most exciting news of the day is unpictured, and I share it here both because I am very proud and because we rely on the blog for baby archival purposes. Noah used the potty for the first time today! And then proceeded to use it three more times over the course of the afternoon. I am so impressed. All morning he was calling anything he sat on (his stepstool, the stair, the bottom of the slide at the playground) the potty (or rather, "pahee!" "pahee!"). So during his nap I got out the hand-me-down baby toilet chair, cleaned it up, and we were ready to go. Literally, I guess.

We aren't going to start real toilet training right away - his diapers are still wet in between trips to the toilet so I don't think he's ready. But as far as I am concerned he is welcome to practice as much as he wants in the meantime.

We've landed

Both our family and our belongings have arrived in our new place. The cats have declared it suitable.




We have arrived, but not really unpacked...





Actually, the movers unpacked for us. So all we have to do is put away a few things.




Oy.


-- posted from the phone