Making something out of nothing...

Fridays are one of the days of the week that CR and I are together...uninterrupted and unassisted...for the entire day...

I am always a little giddy to see Friday come our way as the gateway to the weekend, but there is a slight grass stain on that vision...it means that I need to boost myself up and come up with fun things for Mommy and CR to do between the hours of 9am and 3pm (when B leaves for work, and the latter when CR goes down for a nap). A six hour span that will not be spent idly sitting in the house if the weather is cooperative, and also a six hour span where Mommy tries to prevent herself from pulling her hair out (the hair loss is inevitable as soon as I have the baby girl...one of many attractive and wonderful "miracles" associated with the postpartum body...can't wait).

We started out with a jog around part of the Charles. It's been awhile since I've pushed wee-man while running, so this in and of itself was a real experience for both of us. As we made our way down to the river, it was very apparent to me that he knows every inch of the roads in our town...we ran by Starbucks, and he shouted out a request for a hot chocolate...we ran by the toy store, he insisted on stopping...on the return part of our loop, even before we were within eye-shot of these "landmarks," he reminded me of the things that he wanted...so, I was selfish in getting him out for the run, so I figured he should be selfish and have his needs met as well.

First stop, Starbucks for a little hot chocolate

Then next door to the toy store...

where we picked up a new puzzle...

After puzzle time and lunch, CR insisted on playing doctor to Mommy's baby...

Since the weather is supposed to be wretched this weekend and into next week, I wanted to get CR back outside for the rest of our time together before naptime. Originally we were going to just head to the park for a little swing time, and then back home, but I ended deciding that the little guy could use a little exercise before his afternoon slumber...

Looking back to our little game of "tag the tree" from earlier this winter, I decided to give the game a slight urban twist...if you have a ball and an open space, voila! A game of "chase the sphere!"

Throw in a painted-on circle on the basketball court, we made things really urban (or ghetto) with a game of "merry-go-round without the horses."

Back to basics. It's kind of what I tell my friends who are expecting their first child, and I wish someone had given me the same advice before we went out and purchased all of the unnecessary crap for CR - all you really need for a newborn in the beginning is a boob, a diaper, and a blanket of some kind...the same sort of simple advice can apply to raising a child through the years:

1 year-old: pots and pans with lids
1 1/2 year-old: cardboard boxes and paper that rips easily
2 year-old: egg carton and Cheerios for compartmentalizing and counting
2 1/2 year-old: a pair of Daddy's shoes (or Mommy's heels if you are like CR...sorry, B) to clomp around in
3 year-old: a ball and an open space to run

See? This whole parenting thing is a breeze...yeah right...