Early November in Prospect Park-a dream!

Max's school was having a fundraiser (Scootathon 2009!) and we went along to provide moral support. There was a great little gathering with games and face painting for the kids and free chocolate popcorn for all!!!
What a revelation to head to the park when parking is plentiful and the place is generally empty. On our walk back toward our car (in its awesome super secret parking spot-thanks to Valerie) we took some lesser paths and had a great time discovering areas of the park we'd never seen before. A rediscovered secret waterfall for one. The misty air enhanced our feeling of being explorers discovering something new. Pahu(an old friend and fellow Waldorf parent) took these great shots of Max. Wish he'd been there too document the secret waterfall!

hellooooo

max scootering this summer

yes - its been awhile since our last post.
Here are some snapshots of my growing boy (he actually grew a half inch per month these last two months!

People constantly ask Max if he's getting taller so he wants to measure himself all the time. Whenever its changed we mark it on the same place in his door frame with the date.

joey and max found a disposable camera at our yelping hill family outing this august and had a little photo shoot while jessica and I made dinner
max enjoyed the photo booth after rocking out to tom freund at the living room- hug trees!
SILOS sound check at bloodshot records bar b q at the bell house

thank you

for you calls, cars, presence and presents.
We are very lucky to have so many wonderful friends and family in our lives

our good friend Valerie sent these great photos from the party

MAX is turning FOUR

one

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four


DUMBO park Sunday 11-1
time flies when you are trashing the bodega

dinner with Joe

more updates coming soon!

2009. thats right

yeah I left the blog sad and alone for far too long- here's a little pic from last month to get back on the right track- Max and his good friend Pip and their respective "hat heads"

Brooklyn Summertimes

Circle the fountain
Check the package
Get water out of eyes
Repeat
All I gotta do is stand there!


P.S. He does own appropriate fountain circling attire we just didn't happen to bring it that day

happy birthday to aunt juki

we have a beloved family member who is about as far away as one could be so we must fete her wonderful accomplishment of rocking another year with a tribute in pictures and in words. pictures first:







This is the trip we took to the beach the weekend before last all the while reminiscing about last summer's super fun visit to Quogue with los shefwiggins! We miss our tia juki something awful!

Happy birthday to my lifelong adopted sister who I will come visit very soon! We are in each other's thoughts constantly as we imprinted on the same things together in our impressionable years. We have formed almost as two individuals from one source it sometimes seems. She and I made up words to the muzak on the radio as 8 year olds. The songs always began "I was walking down the street." We made elaborate accessories out of paper and staples. We put on numerous variety shows for our folks complete with songs, sketches and programs crediting the creators.
As tweens we frequented the nearby drug store trying to figure out which "temporary" hair dye we could talk our moms' into letting us use. We had our princess phones glued to our ears-she in her room me laying on the kitchen counter as far as the one family phone cord would stretch. She and I shaved our legs together for the first time. When I got "it" before she did she hand crated the loveliest temporary solution of cotton balls tissue and tape until we could get back to our favorite drugstore and figure out a whole new world of feminine products. She encouraged me to join choir with her in middle school and she insisted I apply with her to the arts magnet high school. Our high school years were mercifully enriching and exciting adventures in self discovery as opposed to the "mean girls" fate we could have faced (for the most part-we were teenagers after all). During college she kept me involved in the booming music scene in Austin first by inviting me there almost every weekend (then by becoming a fixture in that scene and inviting me there almost every weekend).
She let me move in with her on a couple of occasions when I had no money for rent, fronted me til I could take up the slack and even helped me find jobs. All our major transitions, into teenagerhood, into college, into the real world were made in reference to each other with mutual support and many creative solutions. Juki even introduced to mah sweetie who I carefully avoided for several weeks because he was just a little too cute. Now I have the world's cutest baby boy (ok maybe 2nd cutest, Cyrus!)
We don't talk on the phone frequently but we generally make up for that with volume and intensity. She is my only adopted sister and I am glad she has joined me in this our blankety blank year of life (keep guessing)
There are some very incriminating photos of our youth I could post (our original eyebrows-watch out Brooke Shields!) but I'll be kind! Happy day Miss Miles Away! I'll see you soon.
xoxoxo

a quick one

This morning Konrad was up with Max and I was in bed pretending to be asleep just a little longer. I got to eavesdrop as Max recounted his dream of the previous night. After a scathing indictment of mom "mama did not put the blanket on last night!" Max launched into the dream:

Max: There were dinosaurs in my bed and they were eating me, then Mama woke me up!
I felt like piping in "I DID put the covers on! I didn't wake you up!" but I kept quiet.

Papa: Oh they ate you? Was it funny like this? (insert classic papa eating max attack)
Max: No.
Papa: Oh, it sounded kind of funny.
Max: No it wasn't.

Its strange to imagine that they have nightmares at such a young age even though even earlier you can tell when they awake from a scary dream...but to be able to tell it...it seems like a new step.
Konrad gave him an alternate scenario like oh I thought those dinosaurs would want to play (or something along those lines) and later when Max told me his dream it had the new ending. So that's a benefit of the new level of comprehension and expression I suppose. Maybe next time the dinosaurs will bring him a birthday cake or something.

homecoming

So Papa is finally done with the monster ~2 month tour! What a relief. Of course the new dates are already filling in but he's home now and I got to sleep in today!!!! Even though we had several visits during the tour (1 on the road and two recent stays at home while the tour was in our area), Max was really missing his papa.

It was so sweet to come home last night to see my boys romping around the house in their matching jeans and undershirt ensembles (it was an accident, how could I have known?)

We took a stroll down the block and watched Max and friends go to town with sidewalk chalk and climb all over the stoops and gates. Yesterday the spring weather was in full force and everyone was giddy.

Max really surprises me with his language skills sometimes-its funny because sometimes he still just screams and babbles and I'm still translating for him. But last night he started to relive a memory and his description was so evocative. We typically read Frosty the Snowman when Max is sitting on the potty before bathtime (he's a big creature of habit!) and I guess the snow reminded him of a fun trip we made in early January.
Max: When it snows, you can walk in the snow, you don't fall down, you crunch in the snow and then we take pictures and we throw snowballs at Papa and G-pops in the window. You don't fall down. I don't fall down, you know?

He's picked up a habit of saying "you know?' and cocking his head as if to make a point. It is slightly more refined than the prevailing "you like that!?" after many of his demonstrations of skill or wit. "You like that!!!?" casts a strange "Roadhouse" vibe over our activities so I'm enjoying the "you know?" as a change of pace.


With his many monologues generally being told in the present tense - the one tense he's really firm on-sometimes it does take a minute to figure out if he's talking about life, a story we read, a movie, his fears or what. I find if I just let him go it all becomes clear at some point.

He is also really into singing and making up his own songs (followed by "you like that?!!" of course or "say 'thank you' mama"). He likes to stand on a side table or even a lunch box, announce he's on the stage and that one should not talk while the signer is singing. He then sings for me while air-guitaring or playing his little gee-tar. There was a great one this weekend "hold me, baby hold me, hold me, baby!" (you like that?!)



In other homecoming news, my big cousin Mark, is recovering from his accident marvelously and has transferred to a recovery center in Austin. He will be treated as an outpatient starting next Thursday! Mark's sister, Maribeth, gave birth yesterday to her daughter, Patricia Evelyn Brown!