Ikea and "Soff ball"

The moment Collin collapsed on the court and started to feel the throbbing pain enter his ankle and foot, he knew he was in trouble . . . with Rachel. Saturday was supposed to be "Ikea Day" and Rachel had been planning a few purchases for quite some time. And how was Collin supposed to be able to walk around a huge warehouse and help with Davy and any goods when he's limping down the aisles? Determined not to spoil Rachel's weekend, Collin assured her that he'd be able to go and that he's always wanted to have a legitimate reason for going around in a wheelchair anyway! It sounded like a good idea, until we realized how it must have looked to everyone else -- an almost 9-month pregnant woman pushing her husband in a wheelchair while he carries everything else on his lap, including their toddler (when he allowed it, anyway -- most of the time he was hanging on to Rachel's legs).

In any case, we made it through without too many weird looks from people, and Collin loved pushing himself as fast as he could, zooming around turns and cutting people off. He only wished he had a small horn attached to the chair.

Purchases for the day included a train set with additional tracks and tunnels. Davy has really taken to putting the tracks together and we needed additional and more intricate pieces to keep Rachel's sanity when playing with him (there are only so many variations you can do with five identical pieces of track).

We also ate lunch there and picked up some ice cream cones for the way out. Not sure how Davy ended up with both cones . . . .

Back home, we enjoyed marvelous 75-degree weather (after getting through a week that saw three straight days of non-stop rain). We purchased a wiffle-ball bat at the dollar store and it has become Davy's new favorite outdoor toy. "Hit" or "soffball" are repeated over and over again as he tries to club the ball against the ground like Bam-bam from the Flintstones. He's really becoming quite the talker and amazes us with the words he picks up and remembers after only a few tries.

Collin throwing the ball "up high" for Davy.



Looking at an airplane passing by.

Rachel walked in on Davy reading from one of his books ("Doggies"). Before this clip, he was barking to himself with various type of dog sounds.

Despite our efforts to teach him how to take turns, the following is becoming ever so common when Davy sees a toy he wants.

iPhone Phanatics

Collin had been delaying the day that he would order a PDA from Deloitte (despite it being free) because he didn't want the hassle of another phone. When it finally hit him that he really needed to be able to respond to emails when he wasn't on his computer, he broke down and ordered one. Apparently, his delaying paid off because this past year Deloitte finally allowed staff-level employees to order the new iPhone as a business PDA. We all know, though, that's it's really just a toy which happens to receive business emails.

After unwrapping it and getting it all setup at work, Collin was excited to test it out on the subway ride home. He was horrified, however, as he walked through the station to find that he was now part of the group of zombies that hover over their phones with craned necks and dangling earbuds whom he so despised. He at least refuses to download any mindless games that will take him away from his reading goals. Well, maybe a logic puzzle or something . . . but that's it!

I tried to get a snapshot of this picture, but I wasn't fast enough to run back into the house for the camera. So you'll have to mentally visualize it: I walk outside to the back yard to see--on a gorgeous day with balls and cars surrounding them--Collin sitting in a porch chair hunched over his new gadget and Davy standing by, resting his hand on Collin's knee, peering intently at the iPhone. Oh, boys and their toys. Sigh!

Fenway Park

After living in Boston for 2 years, we were finally able to land some great Red Sox tickets and take in a game at historic Fenway Park. Thanks to the Lows (for the tickets) and Singers (Davy-sitting) for making it possible!

It was no coincidence that the Sox were playing the Angels. Collin wanted to be able to feel like his team won no matter what the outcome. :) We were rather surprised actually that the Sox ended up losing the game 7-2, especially since they were previously undefeated (8-0) against the Angels this season. One of the highlights of the night was Big Papi hitting a solo home run early in the game to give the Sox a temporary lead.

