Fun times at the ICA

Today was another fun Family Playdate at the Boston ICA. This time, mommy and I convinced daddy, Aunty Sarita, and Ronak to join us. It was a beautiful day out on the Boston Harbor with lots of ships sailing by. We got there early so Ronak and I got to roam around before the museum opened. Here's a video of me running and screaming with joy.




Ronak and I discovered large wooden steps.

Of course, we had to investigate where it lead to. As soon as we got to the top, our parents picked us up and took us down the steps and into the museum. We got to roam around some more inside the museum. Then we saw a one-man show by The Picasso People. He played songs, danced, and explained cubism to us.


Ronak and I were both mesmerized by the performance.

Hummus beard

The other day, I discovered a new taste sensation. Mommy said it's "hummus". I say "ummmm!" I love it so much, I eat it by the spoonful. When I'm done licking the spoon, I hand the spoon to mommy to have her refill it. I must have eaten a quarter of the tub for lunch that day. As you can see, I still need to work on self-feeding. Do you like my beard?

E.I. is E.Z.

As some of you may know, my daddy thinks he knows something about how kids should learn to do things. So because I haven't been talking too much, he had some people come visit me and mommy to see whether I need to take some classes. He called them Eee Eye and they came last week to do an "evaluation."

Mommy and I showed daddy what's what. In the evaluation I was above average for my motor skills and I was solidly average for my intelligence. The thing I couldn't do was to figure out how to use Uncle JT's baseball bat to retrieve my car from under the couch. I think that's asking a bit much, don't you? Baseball bat is for banging on the walls and the floor, not for fishing around under the couch!

As far as my not talking too much goes, the Eee Eye people counted my signs as spoken words so I came out fine. Of course I have like 20 signs now, and I can cycle through my signs when my parents don't give me what I want. That way they think I'm combining words. "Want more milk please help ball elephant butterfly?" See? That's like a 8 word sentence!

Anyway, they saw how desperate daddy was so they decided that I'm going to have a new grownup friend come play with me so I can teach him signs. His name is Gary and he's coming once every few weeks. And they're going to get me in a new playgroup so I can teach some other kids what I know.

So maybe you'll be seeing some posts about Eee Eye as the weeks progress. Anyway, after Gary came one time I've started talking more already. I say lots more animal noises and among other things, I can say baby, nene for sleep, pom pom for bath, and ithu for all done. That's like 4 languages! Crazy parents. No wonder it's taking me a while.

Drumlin Farm Family Day

Last Sunday we went to Drumlin Farm again for a free family day. It was hot, but we got to do lots of stuff!

The first stop was seeing these duckies! I kept shaking the walls to see if I could let them out, but they wouldn't let me go Godzilla on the enclosure.


They have very tiny winglets

Then we went to see the lambs. They kept trying to eat the grass outside the fence, so daddy and I helped them out.


Baa!


Guess who?

After the farmyard we went out on a nature trail in the forest. I got to walk almost the whole way back. In the forest we came across a nest of very large eggs. I tried to open to see what was inside, but mommy said it wasn't a good idea in case the mommy creature came back.


Knock knock!

I love Drumlin Farm!

Dog Days of Summer

The last few days have been super hot and we desperately needed a way to cool off. Daddy had the morning off yesterday, so we went to a sprinkler/wading pool at Artesani Park in Brighton by the Charles River. There was a large pool that was only a foot deep so I can walk in the water all by myself. And in the pool, there were large metal structures that sprayed water on us. The water was super cold, and it took me sometime to stop shivering. We has so much fun!


Cooling off on a hot day.


Daddy and I checking out the sprinklers.


Help me catch the water, daddy.

After playing in the water for a while, we had lunch by the river. Some ducks came by to see if they could have lunch too. I had lots of fun feeding and chasing them.


Ducky!

I fell asleep on the way home. When I woke up, daddy was gone (mommy said he had to go to work). But I got to spend the afternoon with my friends at Ellie's house while mommy and Emerson's mommy played hooky. I didn't care because I was surrounded by baby friends, toys, and blueberries!


