Big Nazo Band -- Guest Post by J

On Saturday, we went to an arts festival in Cranston. While walking around, we stumbled upon a few aliens.

(You're thinking, "Wait, he wasn't exactly kidding this time.")

These aliens are dancers for the Big Nazo Band. Big Nazo is a "creature factory" in Providence. Local artists create funny, somewhat grotesque costumes, and then perform for hipsters' children. My personal favorite character is the tiny-headed dog-creature who emcees the performance.

The band plays various marches and tunes on brass instruments. They had a bug-faced piccoloist, a few robot saxophonists, one demon trombonist, a bunch of drummers, and one alien on what appeared to be a miniature bassoon.

Big Nazo is a fan of audience participation. A half-alien, half-human-from-Brooklyn character in a fat suit danced the tango with a local man while the Ratso (the dog) said, "Love is in the air at the arts festival." Children took turns shaking one of the green alien's trunks. We all marched together around the parking lot, until the Big Nazo band made its exit into a bank.


Here's Aiden at dinner that night, still wearing his tie. He was also wearing it with his PJs when I woke up this morning.

concert

Here is the highlight reel from the spring concert with our little improv dancer dude:

Concert Highlights from LB on Vimeo.

Here is the grandparent cut (aka. long) of the spring show - I'm not sure why vimeo squeezed it, but you get the idea.  I think the computer song where Aiden whipped out the robot moves is my favorite (4:55).
Concert Grandparent Cut from LB on Vimeo.

end of year show

Here are some snaps from the view I waited two hours to get ;)

I wonder if I just take this hair off if it will cool me off?  Big yawns from hot kids all around.

Tick Tock Head and Robot Computer Kid:

We chuckled at his improv dancing, the overheated funny faces, and the lightheaded delirious look when he bowed (even for other people's performances)...

Our little hot box had some funny expressions that day.

 Mrs. Healey gave everyone a magnet photo frame with a photo from mom's day at school (still plan to write about that when she sends the photos).  She wrote on the back "You're magnetic! Have a great summer!" and all the literal three year olds had a fun time figuring out they were actually non-magnetic.  Here's Alyssa pointing out whose eyes are closed in the photo - They were so grown up saying goodbye...

 Checking to see if they are magnetic - nope!

Last Day at O.S.M.S -- Guest Post by J

Aiden had his last day at O.c.e.a.n State Montessori on Friday.

Since the students were having a concert at 10:00 am, we dressed Aiden in a shirt and tie (with shorts--it was a hot day). Turns out Aiden loves wearing a tie. In fact, he insisted on wearing his (clip-on) tie to sleep and then insisted on wearing a shirt and tie today. Perhaps he'll turn out to be our very own Alex P. Keaton.

Many parents arrive for these concerts shortly before 10. Of course, we instead dropped Aiden at his class at 8:15 and then spent the next two hours waiting in the multi-purpose room to ensure we got good seats. You can feel free to guess whether this was Lauren's idea or mine. For what it's worth, if you aren't in the first few rows, it's hard for your child to see you.

These concerts begin with the O.S.M.S. anthem, which goes:
    O.c.e.a.n State Montessori School
    Where we learn the Golden Rule
    Love each other
    Love the land
    Where work and play go hand-in-hand.
It just occurred to me that I should ask Aiden if he knows what the Golden Rule is. I suspect he doesn't.

It was about 90 degrees in the room, thanks to it being very hot outside and very cramped with warm bodies inside. While singing, Aiden did various unchoreographed dances and poses, but while the other classes were signing, he looked weary. Nothing a little cake couldn't fix.

Video to follow.

reunion

Good 'ol Mary Wash welcomed us all back on a bright sunny Saturday...  It's only been ten years since I walked down campus walk with some of my all time favorite people to receive my diploma.  This time I was walking with a new batch of favorite people, namely J, Aiden, and Keaton, and it seemed like so much had changed in ten years.  There were buildings being renovated, awful trailer huts with pillars (nice touch!) blocking Westmoreland quad, and spaces that seem bigger than you remember.  I was beginning to doubt that going to a reunion two months postpartum feeling kinda chubby and tired was sorta an iffy idea, but my low key friends (love them!) were true to form and it was a nice easy going afternoon. I was glad that they made it fun for the whole family... no stuffy cocktail parties for my crowd.  

