Our east coast jaunt

Gid, Joaquin, my mom, and me just got back from a trip to the east coast--mostly New York--which was great fun. The event was Dylan and PJ's wedding, which was lovely and touching. PJ asked Joaquin if he knew what he just saw and Joaquin's answer was simply, "a wedding." How beautiful it would be if Joaquin grows up in a world where it would just be a just that, that simple!

Anyway, the ceremony and party were touching and personal and I feel very lucky to have kept in touch with such wonderful friends for so long. We also felt very lucky that the wedding was in CT. What a beautiful place! The topography reminded us quite a bit of Birmingham...but on steroids. Everything was just 'more.' The leaves were turning (Joaquin: "We're in the jungle!") and the food was beyond good. Best ice cream we've ever had served right out of a building next to the farm housing the cows that produce it! And can you really beat wine tasting while picking organic raspberries?



After an idyllic time in CT, we headed to NYC where we had an action filled week to see the sites, some shows, and make our way in the gloomy weather. Joaquin loved the 'Big' piano at FAO Schwartz (some tears and convincing to get him away from that) and walked across the entire Brooklyn Bridge by himself.



He also did some flirting with the waitresses at the Russian Tea Room--"how you doing?"...seriously. They also had opera playing and Joaquin turned to ask the hostess what she was singing. This opened us to the wonders of traveling with a cute child as the hostess than invited us up to the private--and extremely opulent--rooms. Have you ever seen an 8 foot tall glass bear with fish in it juggling golden balls? Because we have. How about a 12 foot tall golden tree with 1.5 foot long Faberge eggs? Check!



One of my favorite experiences was seeing Rock of Ages with mom. Great show, lots of fun--and at the end this guy comes out, announces he's the lead singer of REO Speedwagon and gives an impromptu concert! They stay after and the band gives special props to the lead we saw that night, who apparently got the call that he was going to make his Broadway debut at 6:08 that evening...for an 8 pm show. One of Gid's favorite moments was the church near the WTC site, which is quite the testament to humanity.



And my favorite shot of the trip is this one, which is just so poignant to me given Gid's status as a naturalized citizen and the opportunities or potential for opportunities our son will have. I don't know that it has as much poignancy to Gid and maybe I am just being dramatic, but I like it :)

Patriotism and gay rights in one posting? You betcha!

Grandparent's Day

Sunday was grandparent's day, which seems like a bit of a manufactured holiday to me since it also seems relatively new, but I suppose no more manufactured than mother's or father's day. I thought I'd use the opportunity to write about Joaquin's relationship with my mom. Besides weeks when we have been out of town, Lola Elle has come over every week. Since I've been back to work, she picks him up once a week early from day care and they go home to have fun.



When he first started 'calling' people on the phone, it was Lola ("Lola? Bring me hot dogs!"). Now he does all kinds of fun things because of her.

• Every time he climbs something, he puts his arms up and shouts "I am king!"
• He sings the Young Frankenstein version of Puttin on the Ritz. So imagine (in regular voice) "If you're down and you don't know..." followed by (Frankenstein voice) "Puttin on the Ritz!"
• Whenever he wants to get down from something, even when he's irritated, he says "Get down, get down, jungle boogie!"
• When you ask him what day Lola picks him up, he'll say "Tickle Tuesday"
• And he's been sick lately and when I ask him to blow his nose he says, "Up your nose with a rubber hose!"
• When he gets out of the spa and wants a towel, he says "Want to wrap you up in my love?"
  

They have such a special relationship, which is such a blessing--for him and for Gideon and I!

Trash Money!

Here's Joaquin doing 'happy face'. He also does sad face and surprised face.

Joaquin has begun to personify things and play pretend. Here are two exchanges from the weekend:

1. (To the dime he found under his slide) "Oh, hello trash money! Would you like to slide? Thank You! You're welcome!" (Send dime down the slide)

2. (To the bubbles I am blowing while he's in the turtle pool) "Hello bubbles! Stay right there! Would you like to play with weeds?"

And this one is about a month old now, but it's funny. He pulled 2 wine bottles out of the recycle bin and brought them into the living room (at the same time--this kid is strong!). He put them on the table and said, "This one is for Joaquin, this one is for Daddy!" One of them was actually a sparkling juice, so he was actually right.

My super awesome birthday

I had the most awesome birthday ever. It started with trapeze school, something I've always wanted to do:



My back is still sore! Here's Gid:




Followed by horseback riding in Griffith Park:















And home for dinner and the most delicious cake ever. We had to sing a few times because Joaquin learned to blow out candles. Which had it's benefits, because I got this at the end of the night:

Gideon really outdid himself this year! What a wonderful day...the best birthday I've ever had...love you babe.

Our 2 year old

Ah the paradox of being a parent...you say "2 years old! Already?", yet we can't imagine our life without him. I get weekly emails from this baby web site; when he turned 1 it changed from "Your baby" to "Your toddler." This morning's email read "Your pre-schooler"!!! Pre-school? Already! I only got one year of toddler-dom!

Joaquin continues to amaze us. Our 2 year old has an extensive vocabulary and an incredible work ethic. I still get comments on what a beautiful baby she is and the comments on his curly hair are endless. He loves to read. His favorite books now are usually the series '...from the black lagoon.' He quotes his books like people quote movies. He loves trains and trucks. He likes Curious George and Super Why. He's started to sing actual songs, his favorite is the Dinosaur Train theme song. He likes to race by saying "On your mark, get set, go!" complete with squatting with fingers on the pavement for 'on your mark.' He has a memory now...he talks about the seals at the aquarium and that mommy was at the University and daddy was at the hospital. He has finally learned to give real hugs rather than just backing into you to let you hug him. He loves being outside. He is polite-says please, thank you, excuse me, and nice to see you.

We had a party in our backyard to celebrate his birthday. The yard looked gorgeous and we got to show off Gideon's beautiful new deck. The house is done with all the major projects and just needs a few tweaks. What a beautiful life we have right now.

You know what? I'm happy!

Joaquin said to me yesterday, "You know what?" (Me: What?), "I'm happy!" Love this boy!

We make Joaquin earn his keep

Seriously though, this kid cracks us up sometimes. What a work ethic! He's got a rocking horse that he pulled out the other night. Did he want to ride the horse? No! Check it out....

Yes, that's him fixing the horse with a screwdriver.