the kindness of strangers

It is hard to get out of the house after Gus wakes up from his nap. He would much rather stay at home and read or play than go to the park or for a bike ride. This makes last-minute, pre-dinner errands extremely painful, so we mostly stay put. But this afternoon I needed to go to Sue's to get some fruit (all we have is a half bag of prunes) and I wanted to stop and get an instant-read meat thermometer because we are grilling now and Jonathan is terrified of undercooked meat. I did not feel like partaking in the battle, which can take up to an hour or so, that it always is to get out the door, so I hatched a fool-proof plan. I simply said, "Gus, do you want to go get a slushie?" I know, it sounds like bribing, but it really is not since I did not put any conditions on it. As you might imagine his response was instant cooperation.

So we headed to Rita's, the whole time talking about how good slushies are (they call them water ices here) and what color Gus was going to get (green.) When we got to the window, there was a huge picture of a green water ice, but not a single green flavor on the menu which changes frequently. After much explaining, Gus finally accepted that there was no green water ice, despite the picture which he kept pointing to, and settled on pink (strawberry). I ordered the kiddie size and ever so discreetly asked the server to only fill it half-way, reached into my bag for my wallet . . . and no wallet (I had left it on my desk)!!!! I thought, "@#$*!!! This kid is going to go ballistic. This is what I get for trying to pull a sugary short-cut to get out the door."

I called for the server to stop the order. I could see Gus's mind processing what was happening. We were seconds from the melt down when suddenly I hear from the man ordering at the window next to ours, "How much is the kiddie cup? Yeah, I'll get that for them." Oh, man that was the nicest thing a stranger has ever done for me. Tomorrow I will do like twenty mitzvahs in return. I said "Thank you so much. You just saved me." He really did, not just from a tantrum, but more importantly from discrediting myself with Gus. Walking home, with Gus eating his slushie in the stroller, and poor, slush-less Theo along for the ride, I felt so happy, even though there would be no meat thermometer, and only prunes for breakfast.

So here's the kicker. When I went to get my wallet off my desk it was not there. It must have been in my bag and I was pickpocketed, like in Oliver (that always pops into my head when I think 'pickpocket'). I informed Jonathan, imagining us getting to work canceling credit cards, etc., but he doubted my wallet could be lifted from my bag. We started looking for it. We found it. In my bag, in the other compartment. I cannot even blame my ditziness on a lack of sleep. Theo has slept until morning a record four nights in a row!

Whattaday. Now, to see if I can get that slushie off Gus's shirt.

jump on the bus gus

The "blue truck" had to go to the dealer this morning for a check-up, so the boys and I were left without a car to get to playgroup. The fifty minute walk to Linh's would have been fine, it was the walk back I was worried about. The boys would have either been crazy hungry and irritable or asleep, and if the later then I would have been crazy irritable when they arrived home and refused to nap. So we took the bus that rides right by our house, oh, at least 40 times a day.

Gus was psyched. As far as he is concerned, this was his first bus trip (we took the bus (silver line) in Boston frequently but he does not remember). It truly was Theo's first trip. We waited for the bus, somewhat patiently, but once we were on it Gus expected it to go, go go. When we stopped at lights or to let people on and off, Gus yelled, "I want to go. Go now." I tried to explain that the bus is more like a car than a train, but that did not help, though he eventually stopped yelling at the drive and took up singing the Bob the Builder theme song in his "outside voice." I do not think Theo noticed that we were on a new mode of transportation. He spent the trip trying to grab the ponytail of the man sitting in front of us. We were at Linh's 15 minutes later. It was super easy, but kind of pricey for a bus--$2.



When Gus spoke with Grammy tonight he told her the bus was sticky. We did not talk about this, so I was surprised that he had noticed and made note of this all on this own. The "No eating" sign also made an impression on him as he told Grammy, Daddy, and Grandma and PopPop about it, as if he had read the sign himself. He wanted to eat his snack on the bus, but I told him he could not because the sign said, "Please No Eating," to which he replied, "Just grown-ups eat on the bus." Yet another thing that not even grown-ups do.

overheard at 2042 . . .

"Look, Mumma. I'm cutting Theo."
"Gus, do not cut Theo."
"I am cutting him gently."
Gus pretending to cut Theo with the thermometer from his doctor's kit.

"Daddy, shake your body. Now!"
Gus "asking" Jonathan to dance when a song came on the radio that he liked while we were eating dinner. He sure has mastered that bossy two-year-old thing.

"I want some sushi. I want some sushi, NOW! I want Uncle Michael take me for sushi."
Gus cried this all the way home from our walk last night after I pointed out some people eating sushi. Since neither Jonathan nor I like sushi, I told Gus that Uncle Michael would take him out for sushi. Don't let us down, Michael.

and my absolute favorite,

"Gus, put that hatchet back where you found it."
Don't worry. It was not a real hatchet, but the one from the Fischer Price camping set. It was up on the kitchen counter because Gus had been "chopping" things that he should not chop. I laughed so hard when I heard Jonathan say this. A few months back I read an article in a parents' magazine about things you never imagined you would ever say (like "do not lick the bottom of your shoes"), and this struck me as fitting that bill.

a two-park day

Gus (with carousel ticket), Jake and Sophie at Franklin Square Park

Today was one of those amazing summer days that makes me so thankful that I have the luxury of staying home with the boys. We spent the morning at "our playground" playing baseball and digging in the dirt with Mack and Jack, Lexi, Luka and Layla and their nannies Clair, Ashley and Jessica. The kids get along so well and the nannies do not seem to mind me hanging out with them. They are in their early twenties, so I imagine I seem pretty old and out of it. I love listening to them talk about their employer and their boyfriend gripes. Ahhhh. I am so content right now.

In the afternoon we made our weekly trip to Franklin Square Park to meet Linh, Sophie and Ava and Jake and his babysitter Tara. When Sheri gets out of work she comes to the park and Tara goes home. I always think Gus understands who everyone is but that is just not the case. When he noticed Tara was gone, he walked up to Sheri and asked, "Sheri, where Jake's other mummy go?" We all got a good chuckle out of that. (Really, Gus? Equal billing for the babysitter? Another reason I'm glad I'm home. But at least you will not bat an eye if you have friends with lesbian mothers.)

I love our trips to Franklin Square. A lot of it has to do with the company. Sheri and Linh are two of the best friends I have made here. And the park is awesome. The playground area is fenced in and the little kid jungle gym is low enough to the ground that I do not worry about Gus falling off it, which frees me up to follow Theo around and remove the twigs, leaves and pebbles that he is determined to eat from his hands (or mouth when I am not fast enough). It has pretty decent restrooms which will come in handy when Gus starts using the toilet. In addition to the playground there is a fountain, carousel and mini-golf. We have not golfed, but we all go on the carousel once a visit. Sometimes park employees make balloon animals for the kids. If we were so inclined we could buy popcorn or ice cream (but that is a precedent I do not want to set). I feel like I am in a story book when I am there.

We have been going to Franklin Square so regularly that we have even started to make "Franklin Square friends." Theo has a buddy, Lucy, who is a few weeks older than he is. They crawl around scavenging together. Lucy reminds me of Gus at that age, as she is a total extrovert. When she sees us she crawls right over to me and pulls herself up on my leg. Though Theo is no shrinking violet. He led Lucy on an ambush of these two seven-month-old girls who were sitting on a blanket playing with toys. Theo and Lucy made a bee line for those toys and would have crawled off with all of them if Maria and I had not intervened. It was so cute. Again, I was too slow with the camera, but I did catch them saying their 'goodbyes' with my cell phone. Isn't summer wonderful?


Lucy and Theo at Franklin Square Park

littlest friends festival

Tonight we went to the Littlest Friends of Rittenhouse Square Festival with Beth and Nathan. The center of Rittenhouse Square, including the fountain, had been closed for days to set up for the annual square fund raisers and it looked amazing. Huge tents, a dance floor over the fountain, tons of food, rides, jugglers and exotic animals. I wish I could have captured the scope of it with my camera, but with Theo strapped to the front of me, and Gus running about, and a storm brewing in the distance, I am lucky I took any photos at all. Gus had a blast. Theo, just hung out, but next year he will be ready to partake in all the fun, too.


Gus in the monkey house moon bounce


Gus trying to hula hoop like the "big girls"


Harrison and Gus riding the Rittenhouse Express

Nine month stats

Theo at nine months:
27 1/4 inches long
19 lbs 2 oz.

Nine months

Theo is nine months today.


He pulls himself up on everything, even wobbly rocking chairs.


And heads straight to the tub when he hears the water running.


And snuggles with Gus.

How we spent the heat wave

It is thundering and the heat wave is breaking! It has been in the high 90s since Saturday, and has felt like 100+, not that we would know. We have been camped out inside. How did we pass the time?
Drawing

Gus did this completely on his own. Circles are a new skill. Last week he told me he was going to draw a hippo and then drew two circles.

Painting

This was a team effort. Gus worked on the left side while I worked on the right side. Painting caused many tantrums. First I did not give Gus enough paint ("I want bigger paint. BIGGER PAINT!!!!!!!!!"). Later, I had the gall to hang up the painting on the chalk board wall ("No put my painting on the wall!!!!!). It was removed and ripped to shreds and is now in the recycling bin.