Aiden jumped out of the car to check out "Mommy's college!"  He was already sold that my college town was awesome because it housed the biggest hotel indoor pool, which he'd already enjoyed.  As we approached the quad they were inflating the bouncy house, slide, and the train was charging up.  He turned to me with a spring in his step and screamed "Mommy, your college has a train!?"  They also had the cutest "upside down dog" bouncy house.  Aiden was very happy with the snow cone machine where he tried nearly every flavor.  He loves his new UMW "eagle hat" (still MWC in my mind, but I guess University status is a good thing).

Keaton was an angel in his Moby for nearly the entire time we cruised around campus.  He was just getting situated comfortably napping against my chest, when I shimmied down to the very swanky renovated Underground (which used to be dingy, dark and dirty) to get my name tag.  The nice young volunteer student initially started scanning the Class of 1996 for my nametag - um no, 2001 please!  My reverse pregnancy look probably threw her off - right?!  Or I just may look like I'm 36ish to a college chick, oh well...aren't reunions meant to make you feel old anyway... I like to think of it as well seasoned.  

Here's Aiden's chump face for anyone that calls his mom old:

hey doc

Our little two month old is growing more than just cheek chub.  My favorite wrist chub is slowly forming the cutest little bracelet.  The 2 ounce-a-day wonder is now 13 pounds 1 ounce, which puts him in the 75th percentile.  He is catching up with his height and head circumference in the 30th percentile at 23.5 inches and ... (sorry it's another case of the second born syndrome that I can never remember all his stats - oh well, we pick up his doctor records to transfer to a new office in VA soon and someone surely has recorded it)  

He showed off his strong legs - I breed kickers apparently... however, I seem to think that this kid won't walk as early because we have all but one room of hard wood in our new place... but maybe he'd rather walk than crawl on the hard ground... and he won't have a big daycare room of bigger kids to chase after... who knows, we'll see.  The current deal is that he likes to stand and sit repeatedly in your lap while you keep his balance and the doc noticed.

He doesn't like his ears messed with just like his brother, but he doesn't really squawk just holds his head the wrong way with all his strength.  He showed off his silent cry face for the first two simultaneous shots, but then when the two nurses went in for round two the cry came out full force.  Oh, no fun at all, but he recovered quickly as they bandaided his chubsters.  So four shots later, I scooped him up and he cuddled in close.

Also, the answer to the doctor on whether he smiles "in response" is yep:

grad

My extremely accommodating and awesome advisor, Lindsay!  

I wouldn't have finished both my mid semester project (aka Keaton) and my final project without her.

Thanks for coming for my ceremony!  I think this may be our last graduation ceremony until we start celebrating Aiden ;)  He and KC were so well behaved - I think they want to be sure that we are well behaved at their future ceremonies and don't embarrass them with too many tears or hugs ;)

They knew I was coming and had a Peanut Butter Choc Truffle Cupcake waiting for me!  Aiden knoshed on the frosting of a carrot cake cupcake only because he liked that it looked like a carrot.  

Congratulations to Lauren, RISD CE Graduate -- Guest Post by J

Lauren is always busy with something. Not "busy-as-a-bee" busy--she does get rest. But rather busy in the sense that she's always immersed in some project. Not satisfied with having two degrees and lots of expertise in photography, she enrolled a few years ago in RISD's continuing education program in digital photography. This semester she finished her certificate, despite having to work on a "mid-semester project" of giving birth and raising a newborn infant.

RISD CE held its graduation ceremony in the student refectory. (Side story: Since RISD is just down the hill from Brown, I was able to find us an awesome parking spot. But we had a stroller with us, and had to climb up about 600 stairs plus fight off three mountain trolls just to reach the right room. RISD's student center looks easily accessible from the street, but the front doors open to a series of five stairways. I guess if you're in a wheelchair, you don't go to RISD.) Beforehand, they served caper-crusted mini-pizzas, bright green mini-quiches, sea salt tortilla chips, and very good hummus. We forgot to eat dinner, so thank RISD for hors d'œuvres.

The Dean of Continuing Education made some cheery and somewhat off-color opening remarks. He'd hold his own on the Colbert Report.

