Short shorts

I think there is something wrong with the fashion industry when the shorts I am buying for my 1-year-old are longer than the shorts I can buy for myself.

In One Day

Yesterday:

• Simon signed "more" quite intentionally and quite clearly. Our fingers are crossed that he will continue to learn more signs (and words).
  
• Simon learned to fold his arms, which we have only encouraged him to do once before.
• Simon learned to crawl onto the desk, which is unsurprising since we practically have a step ladder up the side of it for him. Not sure if I want to move it just yet. I like for him to be able to do things that test his limits -- and mine.
• Simon successfully got off our bed without breaking his head or his leg or anything.
  
• We signed up for the Hampton's Marathon in September. Seventeen weeks from tomorrow. Which means we have to start training, um, now.
  

The Super Cool Project

Remember months ago when I gave you a tour of our apartment and there were a few sheets of plywood in our narrow hallway that I said were part of a project Micah was working on? And remember several months later when I mentioned a super cool project he was working on while Simon and I were in Ohio with my brother? Well, during that time two of the four sheets magically transformed into these:They have proven to be effective chairs, footrests, beds, barriers (to keep a little person contained) and storage bins.
We're not really in love with the black one, but we can always reupholster it if we want to. Micah did everything himself, in our apartment, from designing to cutting to sewing and stapling the fabric. They are really comfortable to sit on and a welcome addition to our scant collection of furniture. In fact, they may be the nicest furniture we own.

Chop Chop

I've been tempted to let Simon's little golden curls grow, but I have it from several authorities that boys who had long hair as toddlers generally grow up to look with disgust at the pictures that show them in their golden-curled glory. So we cut Simon's hair on Saturday. Just the sides, where the curls were the cutest. Sigh. But I have to say that I don't think the boy's cuteness is diminished in any way.

Oil Slick

I'm not naming any names here, but yesterday a certain someone was doing the dishes and another certain someone was playing in the cupboards beneath the sink. The playing someone managed to find the 3 liter bottle of olive oil, take the lid off, and tip it over without the dishwashing someone noticing. Yes, it was lovely. I mean oily. The culprit obviously felt bad, but not bad enough to keep from rolling around in the mess and ruining his or her pants. The saddest part, in my opinion, was not the roughly $10 worth of olive oil that was lying useless on the floor, but that the dishwashing person, whose negligence indirectly caused the catastrophe, had to run to class shortly after the incident happened and with the culprit incapacitated by his or her guilt, a third party had to step in to clean it up after a long day at work.

There and Back Again

We got back from Boston last night. It was a great trip in which we decided that Boston would be a great place to live -- at least in the summer time. We loved the New England feel. The neighborhoods were so old, but so well-kept. We were amazed at how clean everything was, especially when we had the hardest time finding garbage cans to throw trash in. In New York there are trash cans on every corner and still the streets are dirty. But we like it anyway.

A few highlights from the trip:Walking along the Freedom Trail. I especially liked climbing the 294 steps to the top of the Bunker Hill Monument; finding where Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, John Hancock and the victims of the Boston Massacre were buried (below); learning about the Old North Church; and touring the USS Constitution (Old Ironsides -- above).Eating ricotta-filled cannolis at Mike's Pastry. We actually went there twice and decided that if we ever move to the Boston area, it'll be for the pastries.Running into some friends from Hawaii on the Freedom Trail. It was a total shock to see them there, but so great to see some familiar faces.Putting Simon in a swing for the first time. He enjoyed it for a little while, but we had too much fun taking pictures and listening to him laugh. He also did his first sign while we were there (bye-bye -- which he now uses for just about everything), and it sounded like he said a few words (bird, dog, bye-bye). He often says things that sound like words and sound intentional, but we have a hard time getting him to repeat it. He definitely doesn't like to be pushed into anything.Seeing the finish line for the Boston Marathon. Boy would we love to cross that some day!