Playing ball in the garage

We played baseball, basketball, golf, and a hybrid of all three. And had more tantrums. Also, my fault. Gus would show me where to stand ("Mummy stand here in the outfield") and when I did he would freak out. This picture captures the meltdown brought on by the camera. (I was just trying to capture how cute he looks in my glasses.)

Gus's baseball games are evolving. Now when he plays he has to wear a baseball hat and if they are around, my glasses. He also runs around the bases every time he hits the ball and slides home, which he calls "sliding in to the basement." When he gets up he goes into the hall and pretends to tie his shoes (he does not have any shoes with laces right now) and then heads back to the garage to bat again. Could this be the beginning of some weird superstitious bating ritual, à la Nomar Garciparra?

When I tried to end the game photographed above by suggesting Gus play with his cars while I made supper, he responded, "I have a much better idea, let's play baseball." Where did he learn that expression?

We also took a few field trips.

IKEA

We spend many foul-weather days running around Ikea. It is a playground, obstacle course, toy store, ice cream shop all rolled into one. Gus loves it. Our visit on Monday was atypical, though. Our first stop is always the display of the POÄNG chair being pushed every five seconds or so by a mechanical arm to demonstrate the resilience the frame. It was gone. Gus asked, "Mummy, were the chair go?" "I don't know," I said and then we had this conversation, oh, 500 more times. Gus also likes to run through the curtain displays, but when he rounded the corner to this section, the curtain displays, too, were gone and in their place were half a dozen Ikea employees sorting curtains and hanging new lights. Luckily, the basket of "blueberry balls" was still there. When we reached the children's section Gus was so tired he climbed in to one of the beds, pulled the comforter over him, turned off the little light on the bedside table (if we had one of these he would be up all night turning it on and off) and said "Goodnight, Mummy. Goodnight, Theo." This was the first time he ever played in the model bedrooms. And it did not stop there. He made himself supper, carried it into another bedroom and ate it before climbing back into bed. Add Playhouse to our list of Ikea functions.

This was Theo's most exciting visit to Ikea. He played in the "blueberry balls" for the first time and helped himself to Gus's ice cream (actually frozen yogurt) cone. It was pretty clear Theo liked it. He screamed like a banshee while we finished our cones. If the Baby Whisperer had stopped by, I am sure she would have interpreted his cries as, "Expletive! Expletive! You Expletives! Give me that ice cream right now, expletive!" I guess we will have to cut out the cones until Theo is old enough to eat one, too.



Plymouth Meeting
Today we headed way out to Horsham, PA to donate some baby items and on our way back stopped at the Plymouth Meeting Mall. There is a double-decker carousel there. I thought for sure Gus would want to go up to the top but a tea cup on the first level caught his eye, so we all climbed in and went for a twirl. Gus did all the spinning, though Theo did try to give him a hand.



We also spent quite a long time watching the fountain. As a child I always really liked going to the Wapole Mall because there was a water fountain there. They are pretty mesmerizing. I did not offer up any pennies, and nothing was tossed into the fountain.



And the Aquarium on Sunday with Linh, Dennis, Sophie and Ava.

I'd say we had a pretty nice heat wave.

Clapping in the tunnel

This is a big day.

1) Theo played on a jungle gym for the first time. Here he is in the tunnel of the baby jungle gym at the 10th & Lomabard playground (there are 3 jungle gyms there; baby, medium-kid, and big-kid). He loved it and kept crawling back and forth in the tunnel between the two platforms, completely oblivious to the bigger kids (18-month olds) who could have trampled if I had not been so vigilant. He was clapping when I took this picture.



2) I emailed this picture that I took with my cell phone, to my email account! This may not seem like such a big feat, but I am somewhat of a techno-phobe. But now I can take pictures for keeps anywhere without lugging Jonathan's huge camera around. Yippie!

It had to be done

Jonathan is not happy about it, but it had to be done. Another hair cut.

Yesterday Gus looked like this



Crazy. Sometimes I cannot stop him from drawing on some facial hair, so I had to work on the hairdo.

We went back to Cookie Cutters. This time Gus was like an old pro. No crying, though he did refuse the clippers. Even though I like Gus's hair on the shaggy side, I had them cut it super short. When he woke up form his nap yesterday he was a complete sweat ball and I thought a shorter hair might save me from doing so much laundry.


This guy reminds me of Andersen Cooper. I, like Jonathan, miss shaggy. See you in a couple of months, Shaggy.