Dancing Man

Another highlight from our trip to the Park on Sunday...Mason's dance moves:

Earth Day in Central Park

Kids sure know how to celebrate this holiday. We trekked to the park to join an estimated 15,000 Laurie Berkner fans -- including our buddies Aimee, Rob and 2-year-old Nick -- for a free concert. We arrived early, scouted out a nice piece of grass and settled in for the long haul in the beautiful spring sunshine.

Mason played on the grass for a little while, until he remembered (urban baby that he is) he doesn't like grass. He fell down, and Mommy had to help him up, because he's sitting there, trying to balance himself on his bum, without touching the grass with his legs or his hands! Pretty funny!
After that episode, he decided Daddy had the right idea -- hanging on the soft blanket...

We enjoyed our picnic lunch while watching Brady Rymer and the Little Band that Could and then Laurie took the stage to sing all her big songs. Mason's favorite -- as always -- seemed to be We Are The Dinosaurs, which got his feet movin'.

After the concert, we made our way off the Great Hill and back down to the playground, where Mason made himself at home in the very crowded sandbox and played until we were all pooped.

MMMMMMMM. That's Yummy!

Everyone knows how finicky toddlers can be when it comes to mealtimes. Ours seem to end with a bowl being flung across the kitchen more times than not these days -- the other day, Mason actually sent lunch flying right into the trash can! Anyway, I guess he liked this meal...

A Different Type of Picture

OK, admittedly this photo was not taken today, however I thought is was so good I had to post it. So, here's the situation, Mason and Jody had just come to visit me at work, Friday after last. After meeting up with them, we all decided to walk a couple of blocks to Times Square to the Toys R Us to pick up a few new Baby Einstein videos. We got the videos and started looking for a subway stop to head home.



Along the way, we ran into one of the many street vendors along 42nd Street. To give you some background, the street vendors are there day and night and always looking to get you to buy a hot dog or a balloon or a sign with your name painted on it. If you have a young child with, they give you the HARD sell. In this case it was the caricature artists giving it to us. I wanted to get a picture of Mason done for a while, although Jody did not. This was due to the fact any misrepresentation of any of Mason's features would have major, major consequences. Since this is a caricature, this could be an accident waiting to happen. After some bantering back and forth we decided if I had the money we'd get the picture. I had exactly $20 and for a $5 cost it sounded like a good deal.



So, we went over and they put Mason in a little chair. After a little struggling, he settled in and didn't make much of a fuss. They started with the eyes, then on to the nose, then mouth. I must admit; I was getting a little upset. Jody's concerns were coming true. I was thinking "I can just throw this away and it is a $5 mistake I will not make again. However, sometime between the mouth and the vendor giving me the drawing it got good... very good. Next thing you know Mason is wearing a tuxedo, jumping out of a sports car and talking on a cell phone on Broadway in the middle of Midtown. And it looked like him!



We were both very happy and all but willing to give the vendor the $5 dollars. But in true New York fashion, the only way to take the picture home without ruining it was to put it in a picture frame. A picture frame that cost $10 dollars, exactly twice the original cost of the drawing. Although we were somewhat scammed, we certainly didn't want to throw the picture away and felt good about having another Mason keepsake, even if it did cost $15 dollars.

Let's gooooooo!

So, Mason's going through the cranky-toddler phase of wanting to walk and not ride in his stroller anymore. You can understand my surprise, then, when I discovered him inside his stroller -- he climbed there of his own accord -- the other morning. We didn't go out in his PJs, like he hoped for, but who could resist a stroll to the park after that stunt?

Bats, Balls and Bunnies

Happy Easter from Mason-land where the air is chilly, the snow is falling and our favorite toddler celebrated the holiday all weekend long.

First on the agenda, the Easter Vigil, sporting the oh-so-sweet argyle sweater Mommy picked out. After two-and-a-half hours of church, we turned in and waited for the Easter Bunny to arrive. He did, bringing Mason some sweet toys to tote to the park -- including a pail and shovel, some sidewalk chalk and a ball that doesn't quite fit through the old basketball hoop. We know this, because Mason tried to play basketball with it.



After brunch, we packed up the family and headed across the river to Yankee Stadium for some All-American fun. Alas, the Yankees didn't keep up their end of the bargain, losing 6-4, but Mason did manage to flirt with some girls (aka Darcie and Cassie) , duck for cover when a foul ball landed in our section and then roll over for a nap about the time the snowflakes started falling. Mommy was very glad to have a sleeping baby sprawled across her to keep her warm!

Let's go streaking...

Sooooo....funny story here. The other night, I pull a wet, squirmy Mason out of the bathtub. Instead of waiting for Mommy to wrap him in a towel and carry him to his room to get dressed -- he decides to take off, butt naked, down the hall. I go chasing after him. When I get to the doorway of the Mason/living room, he's standing in front of the sofa. Turns his head, gives me a sly smile and I know right then what he's doing -- PEEING on the couch. Sure enough, he finishes his business, and takes off running again, leaving a puddle behind him...

Welcome to Mason's world!

Checking in from beautiful New York City -- that's really not too beautiful today. Dreary. Hazy. Early spring...

Anyway, welcome to our virtual home, where the adventures of Rob, Jody and Mason will (hopefully...time permitting) will play out before your eyes.

We'll begin with a couple of snapshots from last weekend, a little tour of the Upper West Side playgrounds of Central Park.