Our baby playgroup: Lisa (Ellie's mommy), Alissa (Emerson's mommy), Emerson, me, and Ellie. Too bad we forgot to take a picture before Leo left. I'm holding my green recycling truck - a new obsession with cars and trucks, especially ones that wind up.

Mommy said that next week, Ellie, Emerson, and Leo will come over to our house for a playdate! I can't wait!

Father's Day Part 2

After all that getting ready for Father's Day, we ended up doing a lot on the day. Mommy cooked us some yummy pancakes, and then we drove to Brookline. Daddy ran in the 5-K and mommy pushed me and her friend's baby in the stroller. It was a hot day so I took a nice nap until we got to where we were going. Which was the same place we started from. Crazy grown-ups.

Afterwards, I did get a new hat:


I didn't want to wear it at first, but then the hat-maker gave me his card


In the Flag Day fair, there were lots of rides that I was too little for


The biggest flag I've ever seen

Then we went to go see the Flag Day parade. We camped out on the lawn of the Brookline Public Library and watched the people go by.


The start of the parade

There were lots of neat things to watch in the parade.


These kids were drumming on recycling containers


This family rode their unicycles and quadricycles while they played flutes

Some things I didn't like:


Scary dragons coming to eat me


This guy was scary too

After the parade we went home to snooze for a little and then we went out for Father's Day dinner at Dok Bua. Yummy yummy Thai food and everyone was so nice to me! We had a great Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day!

This week we got ready for Father's Day by hosting an arts party at our house. Mommy invited over a bunch of folks to make Father's Day presents.


Here I am waiting for the guests to come over with Leapers and baby Pooh


Ronak came over by himself to play without his mommy


This is what we made--frames for our daddies!


Here I am preparing the frames for the stickers

On Saturday we went over to Ronak's house to celebrate Father's Day with his daddy, Uncle Sameer, who's on call today.


It's gotten warm again so we were able to play with his water table!


We had cupcakes for dessert. We really liked the sugar rush!


Landon Donovan's not getting my cupcakes!

Dragon Boat Festival

Yesterday, Ronak and I had an adventure taking the subway to Cambridge for the Dragon Boat Festival by the Charles River. We weren't sure what kind of dragons would be there, so we had to bring our parents with us for protection.

It turns out that the dragons are really long canoes that people in teams were racing down a short distance on the river. Ronak and I had a good time watching the races.


Dragon boats racing


Mommies and babies watching the boats

We did get to see a dragon who danced for us later.


Big dragon!

After walking around watching the boats, we were all famished. Good thing our mommies packed us lunch. With our stomach full, Ronak and I got to run around on the grass by the river.


Goofing around


Did you notice that we have matching hats!


Daddy got Ronak and I balloons, but we soon lost them. Sorry, turtles and penguins!

After our naps, we played around the Yard where our daddies used to live. Funny that they lived in the buildings next to each other and they didn't know each other. I hope next time Uncle Sameer will be able to join us.

Hancock Shaker Village

Ok, so "tomorrow night" ended up being 8 days later, but don't worry about me. My editors have been slacking off...

So, we went to the Hancock Shaker Village in the afternoon after Mass MoCA. This is apparently the original, not the one we live in. Our kitchen does not quite look like this ad.

The Shakers founded a village out here in Hancock based on sharing and peaceful living, so I guess mommy and daddy felt this would be a good lesson for me. Plus they had baby animals!


When I saw this one, I said "baa!"


Hancock Shaker chicks


And the Hancock Shaker pineapple

They had lots of old machines too. This one is a sheep treadmill that farmers can use to generate energy to run their machinery with.


The bale of hay is sitting on the treadmill piece



When he was little Daddy had a cat like the one on this shelf


This is the Hancock Shaker round barn where they milked the cows.


Bye bye Hancock Shaker village!