Tuesday, April 25, 2006
Sam and I were playing on the floor today after I got home from work, and I'd given him a little cup of cheerios as a snack to tide him over til dinner. Having seen me help myself to a handful at the same time, Sam picked up a cheerio and fed it to me. I think that's the closest to an empathetic act he's gotten-- very sweet.
Sunday, April 23, 2006
FL for Pesach
A couple of weeks ago we had a baby shower for Sam's first babysitter, who's become a friend (and is expecting her first baby next month). The friend who hosted the shower has a dog, and Sam was fascinated with her water bowl. Since the food bowl was empty, and the dog remarkably well-trained and tolerant, Sam was allowed to play in the water bowl while we cleaned up after brunch:
He spent a good half hour enthralled, scooping water out of the water bowl with a tupperware lid and dumping it into the food bowl.
A couple of days after the shower we went to visit Sam's paternal grandparents in Florida. Sam experienced his first Passover seder, though he didn't quite manage the 4 questions, and went to sleep before it was time to look for the afikomen. He was a big fan of matzoh balls, though. He also enjoyed daily swims in Grandma and Grandpa's pool, especially playing with the waterfall from the hot tub into the pool:
We went to the beach on our last morning in Florida and 'swam' a bit there. The water was warm and the waves barely lapped at the shore, and unlike his previous beach trip-- to Delaware last September-- he wasn't a bit scared of the water, and didn't try to eat sand at all. I'm guessing we'll be spending a lot more time at the beach in future FL visits. The only downside was that playing in the waves so exhausted him that he conked out afterwards for a good 2 hours, so wasn't the slightest bit tired for the flight home. He's slept on almost every one of the flights we've taken him on-- yes, we've been very lucky-- but this time he was wide awake, cheerful, and wanting to be mobile for all three hours of the flight. We'd brought a new book, and both of us read it at least 5 times, complete with many doggie noises. The nice lady sitting next to J. also helped entertain him. But we were still exhausted by the time we got home. This made me consider Benadryl for the upcoming flight to Japan much more seriously.
A final bit of good news: We found an apartment! It gets tons of light from all sides, has a nice little balcony and a great little shared yard with a patio and a garden. Hardwood floors throughout, in great shape, de-leaded, usable kitchen, plenty of space. It's about a fifteen minute walk to our future offices (and thus to Sam's future daycare). And there's a guest bedroom, so we're looking forward to hosting friends and family. It's funny to think that this will be the first place Sam remembers living...
He spent a good half hour enthralled, scooping water out of the water bowl with a tupperware lid and dumping it into the food bowl.
A couple of days after the shower we went to visit Sam's paternal grandparents in Florida. Sam experienced his first Passover seder, though he didn't quite manage the 4 questions, and went to sleep before it was time to look for the afikomen. He was a big fan of matzoh balls, though. He also enjoyed daily swims in Grandma and Grandpa's pool, especially playing with the waterfall from the hot tub into the pool:
We went to the beach on our last morning in Florida and 'swam' a bit there. The water was warm and the waves barely lapped at the shore, and unlike his previous beach trip-- to Delaware last September-- he wasn't a bit scared of the water, and didn't try to eat sand at all. I'm guessing we'll be spending a lot more time at the beach in future FL visits. The only downside was that playing in the waves so exhausted him that he conked out afterwards for a good 2 hours, so wasn't the slightest bit tired for the flight home. He's slept on almost every one of the flights we've taken him on-- yes, we've been very lucky-- but this time he was wide awake, cheerful, and wanting to be mobile for all three hours of the flight. We'd brought a new book, and both of us read it at least 5 times, complete with many doggie noises. The nice lady sitting next to J. also helped entertain him. But we were still exhausted by the time we got home. This made me consider Benadryl for the upcoming flight to Japan much more seriously.
A final bit of good news: We found an apartment! It gets tons of light from all sides, has a nice little balcony and a great little shared yard with a patio and a garden. Hardwood floors throughout, in great shape, de-leaded, usable kitchen, plenty of space. It's about a fifteen minute walk to our future offices (and thus to Sam's future daycare). And there's a guest bedroom, so we're looking forward to hosting friends and family. It's funny to think that this will be the first place Sam remembers living...
Monday, April 03, 2006
one year pics
Now that I've got a bit of content up here, I'm going to send out the address for this site. Hi, folks!
We finally got around to taking some official one-year-old portraits yesterday. Any votes for the most-frameable? (Note: You can click on any of these for a full-size version.)
Then we came inside and did some finger-painting. Well, I did some finger-painting. You can see what Sam did. Good thing I thought to strip him down beforehand. He still doesn't seem to get the 'intentional making of marks on paper' aspect of painting, so I think we'll wait a bit before trying it again.
