two legs

At sixteen months, Matthew finally decided it was time to try seeing the world from two legs instead of four. And then he quickly realized that it wasn't as hard -- or as scary -- as he originally thought.



Next step: to convince him to walk without us having to beg him.

celebrating caleb, minion style

I'll tell you what -- making sure that a loved one has a nice birthday is an exhausting business. Exhausting, but totally worth it in the end. Caleb's birthday celebrations carried over into two days: the first, his actual birthday, was kept pretty low-key so we could reserve at least some extra fun for his party the next day.

We spent the morning out running a few errands (most of which were for Caleb -- a new birthday outfit and shin guards for the fall soccer season), and in the afternoon, at his request, we stopped at a playground in between a few more quick errands.

This park is called Leif Ericson Park and the playground equipment is designed to look like a Viking ship. So it was kind of interesting to note that we were the only people there with any obvious Scandinavian heritage (most of the other playground guests that day were Asian or Hispanic). But I guess that's Brooklyn for you. 

When Blake got home, we had a small family party. Caleb opened presents first, most of which incidentally turned out to follow a specific theme -- the I Spy Eagle Eye game, Spot It, and a boxed set of Where's Waldo books. This was followed by the ritual singing of the Happy Birthday song after which he blew out 4 candles on his bowl of ice cream (we were saving cake for the next day).

He also loved his gifts from his grandparents.

The next day five of his little friends (Anju, Blake, Jackson D., Jackson Q., and Luke) came over for a minion-themed birthday party.

Blake decorated the living room while I was away at a Relief Society activity (more on that in a later post). He did a great job!

As the guests arrived (or, I suppose I could say, as the "minions assembled"), we watched minion clips on YouTube. Their favorite was "Banana."

Our first game was Pin the Goggles on the Minion.

Then it was onto Don't Eat Pete, the Minion Edition (this particular game board created by Blake and I).

Followed by the opening of presents. I think his little friends were more excited than Caleb about the gifts, which is saying something.

Then it was time for cake. This entire party circled around the idea, introduced to me by my sister, to make minion cupcakes with toppers made of Twinkies. While letting the rest of the minion activities sort of fall into place, I gathered up all the supplies to make the cupcakes. I am no cake decorator, but I thought they turned out pretty cute. I also turned the cups into minions as well.

Minion cupcakes...

 ...and minion cups.

Everyone was pretty hyped up on party fun and sugar, so to calm things down while we waited for parents to pick up their children, we watched some of Despicable Me.

They were enthralled.

I put together goody bags for everyone to take home. They included a minion bouncy ball, some Smarties, a mini[on] bottle of bubbles, a party blower, and funky glasses meant to imitate the goggles the minions wear. Judging by how many pairs I saw at church today, I'd say those were a hit.

Minion goggles/nerd glasses.

Every time Caleb puts his on, he comes up to me and says, "Look, Mom, I a minion!"

The party of was all sorts of crazy fun, and I think everyone enjoyed themselves. Though, I must admit that I am relieved that birthday season at our house is over until the winter. We didn't try to "shrink the moon," but it kinda sorta feels like we did, and I am worn out!

caleb is four

Dear Caleb,

The other day I found myself browsing through old photographs of you. You've grown so tall and your features so chiseled that I'd all but forgotten what you were like only a year or two ago. Today you are four years old, and perhaps because you have matured in your looks and abilities, you sometimes seem much older to me. The look, however, of playful mischief that is forever lighting your eyes serves as a reminder that you are very much still my little boy.

Your personality has not changed much since you were born. You are still, and probably always will be, stubbornly deliberate -- a trait that I know will serve you well if you can learn to harness it for good. But for now it manifests itself in always wanting to drink from the pink cup, in layering your blankets in an oddly specific way at bedtime, and insisting on opening the heavy doors in our lobby whenever we go out. Overall you don't ask for much, but you firmly insist on the little things you do want.