We saw some unusual activity across from us in center field. See how many beach balls you can count:

No game would be complete at Fenway without the traditional singing of "Sweet Caroline" before the bottom of the 8th inning. No one really knows why it became a tradition. It started off by the director of music choosing it one night (mid-1990s or so) and then became a sort of good luck song that was only played when the Sox were winning. Since then, the crowd started singing along, players started dancing to it (an article made reference to a particular dance by Pedro Martinez, which I haven't looked up yet), and now they sing it every home game.

Shield Your Eyes!

The other night Davy got out of the bath and ran for his beloved toys before we could catch him to diaper him. This is how we found him. To me this is the essence of his toddlerhood, and I can't help but chuckle every time I see these pictures. I apologize if they are too risque!


And here is our virtuoso performing his first concert. When were getting ready for church he hopped up on the piano bench all on his own to play some Primary songs. I love how deliberate he is in playing the notes and turning the pages!

Old Sturbridge Village

Friday was free day at Old Sturbridge Village, so we took advantage of the gorgeous weather (this pregnant lady is so grateful that the weather has cooled off, at least temporarily) and took a trip back in time. It was extremely crowded, but we escaped some of the crush by taking a walk in the woods and through the pastures. I got homesick for my days chasing my horse around the field trying to catch her. Davy loved the sticks and rocks that abound in nature. We've got to get this city boy out more often! And we saw animals--sheep, chickens and cows. Collin got a personal tutorial on shooting rye out of a straw gun and got endless entertainment hitting me with grain.


There was a special rifle shooting demonstration. The noise made me jump every time (you can see I'm holding Davy really tensely). And Davy learned a new word: gun.


Here's the real cow in the pasture, and below is the fake cow in the playground. Davy was slightly wary of the real animal, but the fake one was not so scary!


Collin helped Davy play in the fake animal stockyard/playground while I checked out the needlework sampler exhibit. I was amazed at the skill and accomplishment with the needle of girls as young as seven or eight.

Ben and Jerry's

On Wednesday we drove through Vermont to reach the state's number one tourist attraction (according to the Stowe, VT website). We are lovers of all things ice cream, so we joined the throngs of people heading to Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream factory for the factory tour and free sample. (Well, I guess the sample was included in the factory tour admission fee, but it felt free! ;) )


We learned about the process of making ice cream, the history of Ben and Jerry's friendship and business venture, and where the company is headed. I want to work at the factory one shift a week, because apparently in addition to getting paid you get to bring home three pints of ice cream for each shift worked. You can't sell it, but you can trade it, barter it, or even eat it!! That's what I call a good perk.


And here is yet another messy eating face. Seems to be a trend of this blog . . . We got to try a new flavor, Milk and Cookies. It was pretty scrumptious--I recommend it. I got two samples, because I'm pregnant! Wahoo!

Springfield and Berkshires

Part two of our trip included a few stops in Springfield where, among other things, a collection of Dr. Seuss statues and the Dr. Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame are found. Davy hasn't quite jumped into Dr. Seuss books, but he enjoyed looking around at the statues and trying to figure out what they were (which is sometimes hard with Dr. Seuss characters).

We didn't actually get any farther than the lobby for the Basketball Hall of Fame as we decided we could see all we wanted from there. Maybe we'll take the real tour when Davy's old enough to participate in the interactive exhibits.

Here's Davy comparing his shoe size with that of Shaquille O'Neal. He's getting there . . .


Our last stop was in Stockbridge, MA, near the Berkshires. The weather was a cool 70 degrees with a slight breeze, so we could see why people go there in the summer for vacation! We stopped at the Norman Rockwell Museum, which is beautifully situated on top of one of the "mountains" of Western Mass. We love how American Rockwell's paintings are. Some funny, some patriotic -- none without a message. Rachel loved Girl at Mirror and Going and Coming, which provided wonderful memories of family trips. Collin liked Facts of Life for some psychological reason of his own.

Here are Rachel and Davy by Rockwell's studio, which was relocated to this spot on the hill to be part of the museum. We're keeping this picture as a reference for when we build a summer cabin . . . someday.

Amherst

When I was a junior in high school my dad did a research sabbatical in Amherst, MA for six months. Amherst is a very liberal college town (there are several colleges within the town like UMass Amherst and Amherst College, where Robert Frost taught for about 10 years) with lots of artists and authors and history. My family lived in a big farmhouse that was built in 1820 (one of Emily Dickinson's childhood friends lived in the house when she was a girl), attended school and church and early morning seminary in the town and generally had a good experience as a family. I wanted to visit and relive some of those good growing experiences and show Collin around town. First stop was our house:

Across the street is a bike/running path built over old train tracks that went through town. I spent a lot of time walking and jogging when the weather got nice. Davy was ready for a stroll after being in the car for more than an hour, so we found a stick (a little boy's absolutely essential walking tool) and walked a ways on the trail.

We got lunch at Antonio's, which is a perfect college town pizza place, with crazy creative pizzas. Collin got a Mexican pizza--salsa, tortilla chips, avocados, and cheddar cheese on pizza crust. I got a fresh veggie and real mozzarella cheese (the kind that comes fresh in a ball, so when sliced is little round chunks of cheese) pizza. We got a tortellini pizza for Davy, which he resisted eating in favor of drinking all our juice. Never get drinks with a toddler in tow is the lesson we learned. For dessert we went to AJ Hastings for penny candy and cleared out our change drawer in the car. Davy was pretty ecstatic about his lollipop. I didn't think he'd get all the way to the tootsie roll, but he did!


While Davy napped after lunch, we managed to take a peak at the Emily Dickinson homestead and nearby cemetery where she is buried.

There is an Eric Carle museum in Amherst that I had never visited. Davy, who is familiar with several of Eric Carle's books, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar, had a great time. He took one look down the long hallway when we first walked in, saw the caterpillar, and ran! He could have played forever in that caterpillar and now asks for his Very Hungry Caterpillar book by name and wants to be sung a "caterpillar song." If anyone knows a song about caterpillars I would appreciate learning one!

We also got to do some artwork of our own, in Eric Carle style with tissue paper and glue. Here are our masterpieces:

Broken Park

This week has been full of small, fun moments. The new baby is growing bigger every day and so am I. And we're not done yet! 8 weeks to go, and a baby most likely doubling in size (according to the books he's about 4 lbs now, and I'm expecting at least an 8 1/2 lb baby!). With all that hard work growing, obviously we've done a lot of eating, as you'll see from the next few pictures. Mostly junk food, apparently, although there has been some healthy stuff thrown in just because we have to be good. Davy was super thrilled to be sporting that dad-like goatee of chocolate frosting.


This cookie dough kept Davy quiet and occupied for the longest time--long enough to get four dozen cookies in and out of the oven. Have to remember that trick for future. Like while preparing dinner. Just kidding, probably.


And corn is pretty healthy, right? We went to Wilson Farms for some produce and flowers on Saturday and they were celebrating their corn harvest with samples of yummy corn on the cob, corn salsa, other corn stuff. Oh, and huge sugar cookies shaped like corn cobs that the kids (or in our case, Collin) could frost and sprinkle. So yeah, I suppose we negated any health benefits from the fresh corn on the cob with that cookie.

Davy has finally picked up running. He's been saying "run, run" as he walks fast for a while, but only recently have we detected an actual change in his gait. He loves being chased and sometimes chasing. He loves "on your mark, get set, go" and running down shopping aisles. There is a video of running below. Also there is some exciting dumping of rocks.

Earlier this week--I think on Wednesday--we were up-and-at'em early so decided to do a wagon ride to the closest park. We got there and the park was closed because the city was putting down fresh bark chips around the playground equipment. A tractor/front end loader machine was helping move the big pile of wood chips around the park. We stayed and watched for a while, but Davy did not understand why we couldn't go into the park to play. I finally hit on the explanation that the park was "broken" and the tractor was fixing it. That one stuck and ever since then a few times a day Davy will come and talk to me very seriously about the broken park being closed and the tractor fixing it so now it's open. Down below is a video of one of these conversations.