Aiden and Keaton were perfectly well-behaved during the ceremony. Mommy did have to nurse Keaton immediately after receiving her diploma, but at least we avoided a crying baby.

Afterward, we went here for Gourmet Cupcakes:

Congratulations, Lauren! We're all continually amazed and impressed by all you do.

(Lauren is now considering pursuing a law degree part time to keep herself from getting bored. After all, we get free spousal tuition at Georgetown Law.)

Play Center -- Guest Post by J.

K.i.t.e.T.a.i.l.s Play Center of North Kingstown, RI, is a place to Explore, Discover, and Create.®

Picture a Gymboree or a Play Gym. Now, remove all the fancy Gymboree obstacles and replace them with a hodgepodge of toys gathered from recent* local yard sales. Add some costumes and lots of moms checking their smart phones. Voila--you've got K.i.t.e Tails Play Center.

For $6 a visit (or less with multi-trip discounts), you can bring your kid to a whimsically decorated house full of kitchenette play sets. In the back, there's a bumper-car ring of tricycles and go-carts.

While I'm gently mocking the center, Aiden loved it. He and some of his newly-made friends hid in a plastic house outside, while I pretended to be a monster trying to break in through the windows. He held his own against the bigger boys. (In their version of cops-and-robbers, the boy riding the Little Tikes Police Patrol car was supposed to smash full speed into the boy driving the Fisher-Price Cozy Coupe.)

After playing outside for 2 hours, we sampled the toys inside. Aiden decided to don a pirate costume and then stroll his "pirate baby" back and forth between the fake cupcake station and the giant ladybug tent. A teenage employee dressed as Cinderella said, "How cute! I've never seen a pirate taking care of a baby."


Also, there was free cake, but we didn't eat any.


*Actually, I'm not sure about recent. One of the Big Wheels looked just like one I had as a kid. I turned it over, and sure enough, found my initials (JFB) etched in faded black marker on the bottom. It even had the dent on the side from that time I ran over Matt's head back when we were both four.

seven

It's been seven years since this day and it feels like it went by as quickly as these images - Love you J! Thanks to all our family and friends for your love and support through these years!

our wedding 06.05.04 in Pummelvision from LB on Vimeo.

spiffy snail

Spiffy snail duds on the way home from mom's reunion - more on that soon:

Aiden's New School -- Guest Blog by J

On Friday morning, we visited Aiden's new pre-school, the M.o.n.tessori School of Northern Virginia. Now, being admitted to MSNV was quite hard--MSNV has a rejection rate approaching MIT's. For his application, Aiden's current teacher wrote him a six-page recommendation letter. The Head of School interviewed Lauren and me for two hours. Aiden crafted a five-page entrance essay (in crayon), which we'll save for future use in his college apps.

All this may seem too much for a pre-school, but after one short visit to MSNV, the need for such screening became clear. MSNV is no ordinary school. Indeed, after seeing MSNV, you'd find Hogwarts unimpressive.

MSNV lies within an enchanted forest in the heart of Annandale. As we drove toward campus, the surrounding trees whispered to us in their ancient magical language. Gryphons flew overhead. We knew we had found the right site by the glow of will-o-wisps. Five gnomes, sitting atop honey fungus, greeted us as we entered the building.

MSNV's music classes are conducted by forest blue jays, which sing Disney Princess-style with the children. Beethoven's ghosts visits every friday to lead the student orchestra. The music room is stocked with every world instrument ever devised from reeds, animal skins, or gourds. (They also had an Ovation guitar--which seemed somewhat out of place with its plastic body.) At night, elves and sprites emerge from the woods to clean and maintain the 3-acre playground.

Equally impressive were the children. In the primary program--Aiden's future class--the most popular work among the three-year-olds was the Calculus and Analytic Trigonometry Block Set. Other children enjoyed the Quantum Spin Top or Krebs Cycle works instead.

Aiden fit right in. After taking a tour of the grounds--taking extra time at the playground--he spent an hour in a classroom. As a current Montessori student, he knew exactly what to do. After grabbing a mat to create a workspace, he chose the Organic Chemistry work. I'll never forget the look on his face as he emerged from the classroom and shouted, "Look, mommy, I synthesized 2-(amino-hydroxy-methylidene)-4-dimethylamino-6,10,11,12a-tetrahydroxy-6-methyl-4,4a,5, 5a-tetrahydrotetracene-1,3,12-trion!"