You are ever my defiant child, the product, no doubt, of your placement in the middle. You do, though, try so hard to be good. Each prayer you offer includes the lines, "And help me not hit and not bother anyone every day." And, more often than I tend to give you credit for, you are delightfully thoughtful and sincere, thinking of others before you think of yourself. Oh, and let's not forget how polite you've become lately. I love how you squeeze in all of the "magic words" in your requests for something: "Please, Mom...okay, thank you welcome!" It's very, very sweet.

Some of the quirky things I love about you right now are your observant sharp eyes (which you fine tune by devouring Where's Waldo and I Spy books), your sometimes indecipherable speech (which I will be sad to see fade away as you begin speech therapy next month), and your entourage of dollies (which includes Bigger Baby, Little Baby, White Dolly, Bones Hundley Doggy Anderson, Elmo World, Tuggy/Nancy Beary, Blue's Clues, Magenta, and Woody) that go with you almost everywhere.

You're a goof who is adorably playful. Yesterday you asked in your warm, sugary voice, your honey-brown eyes pleading, "Mom, you play with me?" And how could I resist? So we sat down and played your new favorite game, Don't Eat Pete, just you and me. And I relished it.

Happy birthday, Baybo -- I mean Caleb! I know you may sometimes feel squished in the middle and sometimes forgotten, but you hold a very special place in my heart that would feel miserably empty if you weren't there to fill it. I love you.

Love,
Mom

a ferry fun day

The carefree days of summer will soon come to an end (not that I'm counting) (okay, maybe I am...), so to make the most of what we have left/celebrate that it's almost over, yesterday we went on an adventure. A commuter ferry from the Rockaways to Lower Manhattan recently added a stop in our neck of the woods, so we, along with a lot of our friends, decided to ride it up to the Imagination Playground, located near the South Street Seaport.

Our 1.5 mile walk to the pier took us deep into the industrial part of Brooklyn. Luckily we had Garrett with us to read the signs that pointed the way. We arrived at the pier a few minutes before the boat did, which only built up the kids' excitement.

The boat arrived, and we all boarded and climbed up to the very top. The wind was strong (they don't call this ferry Seastreak for nothing!) and the views were spectacular.

  Looking south. That's the Verrazano Bridge in the background.

The building where Blake works is the pinkish one tucked away in the center of this skyscraper cluster.

The ferry docked at Pier 11, just west of the South Street Seaport, so it was only a short walk to the Imagination Playground. I'd forgotten to bring swimsuits, so we stripped down to the bare essentials so the boys could play in the water. I think, though, that their favorite activity at the playground were the giant foam blocks.

Talk about an inner city playground. Look at that landscape!

This landscape they're building is pretty awesome, too.

We stayed at the playground for a while, then said goodbye to our friends and walked down Water Street to meet Blake for lunch. The only bench outside his building that offered shade was directly across the street from the Fraunces Tavern, an 18th-century building that played an important role in the Revolutionary War.

After lunch we headed back home. This time we took the subway. I have no more photos to share, but I wanted to pause in my narrative to describe what it's like to ride the subway with young children. Actually, I'm going to let Jim Gaffigan describe what it's like, in this comedically accurate excerpt from his recently released book, Dad Is Fat:

"The subway is a fast and economical way to get around Manhattan, but from the moment the turnstile smacks your kid in the head to the time your child terrifies you [or, I might add, a stranger who also terrifies you by harping about your lack of parenting skillz] by almost falling in the gap between the platform and the train, to the lack of interest anyone has in yielding a seat to you, to the kid inevitably licking the subway pole that 800 million filthy hands have touched, to almost missing your stop because it's too crowded to get off and you don't want your kid trampled, to carrying the stroller up three flights of subway station stairs behind people who are moving so slow you have to hold yourself back from stabbing them, to the time you realize that the museum is closed for renovations, this fast, economical, environmentally friendly form of transportation becomes more of a treacherous pilgrimage than a way of getting from point A to point B."

True story.

And then you have to do it all again on the return trip. Which is even more exhausting because you and every little person with you is worn out and whiny. And that is one big reason why the ferry was such an appealing option for at least one leg of our trip.