Tonight we had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, with salad. Sam had meatballs, and some steamed carrots (he had had a snack of raisin bread and O's about an hour before). Sam looooooves meatballs. We lost count, but he had either 6 or 7. These aren't huge meatballs, mind you, but for comparison, that's about the number that I ate. (And I didn't have any raisin bread or O's beforehand, either.)
In other news, Sam's definitely developing a sense of humor, though his humor tends to the physical: A couple of nights ago, he lost his balance while walking and sat down. This happens about once every two or three minutes these days, but since I was paying attention at that moment, I said "boom!" and Sam thought that was funny. He stood up again, then squatted down suddenly and very intentionally, and looked at me expectantly. When I said "boom!" again, he cracked up, and spent the next five minutes sticking his bum out or squatting, each time saying "oom!" or waiting for me to do so, then giggling like he'd just made the best joke ever. He remembers it, too: Every time I've said "boom!" since then, he's smiled, done the sudden squat, and said "oom!"
Some good news to close on: We found out today that Sam got a spot at the daycare we were most hoping to get into. We have been on the waiting list for this daycare since LAST JANUARY, when J. first got his job offer. Before he accepted it, mind you: we knew this would be a tough thing, but we didn't realize just how tough. We got on two wait lists then, and several more this winter when we realized that despite the 18-or-so months lead time, we might not still make it into our first choice. Getting in isn't a matter of passing any fancy tests, like those New York City pre-schools you've been reading about; it's just that demand is so high that spots almost never free up, and when they do, siblings of kids already in the daycare are given first priority. We really liked the way this one felt when we visited, and also, it's so close to our offices that we can literally see it from our respective office windows. And also, it's a co-op, meaning that one of us (i.e., me) will spend 2 hours a week helping out there. While this is a nontrivial time commitment, we both liked the idea that we'll have a really good sense of what goes on there during the day, and that the other parents will as well. So, a big sigh of relief; we were starting to think we'd be looking for a nanny next year, though we really didn't want to have to do that for a number of reasons.
We finally got around to taking some official one-year-old portraits yesterday. Any votes for the most-frameable? (Note: You can click on any of these for a full-size version.)
Then we came inside and did some finger-painting. Well, I did some finger-painting. You can see what Sam did. Good thing I thought to strip him down beforehand. He still doesn't seem to get the 'intentional making of marks on paper' aspect of painting, so I think we'll wait a bit before trying it again.
Tonight we had spaghetti and meatballs for dinner, with salad. Sam had meatballs, and some steamed carrots (he had had a snack of raisin bread and O's about an hour before). Sam looooooves meatballs. We lost count, but he had either 6 or 7. These aren't huge meatballs, mind you, but for comparison, that's about the number that I ate. (And I didn't have any raisin bread or O's beforehand, either.)
In other news, Sam's definitely developing a sense of humor, though his humor tends to the physical: A couple of nights ago, he lost his balance while walking and sat down. This happens about once every two or three minutes these days, but since I was paying attention at that moment, I said "boom!" and Sam thought that was funny. He stood up again, then squatted down suddenly and very intentionally, and looked at me expectantly. When I said "boom!" again, he cracked up, and spent the next five minutes sticking his bum out or squatting, each time saying "oom!" or waiting for me to do so, then giggling like he'd just made the best joke ever. He remembers it, too: Every time I've said "boom!" since then, he's smiled, done the sudden squat, and said "oom!"
Some good news to close on: We found out today that Sam got a spot at the daycare we were most hoping to get into. We have been on the waiting list for this daycare since LAST JANUARY, when J. first got his job offer. Before he accepted it, mind you: we knew this would be a tough thing, but we didn't realize just how tough. We got on two wait lists then, and several more this winter when we realized that despite the 18-or-so months lead time, we might not still make it into our first choice. Getting in isn't a matter of passing any fancy tests, like those New York City pre-schools you've been reading about; it's just that demand is so high that spots almost never free up, and when they do, siblings of kids already in the daycare are given first priority. We really liked the way this one felt when we visited, and also, it's so close to our offices that we can literally see it from our respective office windows. And also, it's a co-op, meaning that one of us (i.e., me) will spend 2 hours a week helping out there. While this is a nontrivial time commitment, we both liked the idea that we'll have a really good sense of what goes on there during the day, and that the other parents will as well. So, a big sigh of relief; we were starting to think we'd be looking for a nanny next year, though we really didn't want to have to do that for a number of reasons.
hey there, cupcake
Sam had a cold on his birthday, and wasn't at all interested in the cupcake he was offered that day, or the day after. So about ten days after his birthday, we tried again. He still wasn't interested in eating it, but he had a lot of fun with it nonetheless:
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