"Can we fix it?" "Yes we can!"

3 updates in one day, what is going on?!?! Someone must be procrastinating . . . ahem.

I wanted to write down some VERY adorable anecdotes and post these pictures of Avery wearing Bob the Builder slippers. In the second picture he appears to be dancing, but he might have been slipping backwards.



Anecdote number one: Avery is not always in the mood to give hugs and kisses upon request. But he has been extremely snuggly this weekend, and twice he has given Carolyn "un beso" when asked, and then he has turned to give me a kiss without being asked. Then he kissed Carolyn and then me over and over again, taking turns between the two of us. I LOVE getting Avery kisses, and he thought it was funny to be giving so many kisses over and over.

Anecdote number two: Avery used to fuss and cry when we put him in his crib at bedtime. He hasn't done that for weeks. Now, in fact, when he is ready for bed, he points at his crib or even pulls on the bars of the crib until we put him down in it. When we put him in his crib after he "asks" us to do so, he smiles and laughs because he is so happy to be in his crib! So now he lets us know when he is ready for bed without us even asking!

Anecdote number three: Any time we make a suggestion like "should you take a bath tonight?" or "maybe we should walk the dog soon," Avery runs to the proper location. Like he'll run to the bathtub as soon as he hears the word "bath." And if we suggest doing laundry or taking a walk or walking the dog, he'll run to the front door and try to open it. Even if he is wearing nothing but a diaper and the dog is nowhere to be found.

Leapin' Lizards!

This morning, Carolyn had a few errands she wanted to run, so I decided to take Avery for a "mama and me" outing. We went to Leaping Lizards (www.leaplizards.com) which is my new absolute favorite place to take him. It is an indoor playground with ball pits, slides, tunnels, and a video arcade corner. For $12, you can stay all day if you want, and Avery LOVES it. We had been there once before, and as soon as we walked inside, I could tell he remembered it, because he instantly took off and ran towards the ball pits. We stayed there for a couple of hours, then walked next door to McDonald's for lunch. Avery was so exhausted from our busy morning, that he slept in the car all the way home, and is continuing his nap in his crib now at home. It was a lot of fun.
In the ball pits:





At the arcade corner:



Exploring tunnels and slides:

Yogurt Boy

Carolyn took these pictures the other evening after Avery rediscovered a half-empty yogurt cup lying around from his dinner. He LOVES yogurt and would eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if we let him. If you look, you can see that his yogurt enthusiasm has manifested itself onto his feet and all over his hands, and even in his hair:

Playing with Cars at 6am

Our weekday morning routine doesn't vary much. Avery is the alarm clock for Carolyn and me, typically waking us up between 5 and 7 in the morning (very occasionally he sleeps later which is a huge treat for us). One or both of us gets up and we play until Sesame street is on at 7. Avery has breakfast (usually oatmeal with fruit or yogurt with fruit) while watching Sesame Street. Then we get him dressed and ready for daycare.

This morning was no exception. Avery woke up early (before 6), and after letting the dog out, I played with cars and trucks with him while waiting for the coffee to brew. Avery has always loved anything with wheels, and cars and trucks are big with the older kids at his daycare. He makes sound effects (like blowing raspberries or going "vrrrooom!") and I try to make him laugh by putting small toys on the cars so it looks like they are driving the cars. Like this morning I had a small car "drive" a bigger car. The humor of the situation was not lost on Avery.

trying the carousel again with better results

Long time no post! It's been a busy month. I was in Quebec last weekend for a conference and I fell in love with Quebec city. It is beautiful, the people are so nice, and it felt like a vacation! (It didn't hurt that the conference was in a fancy hotel and the weather was surprisingly good for November). I missed Avery, of course. But I also enjoyed getting uninterrupted nights of sleep! Gogo came back to New York to help Carolyn watch Avery and she was a big help. I'm glad to be back at home now with my wife and toddler boy.

This is from last week when we went to the Palisades mall and rode the carousel. After the disastrous attempt to have fun on the Bug Carousel at the Bronx zoo, we were a bit wary. But Avery LOVED it and said "wheeeeee!":



Hi, Cutie!


Tonight's dinner was even more toddler-friendly than usual: cottage cheese with fruit, dried strawberries, and a few cherry tomatoes that Avery saw in the fridge and grunted and pointed at until I took them out for him. Since he learned about dipping food at daycare, he dips EVERYTHING. So the cherry tomatoes were dipped into his fruit-and-cottage cheese mixture and then gobbled up with "Mmmmmm!" sounds.


Playing "I'm gonna getcha!" in our building hallway:

random cutey-pie moments

Celebrating on Election Day:




Avery likes to practice good dental hygiene:




Elephant love:


Avery's new favorite game is called "Lights." He walks around to every lamp and points at it until you turn it on, and then you do the same thing with every lamp in the room. When they are all on, Avery decides that they should all be off, and he points at each lamp until you turn it off:


Peek-a-boo! I see you!


It is HILARIOUS to wear Mama's big sneakers: