Town Day!

After six years of living here, we finally found a way to check out Arlington Town Day.  Now we're pretty sure it wasn't happening all six years (budget cuts and such), but we were pretty sure that we were long overdue for some town love.  Since we were going to be busy on the actual Town Day (Saturday), we went over on Friday night when the festivities were getting underway.  We had Finley all psyched up for Town Day and he cried out, "Town-nay" several times en route.  There were kids all over the place and we were reminded how kid-friendly our location really is.  We even ran into a couple familiar faces: Dan, who our Dan used to play frisbee with, and his wife and 18 month old daughter (who is already at the preschool we have sent in an application for for next fall and LOVE it) and I saw Melissa, who I used to work with at Cabot, and her son, Gregory.

However, the main attraction was the Roaming Railroad that was circling the field.  It rang its bell and all the passengers were waving as they went by.  Finley was in awe and couldn't stop staring and pointing.

He was torn, though, since there was also a fire truck parked on the grass for kids to hop in.  Eventually we made our way to the firetruck and Finley was semi-impatient waiting his turn, but thankfully the train rolled by every five minutes or so to distract him. Hooray, it was finally his turn! What a pro!

Then we decided it was time to get in the freakishly long train line...we took turns standing in line and wandering around with Finley.  There was a brass band playing, a dog show, etc. but nothing compared to the train in Finley's eyes and so the waiting continued.

He was heartbroken when we just missed the cut off for the train and had to wait one more time, but he got over it and was thrilled to find his seat when the train came back.

 We all squeezed in and shared a seatbelt.

In the back of my mind, it occurred to me that our chicken of a son might not actually like the ride once it got going and all our waiting would be for  nothing.  Thankfully, that was not the case--he LOVED it!

After our turn, we reluctantly got off and walked around to see the other rescue vehicles parked nearby, watched the pony rides, and then sat down for a snack to watch the train go around and around.  Pure bliss, I tell you.   We finished up at the playground nearby which was pretty empty since most kids were at Town Day, jackpot: BIG WHEELS!

To top off the night, we went to the local pizza shop we like and shared a delicious chicken pizza.  Happy Town Day, Finley!

New Playground For Finley

As my official last day of summer with Finley, we said goodbye to Dan who was off to frisbee practice and then hopped into a car to check out a playground that we have driven near dozens of times but never experienced.  Last night I googled, "playgrounds sandbox" plus some neighboring towns' names and up popped Beaver Brook in Belmont, just a five minute drive away.  While we hope someday Finley will branch out to experience all that playgrounds have to offer, he's currently in his sandbox phase so a playground without one is not of much use to us.  I knew Beaver Brook was a water spray park during the summer but I had no idea there was also a playground there.  A "sunken sandbox" was promised from our google results and thankfully, we were not misled!

 Finley sold me some woodchip tickets several times during our time there and even inspired some of his fellow toddlers to pile up "tickets" on the shelf and sell them.

 We were in and out of the sandbox, climbing on the rocks that are usually getting soaked by water in the spray park area, checking out the big structure that had some wheels, musical toys, and bridges, but soon Finley found the toddler structure (which happened to be right next to the sandbox).  For those that know Finley well, he isn't the biggest fan of slides.  He liked them in the spring, but seems to have become a bit fearful of them this summer.  But after he went down the small toddler one on my lap a few times, he was doing it over and over on his own.  Then, he watched a little girl go down his nemesis, the tunnel slide, and simply wouldn't be outdone.  He asked me to go up with him and we slid down together a twice.  On the third go around, I accidentally let him slip down the slide without me.  I followed him down calling "catch me" so he turned around to grab me and then said "again!"  He must have gone up the ramp, across the jumpy bridge, and down the tunnel slide a half dozen times with pure excitment and pride.  He even yelled "did it!" a few times.

 

 After he went down this time, he ran back laughing to "catch me" as I came down.

 I was very proud of our little chicken for doing this, what will be conquer next?

And just so you don't think Dan misses out on all our weekend fun because of frisbee, here's a picture I took as we took a fantastic walk around Fresh Pond Saturday morning.

Nice weather rules!

Finley and his Geekaw

Fair warning, I have no pictures in this post.  To my great disappointment, I have no visual images to compliment a nice post about Finley's special time with Dan's dad, his beloved Geekaw.

On Wednesday, Murray drove up from NY to spend a couple of days with us as I finished getting ready for school.  He and Finley have always gotten along nicely, but it had been over a month since they'd seen one another.  It was nearing Finley's bedtime when he arrived, but Finley seemed to recognize the nice man in the glasses with the beard :)  Here's my best effort to recount this terrific visit and to make up for no photos.

