The Beloved Robot

I keep hoping that Blogger will fix its video bugs so I can post some action. Is this one going to work?

Sweet Phoebe

I can't believe it's almost October, and Phoebe is almost a year old. I'll hold the weepy, nostalgic post for a few more weeks, but let's just say I've been reflecting on last year and I'm thankful my kids are healthy and HOME.
Phoebe is a fast crawler, but most of the time she stands up and grabs the couch/stroller/leg and walks alongside it. She hasn't let go and taken those first official steps, but she's close. Can she do it by her birthday? I'm pretty sure she'll walk before Bruce, who took his good sweet time (15 months) to become bipedal. Phoebe leaves a path of destruction wherever she goes. She loves to throw our wireless router on the hardwood floor, splash her hands in the toilet, lick the toilet brush, get razors out of the bathroom cupboard, dump boxes of crackers on the floor, etc. We still have some Phoebe-proofing to do...

Bruce Had a Good Weekend

Free rides, a bounce house, school friends, a playground...
It doesn't get much better than that.

The Race Report

Yesterday was the Codfish Bowl, a cross country invitational for area colleges with a few has-beens like me in attendance. Scott, Bruce, and Phoebe ventured off for a hike and rock hunt while I warmed up and then ran the 5K. There were a lot of fresh collegiate athletes who went out way too fast and sandwiched Slow Me for about a mile. I eventually elbowed my way out of the pack and caught quite a few people. The third mile wasn't spectacular - I was starting to feel the 80-degree heat and my inconsistent training - but it was good enough for a 15th place finish, 5th place on my team. I wasn't thrilled with my time - 20:17 - probably because I ran an 18:44 on this course a few years ago. Someday when I'm not pushing a stroller for half of my mileage and missing half of my workouts because Scott has to go back in to work at night, I'll get my times down to where I want them.

What goes on in there?

Last week Bruce participated in a cognitive and developmental research study. He read a few books, answered a few questions, played a few games, and got a picture of his brain in "the sprinkle-less donut," which he thought was very funny. He got to watch a movie while in the donut, which kept him still enough to get the above picture. Best of all, he got a sizable gift card that he is using to purchase a robot. The Robot arrives in 3-7 days. He's already asked if it can walk him to school.

The Black Toenail Fairy

Bruce has a black toenail from an accident a few months ago, and it looks like it's going to fall off in the next few days. Bruce has been watching his black toenail for awhile and even showing it off, despite my pleas to keep his socks on. Last night he asked me what he will get when he puts his toenail under his pillow. Gross! Any ideas?

School's In!

School has officially started. Bruce had orientation earlier this week where we toured the school (hula hoops in the gym! sweet-o playground!) and got to know the teachers. Today was the first real day, though, when I could drop him off and leave. I've heard lots of moms describe their meltdowns and tears after this momentous occasion, but that was not my experience. I gave Bruce a hug (although he was looking in the other direction, distracted by the train tracks and Legos) and walked to a park, where I pushed Phoebe in a swing for awhile. Once she was thoroughly tired, we came home and she took an uninterrupted nap while I caught up on emails and resumed the job hunt. Then I went grocery shopping - just me and Phoebe - which was a very nice change, especially after this experience...
Scott's birthday was earlier this week. We made him a German chocolate cake complete with cholesterol, but we didn't have his gift ready for him. We picked it up yesterday, along with a couple jars of baby food, at Walmart. You know how they have those rotating bag-o-matics that are just so fun to spin? While I was paying, Bruce couldn't help himself and he gave it a good spin. My bags went flying in all directions and I spent the next few minutes cleaning up glass and pureed chicken-broccoli-whatever baby food off all my other purchases while repeating the phrase, "I will not get angry." Thankfully, I'd tucked Scott's gift in my diaper bag, so it escaped the baby food disaster.

We got Scott an iPod Touch. It is so cool that it deserves its own blog post, so that's all I'm saying about that just now.

Catching Up with the Raymonds

I haven't posted in more than a week, which doesn't happen often. But last week was a special week. I just didn't know what to write. On Monday, one of our friends died unexpectedly. Dave was 34, married with an 18-month-old kid, and juggling work and school. When I planned and coordinated events in our last church congregation, he was often the first one there to set up and the last one there cleaning up. We will miss Dave. Our friend, Ellen, got some pictures from his funeral.

That sad event overshadowed the rest of the week. I can't even remember what else happened last week without looking at my calendar.

This week has been better. An artist came to an empty lot by our house and sat there with a few dozen cardboard boxes, an exacto knife, and some glue and tape. A few hours later, he left an amazing cardboard model of Boston and Cambridge, complete with a sidewalk-chalked Boston Common and Charles River. There were about 20+ skyscrapers that looked like tiny versions of the real ones along the river. The artist chalked a note saying, "Welcome! Please take a box!" So we helped ourselves to the Longfellow and Harvard bridges, and a few skyscrapers from the Financial District. Over the past few days, I've seen bunches of kids gathered there with Matchbox cars. There are fewer and fewer skyscrapers every day, as kids leave with cardboard office buildings under their arms.

I didn't get a picture of the model in all its glory. This picture is from three days later. No one has taken the Prudential Tower yet. Let's hope it's claimed by tomorrow when Hurricane Earl comes to visit.