The bus ride there and back was just fine. I would recommend Bolt Bus to anyone. We did have a little trouble when we got to New York because of the AIDS walk. It took over an hour to get from 57th Street to 51st Street -- just over a quarter mile. We zig-zagged a little bit, but not much. Finally the bus driver found a spot to pull over and let us get our bags from underneath the bus so we could walk to the subway. It was a not-so-great end to a great trip.

Sly Dog

Last week I asked Micah if he was going to get me anything for Mother's Day. He hemmed a little. "Maybe Simon will get you something for Mother's Day," he said. After all, I wasn't his mother. But then he thanked me for reminding him because he would have felt bad if he hadn't done anything. I was a little sad that he hadn't even thought about it when we talked about what we were going to get our own mothers.

He sure had me going. Imagine my surprise yesterday when he sprung on me that he planned a trip to Boston! I couldn't believe it! We've been talking about taking little trips to cities that aren't too far away during the summer (DC, Boston, Philadelphia), but we weren't sure how things would work with Micah's job situation. Or so I thought. It turns out he's had this in the works for quite some time. I'm shocked that he managed to keep it from me. Happy Mother's Day to me!

We're meeting Micah's brother who will be there for a conference. Does anybody have ideas about what to do in Boston? We'll be there about 5 days and definitely want to go on the Freedom Trail, but other than that we are open to suggestions.

Muscleman

As requested:

Independent Spirit

I think it is so cute when Simon comes to me and begs me to pick him up. It's heartwarming for me to know that he needs me and he knows that he needs me. So after I contemplate the child (and wash my hands of the bread dough or chicken juice that is covering them), I pick him up to give him a hug and find out why he needs me so much at that moment. And then he promptly ignores the fact that I am sacrificing my time and my arms and begins demanding that I take him around the apartment so he can examine every surface and find one of those hidden treasures (usually a cell phone or some chapstick) that somehow bring him the comfort that I cannot give him. He is not a cuddly child.

He has very little use for laps and refuses to sit in one unless he is in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people. He does not sign even though I've been signing to him for more than six months. In fact, he avoids eye contact when I sign. He understands the signs (he looks at his cup when I sign "drink" and at his highchair when I sign "eat") but he likes to communicate in his own way. I would draw comfort in the fact that he seems to share my love of books, except that he really doesn't ever want me to read to him. He prefers to sit alone on the couch flipping through his own book (which is often the one I was reading until he pried it from my fingers), and so lately we have taken to giving him a book to flip through while we read one aloud to him. I'm not sure what he likes about books, but I can only guess it is the feel of the pages and the way he can turn them around in his hands. Someday he'll come running and asking for storytime, but I'll probably be old and gray by then.

Still, motherhood is not entirely without perks. Simon has reached the age where he can pick up new things fairly quickly, if he wants to. He can identify our noses, point to dogs we pass on the street, and flex his muscles whenever we ask to see them (yes, it is ridiculously cute). And of course there are these little things we did not teach him that are possibly even more rewarding. I have no idea where he came up with this idea, but I love it.

More than halfway there

I finished my second semester of grad school today. I took a full load of classes and it was actually not as stressful as last semester when I went part-time. I'm going to chalk it up to the fact that I liked all of my classes and that I'm getting better at this whole journalism thing. I start another 4-week course two weeks from now, and then I get a break until September.

We've been really blessed this semester with the way things have worked out with Micah's work. When we started, he was still freelancing at the same agency in Manhattan that he'd been with since we moved here and taking Thursday afternoon off to watch Simon. We had a baby-sitter lined up to take him on Wednesday afternoon, but she only watched him twice. Two times her kids were sick and I took Simon with me to class and the rest of the time Micah was able to take him because he quit the agency and decided to work from home. The PCC (where he worked in Hawaii) has given him jobs and he's had more work through someone he interviewed with when we first moved here. It's been amazing to see how things have fallen into place.

