Cleaning the Bathroom

Look at me Kathy B.!!!!! At least one member of this family can scrub the tub.

Unka Richie

Richie came down from NYC to visit us (FINALLY) and we got him & his camera out to Jamaica Pond where he & the lil monster went chasing ducks. Much, much fun was had by all & I think Rich took about 3 rolls of film. The funniest part of the weekend was hearing peals of laughter from the back room as monito and R. were back there bonding.

It is cold here....

After bitter cold, Bay State to get a taste of spring
January 4, 2008 08:37 AM
By Globe Staff

Sick and tired of the bitter cold? Warmth is on the way. The National Weather Service predicts that temperatures will rise steadily through next Tuesday, when it will reach the 50s.
The cold will linger this morning, with temperatures of minus 5 in the interior of the state to 15 degrees. But the temperatures will then move upward, beginning with a high of about 33 today, the weather service predicts.
.....................................................

I live in a state where 33 Degrees is considered good weather in the winter. San Fran on the other hand is getting hit with a huge rain storm but the temps are positivly balmy up there in the 50's.

So I don't usually blog about the weather, but yesterday was the type of morning where you actually think your nose may turn black and fall off and your lungs burn as you breath. Little mountain man went out for a walk with me & fell asleep in his stroller!!!

Playing dress up

The kids had fun in the hat & scarf door at Gabes house

At the Aquarium

Em and the lil monkey are enjoying the outdoor seal tank at the aquarium.

Maybe the Cutest Guy Ever!!!

Okay so maybe I am a little biased in his favor, but jeez is this kid cute or what?

Streets of Cambridge

This is what it looked like BEFORE yesterdays 6-8"'s of Snow - yowza!!! The lil' Monkey is becoming quite the sherpa as he learns to navigate the snowy & icy Cambridge streets. The next picture is a kids bike buried up to the handlebars which gives you an idea of the snow level away from the snow plows.

For Rina C.

Okay so remember that day when I called you and I said I thought I was probably a bad mom 'cause all I was giving my kid for dinner was Ramen soup and some cheese slices & you called back and said that it didn't matter and at least I was feeding him -(or something like that). Well, here is the photo of that day. & looking at it I figure you're right - he looks like he couldn't be happier.

Snow Play

AFTER OUR FIRST BIG DECEMBER SNOWFALL THE LIL MONKEY DISCOVERED HOW MUCH FUN PEOPLES TRASH COULD BE.  HE SPENT 20 MINUTES PLAYING IN SOME RECYCLED PAPER ON THE STREET ACROSS FROM OUR BUDDIES HOUSE.  FINALLY I PULLED HIM AWAY (CRYING).

AFTER THE SECOND BIG SNOW WE WENT TO THE FIELD BEHIND OUR HOUSE FOR SOME SNOW-HIPSTER MAKING WITH THAT SAME BUDDIES FOLKS - MUCH FUN WAS HAD BY ALL.

 

... See my Tabblo>

Baby Has Two Mommies

I didn't blog about this earlier cause I was saving it for a Channukah surprise for Em's family - but as of November 27 the Lil' Monkey Officialy and Legally has two mommies. Yup - Our adoption was finalized!!!!

Honestly Em & I have had mixed feelings about the whole process cause it's kinda wierd to have to adopt your own kid, and its also a pretty big financial burden that's placed on queer same-gendered families that is not placed on the "normal" world blah blah blah... and I was also a little sad to be doing this on the East Coast instead of at home in SF where at least we would have lots of other queer mama friends to throw up a big you adopted your own baby tea party for us.

But the good thing is its Done & he is protected if anything happens to me & Em's family & extended family are all legally his family & extended family now & all that is GOOD.