But to be perfectly honest, the ferry wasn't a much easier option than the subway. It also turned out at the last moment to be more expensive that we'd originally thought. But it was fun, and it took us onto even more fun once we docked in Manhattan, and I suppose that's what matters in the end.

the city, by car

Even though I no longer break out in a cold sweat every time I have to take the car somewhere, I'm still not crazy about driving around Brooklyn. It's a little too much of a thrill maneuvering crowded, narrow streets full of insane drivers and double-parking delivery trucks. But, with practice and time, I have learned how to do it without thinking too hard. Sometimes, though, I have to hold my breath and ignore all of the nuttiness happening in my peripheral vision in order to survive, physically and mentally, as I try to get from Point A to Point B. And I still refuse to drive into Manhattan or, for that matter, on any other of the highway routes that would take me to the other boroughs and beyond (even though I'm sure that they, too, would get easier with time and practice; I'm just not ready to go there yet).

But my preference to be stubborn on that point doesn't keep me from riding as a passenger to those places. When I'm not the one behind the wheel, I find the thrill exhilarating and the views breathtaking. Here are a few of my favorites that I managed to capture on our drives to and from New Jersey this weekend.

View of Manhattan from the elevated Gowanus Expressway. This is an exponentially more enjoyable view when we're not stuck in bumper to bumper traffic.

Our route took us through the Battery Tunnel, then up the East Side on the F.D.R. and over the George Washington Bridge. But before we start heading north on that stretch, we pass the "pirate ships" (or so the boys call them) at the South Street Seaport.

Then the majestic Brooklyn Bridge (which is still undergoing some repairs).

And the Manhattan Bridge.

On the East Side. In Manhattan space is such a commodity, they construct buildings right over the roads.

This photo doesn't do it justice, and it's not even the best view (I pulled out my camera a couple minutes too late), but the views of Manhattan as you're driving east from the New Jersey suburbs are spectacular. They have a way of surprising you by rising out of the trees as you drive over the hills.

weekend in jersey

The cousins were flocking this weekend to the Wiest Compound in New Jersey, and we were invited to join the fun. The reason for the gathering was to attend the blessing of my cousin, Zac's, new baby girl, Stella, but it was mutually decided that a long afternoon at the beach on the neighborhood lake must be in order as well.

It was great to see so much family, particularly for the little cousins who got in a bit of beautiful bonding time.

 Matthew and Vera are only a few weeks apart. I think in part because of her example, Matthew took a few independent steps during our visit.

Shortly after we arrived on Saturday, we packed a picnic lunch and headed to the beach, where we spent the entire afternoon.

Building sandcastles.

Picnic lunch on a perfectly sized picnic table.

 My little fish ready for fun.

 Beach boys

Garrett and James

 Sailing.

Matthew loved being in the water. We had to keep an extra close eye on him because he had no fear of crawling right out into the deep.

Setting sail in the canoes!

  

Back at the house in the evening, Matthew spent a lot of time glued to the windows, watching with little brother envy as the rest of the big boys were playing in the backyard.

And just what were they doing out there? Why, frog hunting, of course! Garrett found one, named it Jumpy, and was soon the hero of all the other little boys. I'm actually pretty surprised, considering his well-known aversion to various textures, at how much he loved holding it.

When it was time to head back to Brooklyn for the night, he put Jumpy in a bucket on the back patio, fully expecting to get play with him again when we were back the next day. But Jumpy had other plans and was gone by the time Garrett was able to check on him. But never fear! He quickly found another frog and named him Hopper. It was his greatest wish to be able to take him home and keep him as a pet, but we quelled that desire pretty quick, much to his immense devastation.

On Sunday we drove straight to the chapel for church where Baby Stella was given a beautiful blessing. Afterwards, we congregated again at the house for a delicious dinner before several of the families, ours included, had to head back home.

I love having so much extended family nearby. These weekends with them, away from our regularly scheduled reality, are so needed and so enjoyed. 'Til next time!