At that moment, we knew we'd made the right choice.

Hippo

The herd is headed home happy...

2 months

Dear KC,

I'm determined that my second born will get the same treatment as my first born, so today marks your first monthly letter.  One thing you need to know about your mom is that if she's determined to do something, she will (although I can't promise they will be on time and yours will have little side notes about your brother).  You are already showing me how determined you are....Determined to get the heck out of even mildly wet diapers (your brother never fussed for dirty pants, but you have your own preferences)....Determined to find me in a room by crooking your little turtle neck all around when you hear my voice....Determined to catch that piggy hanging from your hippo play mat ring....Determined to try to stay awake in the van to look around (you usually give in to the calming rumble of the car, although you prefer if we don't catch too many stop lights)....

I hear your dad and I saying to people that you are the "perfect second baby."  You are so mellow, and easy to figure out most of the time.  Despite needing to eat a bunch at night, you typically eat and then fall right back to sleep (where your brother wanted to party).  You are so alert when you are awake.  You like to look all around and once you've examined one spot long enough you ask to switch to the other arm so you can look the other direction.  Your wide, deep baby blue eyes are collecting all sorts of new info.  I can tell that your focus is getting sharper.  I can elicit a smile now just by raising my eyebrows at you (I don't have to cheat and tickle your cheek anymore, which only really ever earned me a half face smile).  I get the widest surprise eyes from you when I put your cheek against mine and hold you up to the mirror by the changing area.  I wish I knew what you were thinking.... could be what is that crazy wild eyed mommy doing so close to that sweet baby?

You would think we have it all figured out, but I'm definitely learning new things from you.  Nursing 100% of the time and not pumping will make for a very interesting year (I now live in nursing tanks).  We're learning how to cuddle on the run, and you're getting more and more comfy in your Moby wrap (it's elaborate sling method on the nearly 10 foot long piece of fabric is now second nature for me).  Having a big brother to entertain means that your chill, flexible personality is coming in very handy.  You sleep in our arms or in the car most of the time and I don't care what anyone else thinks about that.  I think that I've learned what works best for us.  You actually seem calmer when there is some sort of noise around you.  I'm not sure you've ever slept in an empty quiet room.

You really aren't much of a true cryer.  You never show tears and you really only cry out for a quick second to let us know you are ready for the next agenda item and you mean business.  Your grunting routine is less and less common and you are learning to make so many new coos.  Your little baby snore could easily be mistaken for a cell phone ringing on vibrate.  The little bubble blowing, lip smacking noise you make is something that will be etched in my mommy mind.  The crinkle of your infant ears is slowly unfolding.  Your soft, soft skin is so fun to cuddle since these warmer months mean your man of leisure suits are usually legless or at least footless.  Your brother helps play this little piggy with your toes.  You have the same strong kicky legs as your brother.  If humans walked earlier it would just be so darn cute to see a miniature person toddling... heck it's cute even once you are old enough to balance on your own.... but don't worry I won't get ahead of us because I need to soak in every minute of these bitty baby days.  I know how fast they go by and how much I will miss them.

This letter took about five times longer thanks to the one handed typing routine.  I am getting plenty of practice with using one hand for so many things.  One handed packing and moving to Virginia will be the biggest upcoming challenge.  You will think of yourself as "from Virginia" and I wonder if when you introduce yourself to others if you will ever even mention being born in Providence.  Either way it doesn't really matter, but I will remember so clearly the day you rocketed into our lives in sunny Providence.  I've never used the word brother more in my life than I have the past two months, and I am so grateful for my baby brothers.  Looking forward to another month of cheek wrangling cuddles...

Love, Mommy (the one with the milk)

hey fam

KC had a nice time meeting his uncle, aunt, and cousins.  It was great to see you guys and thanks for dinner.  I snagged these shots from Jess' iphone - Thanks! 

camera shy

 Seriously what is that thing Mom?! The camera gets a serious reaction right after a batch of smiles.

 This is usually what I get when I try to capture his adorable full face smile - 

The camera has a hard time keeping up with the cheek wranglin'...

KC's first flight

Wide eyes and awake the whole flight -but two good boys get an A.