On Thursday morning, Finley slept freakishly late and so all three of us had a leisurely morning before I had to go to school.  The pouring rain outside (3rd day in a row of precipitation) could have made for a long morning, but Murray came armed with a Costco shopping list and so we loaded Finley into the carseat and then they drove off the indoor shopping funhouse while I went to Newton.  I gave Murray a heads up about what Finley likes to do at Costco and from his recounting of the story, it sounds like Finley took Grandpa around to all his favorite spots (playing the guitar, looking for forklifts, etc) and some new ones (pushing around big snow shovels).  They even got some tasty free samples and escaped the rain thanks to the wonderful parking garage.  I got a call around noon from Murray and I quickly answered asking, "Is everything okay??" and of course it was, but Murray said "Finley fell asleep on the ride home, what should I do?" I immediately blurted out, "WAKE HIM UP" and Murray seemed pleased to get such firm directions and rousted Finley for lunch before putting him down for a nice, long nap.  Good work, Grandpa!

In the afternoon, the three of us played together while we waited for Dan to get home and as Dan was walking up the basement stairs to see us, he could hear some loud fits of laughter from both his dad and his son.  What would you rather come home to than that??  Finley and Murray were crashing two trucks into each other and for some reason, Finley found it hysterical.  Murray surely understands the needs of toddlers and happily repeats any action or game over and over to Finley's delight, something that Dan and I even tire of at times!  Murray tried to show Finley how to throw a ball overhand and put his hands out to catch, but he made as little progress as we have.  We shared a tasty dinner of lobster rolls (Dan and Murray), meatballs (Finley), a BLT (me), and some delicious french fries (everyone, but mostly Finley) and then Finley was off to bed.

Friday morning, I had to get to work earlier so after breakfast I told Murray Finley would probably be very sad when I leave, possibly crying and needing to be held.  Then, I said to Finley,

"Mommy has to go to school"

Finley: "No"

"You are going to stay here and play with Grandpa"

Finley: "No"

"Can I have a kiss or an ah-boo?" (basically bonking foreheads as he learned from Grandpa when he was about 12 months old)

He leans in for a bonk and then looks up at me and waves and says, "Bye" and yells "Tracks!" as he runs to playroom.  Soon he and Murray are building tracks for their trains and I was on my way. Okay, that was unexpected but in a wonderful way!

From what Murray told me, it sounded like the two Forseters boys had a good time all morning.  They played in the playroom, played in the tent downstairs, played outside with the lawnmower and tried to bail out our soaked sandbox, rough-housed a bit, went on a walk around the neighborhood with Finley walking for most of it, and our boy was clearly worn out because he slept for more than three hours!  I arrived home to a sleeping Finley and a nearly napping Murray who was kind enough to promise to stay until Finley woke up so the poor sleepyhead wouldn't be confused about where his Geekaw had gone to.  As the nap continued, Murray told me how at lunch Finley devoured his carrots and peas but had to be begged to eat his hot dog (what an odd kid!) and how Finley asked to join Grandpa in the bathroom when he needed to go.  I should have told Grandpa how forward his grandson can be :)

Eventually Finley woke up and gave his Grandpa a sleepy ah-boo and we watched him drive away.  Finley kept asking why Grandpa had to go and he seemed satisfied with the answer that he needed to go home to see GG.  We'll see both GG and Geekaw at the end of the month for Rosh Hashanah and something tells me Finley will pick up with Murray right where he left off!

Thank you, Murray, it was a great visit!

Neighborhood BBQ

It's been six years living here on Udine Street, but yesterday afternoon we went to our first neighborhood BBQ! I know what you're thinking, this was just the first one that we Forseters, social pariahs, were invited to.  But we're pretty sure our street is just fairly anti-social and more into the pleasant wave than the social gatherings.  It was fun to get the invite to go next door and celebrate Labor Day and our neighbor's 20th anniversary.  We have always been friendly with these particular neighbors, working together to replace broken fence pieces and chatting about their addition that was built around Finley's arrival.  The BBQ was set to begin at 3 and soon their backyard was buzzing, but Finley snoozed and snoozed so around 4, we woke him up as to not set a bad precedent about our promptness for neighborhood get togethers.  Much to Dan's joy there weren't just hamburgers and hotdogs, but LOBSTERS, too!!!! He dove in and Finley checked out the yard and quickly found some balls and trucks.  There were other kids running around, but none quite as small as himself.   After taking some time to officially wake up and check in, Finley decided he was ready for some real BBQ action and dove into the watermelon slices.

