Early Summer Events

Early Summer 2011

Marcus is one month shy of three years old, two pounds shy of thirty pounds, tall and verbal and happy and generally eating and sleeping and feeling really well. He's still nursing, still being worn, and yet also incredibly independent. After we got back from Minnesota, we had a really busy few weeks until things started to slow down a bit around the first of the month: first we got a new fold-out couch for when my parents come up to stay with us, and Tim and Christine took our old one (Marcus got to supervise as Tim, Robert, and a friend moved the old one down the stairs), and then we got to see Uncle Mike and Lexie, who were out visiting a Rhode Island college she got a hockey scholarship to.

We've also gone to lots of playgrounds, sprinkler parks, and bike-riding trips around the South End, Back Bay, and Jamaica Plain, and we've just had a great time together, indoors or out, going to kids' concerts, reading books (he particularly likes the sequel to Knuffle Bunny where Trixie loses Knuffle Bunny and then decides she's too grown-up for it anyway--once, when we got to the spot that says, "Trixie realized something," we paused and asked what he thought she realized (that Knuffle Bunny was lost), and he said, "Her no like chocolate milk!") or pretending (he plays for hours at a time with cars or trains or his kitchen or his dolls, narrating all sorts of stories). Robert's Park Street Church softball team started up again, and though I was drafted to play in the first game of the season (they were short a woman, sigh), Marcus still had fun standing on the side and watching and cheering. He loves visiting the team dogs, watching the mounted police ride through the Common, and see Daddy hit the ball.

Marcus is very excited about the new baby on the way, and will talk about it ten or more times a day. He says he'll be gentle with the baby brother, play with him, touch him gently, pat him on the head, bring him toys, wrap him up in one of his (Marcus's) slings, and let him use his old basket. Marcus has also started telling stories about himself ("When I was a little baby, I went to Italy," or "When I was a little baby, I was in Mommy's belly and then I came out of a hole and slept in the tiny tiny basket"), and these also (pronounced "Allsome") translate into stories about "his" new baby in my belly.

Other events of June and July:

Theodore's 5th Birthday Party: Lots of kids from school at the MyGym in Brighton. Marcus is a bit of an observer/loner, and tends not to want to join organized games, but he had a great time circling around the other kids and playing with other stuff inthe room. He dove right into his pizza and juice, though, and he did finally make it into the group for the group picture.

Fourth of July: Nineteen adults, six kids between 10 months and 6 years old, and two infants; kids and families came on the earlier side, and then we grilled around 7:00. Liwen and Tyrone, Madeline and Nathanael, and Max and Liz stuck around to see the fireworks at 10:30. There was remarkable harmony among the children playing with the sand and water table, and Marcus also really loved having the babies there. He kept hugging Aydeen (10 months) and Tim and Christine's baby (four months) and at one point begged so much that we let him--sitting down on the floor, with freshly washed hands and face--hold M. (all dolled up in red white and blue, of course) in his lap (with a spotter) and stroke her head. He watched the fireworks from a sling, joining Nathanael in cheering for the ones they wanted to see more of. Nathanael was really creative and kept saying, "I see giant tropical spiders! More spiders! SPIDERS!" or "Ooh, that one looks like a hot dog! More HOT DOGS!" so Marcus and Madeline played along, and we had three small children yelling "SATURN! SPIDERS! HOT DOGS! SMILEYS!" at the top of their lungs. Everyone slept in the next day, but we had a great time.

A weekend visit from Cori

Marcus's first-ever real baseball game: Park Street got an entire section, the right field roof box terrace, and had both sitting and standing seats available. I had gotten two seats (under three is free) figuring Robert and I would go, but Robert had a work thing he couldn't get out of, so Debbie kept me company to wach the Padres. Well, that was the idea, after all; in practice, the game started forty minutes late because of rain, had three more rain delays, and then we left in the top of the fifth inning four hours after the scheduled start time. Debbie stayed until the bitter end (eighth inning, with more rain delays), and we huddled under her purple umbrella for part of the time. They were really amazing seats, very comfortable and with a good view, and Marcus had a great time--nice nap, then some popcorn, then some ball watching, and then a soggy T ride home.

Garrison's second birthday party: Marcus got a bit overzealous in "helping" open the presents, but otherwise loved playing with Little G's toys and admiring the neighbors' dog.

Harborfest tour of the Oak Hill: we climbed all over this ship, all the way up to the top deck, and then all the way down inside, to see the special boats inside the Navy uses for unloading Marines and their equipment to get closer to shore. Marcus was in the sling until the end of the tour, when he walked down the final ramp to the boats and walked all over the boats with Robert. It was a very cool tour, and not that many people were there--apparently it was under-publicized, sadly.

Free tennis lessons for ages 3-4 (Wednesday mornings, 9-10 in Titus Sparrow Park): Marcus loves getting to hold the racket! It's possible he might get a racket of his own for his birthday this year.