That is not to say that things have been easy. I still feel like we're flying by the seats of our pants, and have been since we left Hawaii. Every week we hope something comes up for the next week, something that fits my schedule and our particular needs, and it always does. There have been times when I've felt that nothing has been working out for us and I think that maybe this was all a big mistake -- we should have stayed in Hawaii where we had a job and no stress (hahaha!), and then I remember that it is working out exactly as we planned -- we couldn't have asked for a better scenario. I just hope we can keep it up until December. It's hectic, but it is working for us.

A Running Question

So, our last post brought up a question that I have had for quite a while.

What do you all think about running special races, such as marathons, on Sunday?

In the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, we believe that Sunday is a sacred day that we are to give to our Heavenly Father. It is also known as the Sabbath or the Day of Rest. On Sunday we go to church, spend time with our families, take time to read and meditate about our lives and eternal things and other "quiet" things. Mostly it is a day that allows us to take a break from our regular lives. We don't work or do things etremely physical, but we do try to give service to our fellow man.

There are guidelines, but no set rules as to what exactly we can and can't do. Like many commandments the Lord gives us the opportunity to think for ourselves and use the spirit to receive personal revelation. The Sabbath is meant to be a special day between us and our Heavenly Father.

So, what do we think? Is it okay to run a Marathon on Sunday?

They are a lot of sweat and work and you will probably miss church if you run in one. Also, to a few of the runners they are a competative race. On the other hand, they are also an amazing way to better yourself and give us confidence and help our bodies (which we believe are temples) in the process. Also, most marathons and other races are built around charitable causes. A lot of money and resources have been and raised by the running community and their supporters.

We know that the good majority of the people who read out blog are fellow Mormons and we would like to hear what your thoughts are. We also really want to hear what our friends of other faiths think. Do your religions/churches have a similar conundrum? From what you know of our beliefs, what do you think is the best thing?

We realize that this is a very personal decision. We aren't really looking for a definitive answer, we just want to open things up for an interesting discussion. And remember, if you have an opinion, but are a bit nervous about sharing, you can always post anonymously.

What the UPS man brought

Who's up for a marathon next summer?

Stuck.

So, the other day we were stuck at home, waiting for the UPS man to bring an important package. After both of us had missed our guesses on when he would finally arrive, we decided to go down and wait on the porch to see if he was even in the neighborhood. Lizzie also had to return something to school before the end of the day, so we decided that if we didn't see any UPS trucks in 15 minutes, we'd all head out to NYU together.

Just before the 15 minutes expired, a UPS truck turned a corner and drove a block or two before turning again, off the path to our house. We gave him another 10 minutes and, sure enough, he came back and drove right past our building without even slowing down, despite the fact that we were obviously waiting for him. We decided to give him one more chance. But in the mean time, we thought we'd check out the view from our rooftop. I'd been up there a few weeks before and wanted to show Lizzie.

We went up the four flights of stairs to the top and just as we got to the top my cell phone rang. We scurried out the door so I could take the call. As soon as we closed the door I checked the doorknob. It was locked. Lizzie had thought she'd unlocked it, but hadn't. We were stuck on the roof. It was a beautiful day (a little windy, but still sunny) and we had a great view, but we were still stuck. I pounded on the door while Lizzie came up with harebrained schemes for me to get us down. I called the super, but he wasn't on-site. We didn't have any of our neighbors phone numbers, so we were pretty much waiting for someone to hear our knocks and come open the door.

After about 15 minutes Simon started to get a little cranky. He didn't want to be held any more, but there was no way we were going to put him down. I decided to try going down the fire escape into the backyard. I thought I would probably be stuck in the backyard, but, as luck would have it, there was a small space between two fences that led out of our back yard and into the yard of an abandoned building. Then I just hopped over the fence to the sidewalk and went around the block back to our apartment and back up the stairs to where Lizzie was waiting by the door feeding Simon cereal (we had our backpack full of supplies with us, thank heaven) to keep him happy.

We were only up there for 20 minutes, but we could have been up there for much longer than that if it hadn't been for the fire escape. It's funny how something that I'd normally love to do, like shimmying down the fire escape and jumping over fences somehow becomes less fun when there is actually reason for it.