Sledding

walking in the Snow

18 Month Check Up

This morning Em and I took the lil monkey in for his 18 month check up with our ped.
Once again she thought he was just perfect. So for those who care - here are his stats:

Weight (naked - no diaper) 23 lb 1.5 oz

Height 33 Inches

and head size 48 cm

Kitchen Helper

New Tube

Mid November Post

So if you are paying attention you'd be thinking to yourself - Hey What's up?? The lil' Monkey hit his 18 Month Anniversary & I haven't seen any numbers - no height, no weight, no cute little head circumference. Well, that's my fault - I let a few weeks go by after our last Dr. appt before I called to schedule the 18 month check up & by that time the entire month of November was gone & we got slotted for early December. So if you all just wait patient then you'll get those numbers just as soon as we do. What I can tell you is that the lil guy is just smart as a whip. He is so much fun & also funny - whether its hitting Em on the head with a board book when he should be napping or reaching through the slats of my chair cackling "Tickle, tickle, tickle".

He has also tossed out his old habit of bobbing forward and nodding "Yes" to everything we say in favor of testing the power of his "NO!!!" and getting some practice in the fit-throwing department. He is a little bit of a bully sometimes commandeering a favorite toy and giving a push or shove to keep ahold of it, but all in all compared with the other 18 month-ers he is pretty chill. He can still be distracted and his fits when he has them are short-lived bursts.

He is still super active and getting more agile. He enjoys the "circuit" in our park which consists of a two step climb to a platform, another couple of steps to another platform then sitting & scooching on his toosh to the edge of the slide and sliding down WHEEEEE. He also likes the suspended bridge bouncy thing as well as going up the BIG ladder (probably about 8 steps) and sliding down the covered slide - which does Really Fun things to his hair - crazy static electricity.

He is showing a small bit of the OCD - he takes all the push toys in the park and lines them up or parks them in order under the table or under the slide. He also likes to clean (????) - Em and I have no idea where this trait comes from. He will take a cloth or sponge and wipe off the dirty place-mat after he eats, he takes the broom or mop and tries to clean the kitchen floor - sadly he doesn't love the vacumn (I blame this on Mabel since she has a habit of barking at it.) He has even begun to follow a big person (ie Me) into the loo so that he can pull all the toilet paper off of the roll & then sweetly offer it up to you as he says in baby voice " pp ??? poo poo?? "

It is starting to get colder here so we have been discovering more indoor play spaces - sadly coffee shops are too small to contain him, but the library and the childrens museum are most accomadating. Also a few friends are hosting play groups at their houses. He is playing more with Lila - the big gal upstairs (22 months old!!) and we see our buddy Gabe almost every day. The challenge now is trying to figure out how to time the naps to the much shorter days - its dark now between 4 and 4:30 so it feels bad to sleep away the last couple hours of daylight which means I either try to get him down early (before 2) or we wait until after 4 - like today which means he's asleep at dinner time --- but will probably be wide awake & rearing to go at around 10 pm. Oh well.

I am missing Family & our SF Friends a lot right now - Happy Thanksgiving to you all & plan a trip to the East Coast for the coming year!!!!

Fall Walk with Mommy & Grandma

We had another weekend up in the shire with Phancy. The lil' monkey loves his house in the woods, he was playing with all the toys for hours entertaining himself and loving long walks up the leaf covered driveway with Grandma, Grandpa and Mommy. I loved the time away too - I read almost the ENTIRE Sunday NY Times for the first time in I don't know how long. Yummm....

Now its back to a week of real life & then the grandparents are in Boston for a wedding over the weekend so more N. family time.

Dream On....

Yup my boy ROCKS

Fall at the Shire

We went out to the shire this weekend to visit the GParents... & got a really cute shot of the lil monkey in his fancy Patagonia vest playing in the fallen leaves. He had a great time getting lots and lots of attention & I had a good time getting to do some soduko puzzles and lay on the couch. Mabel & Monito both enjoyed running in circles around the house & we luckily avoided a massive rainstorm that blew through Boston. All in all a good weekend & Next weekend mama Em gets to come out to play too.

Trick or Treat

the kids