We had a nice time chatting with the other Udine street residents that were there and soaking up the beautiful weather.  We blew bubbles, kicked balls, ate a lot, and ended with some delicious cake before heading back to our side of the fence.  Happy Labor Day!

Grammy's Surprise

Just as my mom was leaving on Tuesday, she said, "Oh, by the way, look for a package to arrive for Finley by the end of the week.  I just couldn't resist!"  That Grammy, she knows just how to please us, I love mail and Finley loves presents (and boxes).

The big box was delivered while Finley was napping on Thursday (thankfully I managed to open to the door to the UPS guy just as he was reaching for the doorbell) and I couldn't imagine what it could be.  But I cut through the tape on the top and waited for Finley to wake up, such self control!!  I coaxed him out of his post-nap haze by telling him Grammy had sent a special surprise.  Sadly, he expected to see Grammy in the living room (my bad) but I showed him the box and asked him to open it.

 He knew just what it was!

 The farm train he had played with at the bookstore with Grammy and me earlier in the week!  The one he'd pushed around in its plastic for some time!

 Time to take it for a test drive!

 I offered to take the plastic off and he got upset, thinking I was going to ruin it or something.  But he helped me pull it off and remove the box underneath.  Then the fun really began--it has a cow, milk jugs, and crates of fruits and veggies that you can take out.

He was holding both milk jugs and then ran into the playroom to get a cup to pour the milk into, of course, and then came back to keep playing with his new treasure.

I said, "Finley, what do we say to Grammy for this train?"  He said, "Tank-oo.  Welcome." That about says it all, Grammy, we love it!

Castle Island

On my second to last day of official summer vacation, we went to an appointment in the morning and then made our way to South Boston to check out what Castle Island had to offer us.  It was the most gorgeous day, possibly the best of the summer, and we began with a stroll around the bay.  Aside from the lovely water views, an airplane went overhead every ten to fifteen minutes.  I know, I know, what's so great about that you ask...well, ask Finley! He was in heaven!

We came across our first playground and got out to sell tickets and pick up sticks.  

 I knew there was much more to see and do, so we strolled on passing lots of kids on bikes, boats, dogs, runners, and even some fishermen (Finley spotted their poles and said "fish!").  We finished the bay loop and ended up at a second playground.  Finley climbed a few structures and collected more than a few handfuls of woodchips, but he soon spotted a GIANT sandbox aka beach and so we rushed back to the car to get our bucket, shovel, and dump truck (that we always keep in there just in case!).

He dug for a while and had no interest in removing his shoes, though he did request that I take mine off.  He heard some kids jumping and splashing around and dropped everything to head towards the water.  Luckily, I convinced him halfway there to ditch his sandals.

He needed no coaxing to walk into the water, the freezing cold water! That was unexpected to say the least.

Soon he was digging and tossing clumps of sand into the water as I resigned myself to the fact that without a bathing suit on, it was going to be a messy, wet ride home.

He went back for his dump truck and shovel before setting in for some good, ocean digging.

 It was such a lovely spot to be on a beautiful day, I'm so glad we got to take advantage of it.

 Yep, here Finley's 100% sitting in the water getting totally wet and sandy.  I was thrilled that he couldn't have cared less and didn't mind riding home pantless.  Toddlers rule!

Toddler Track Workout

One of the compromises Dan has made in his frisbee routine this year has been that he runs on his own instead of with the team and often he'll do it after Finley goes to bed. However, with Finley still going to bed close to 8pm and bursting with energy until we drop him in the crib, we decided to take him to the track this week after dinner. Dan started stretching, while Finley got his soccer ball out of the stroller and took off.

There he is chasing his ball and running into his Dad at the end of a sprint. His kicking skills have really improved, though he still wants to stop it with his hands before he kicks it sometimes and for some reason, he thinks that all balls should be used with a bat.

I love that he kept telling me that he was playing a "game" with the ball!

After he had tuckered himself out, I tempted him over with some bubbles. He had fun catching them with his hands and stomping on them with his feet.

But once again, he felt the need for his bat to be involved...

I almost got clobbered here, but he did manage to pop some bubbles with this method. Then, he wanted to blow some on his own. He got the dipping part no problem,

but he immediately either licked the wand or stuck his fingers throw the hole.

Eventually, he did manage to blow half a bubble all by himself. Later, we took a few laps around the track in the stroller until Dan finished and then Finley played with his beloved yellow tennis ball until it was time to go home. He also busted out his frisbee to show off his impressive throwing skills. His throws are really good, but his release point is still a bit unpredictable--luckily he just missed Dan while he was doing his push-ups.

Now all we have to do is get him to entertain himself while Dan runs and I stay home...