Happy Birthday Mommy!

Today is Mommy's birthday so I thought that I would be extra nice to her. I slept in until 7am! I also bought her a nice card and a Carvel ice cream cake because she loves ice cream. I even wrote "Happy Birthday Mom" all by myself.

Weekend Activities

Here's a glimpse of what I did this weekend. First, there was a visit to the brand new Ikea that just opened in Red Hook. It's on the site of a former shipyard on the Erie Basin in Brooklyn. It's beautifully redone with it's own waterfront esplanade and views of the Statue of Liberty and downtown Manhattan. I enjoyed riding the escalator and finding my way to the Children's Ikea where I was in heaven playing with all the toys and pint-size furniture.

Then there was a trip into Manhattan to Hudson River Park at Pier 51. Boy did Mommy and Daddy have a surprise in store for me. There is an amazing playground there. Not just any playground but a WATER playground. There's a nig yellow sprinkler that looks like a tree, lots of mini water spouts and a tiny river that snakes through the whole playground. Not only that but a sandbox too!

After I got cleaned up, we took a walk through the meat packing district, where Daddy used to live, and into Chelsea Market, where Daddy first met and fell in love with Mommy.

What a fun weekend!

I'm Home!

Chilling with Julius

One of my favorite friends to play with is Julius. Julius is really just a pillow but I love him all the same. He's got a big head like I do and a funny looking grin. Mommy actually calls Julius "Coufou." She says it's because Julius reminds her of my Coufou. So when I play with Julius, I like to think that I'm playing with my Coufou. First, I grab him off the chair and hug, kiss and smother him.

Then we make some music or I poke him with some of my toys.

Finally, we just lounge around on the floor of my bedroom.

Mommy actually thinks that I now look like Julius with my new short haircut because my ears stick out and my cheeks stick out when I smile really big. What do you think?

Snacks in the Park

It's lots of fun to play in Prospect Park now that I can walk. I can throw balls and chase them around. Well, okay, I'm still a little wobbly when I walk on the grass so I crawl sometimes too.

It takes a lot of effort and energy to balance while walking in the grass so I have to refuel myself. Luckily, Mommy always remembers to bring snacks for me, my favorite, of course, being cheese. There are two ways that I like to eat my snacks. Here's the first:

Here is the second and preferred method:

Yummy. I love snacks!

Coney Island, Baby

The weather report called for 80% chance of thunderstorms but to me, it seemed like a perfect day for the beach. Mommy, Daddy and I packed up the car and headed for Coney Island. Of course, I had no idea what to expect but I was so excited when we got there. There was sand EVERYWHERE! It was like heaven on Earth.

So I dug right in with my Happy Gnome sand bucket and started to make my way through all the sand before me.

Then, as if it couldn't get any better, Daddy took me to the water. At first, I was a little apprehensive of the water crashing on to the sand. But I decided to face my fear and stomp my way into the water.

Then the real fun began. This water was quite different from the water at the playground or the pool. I had lots of fun with Daddy. He swung me up high above the waves and I came crashing down into the water. It was a blast. I got all wet and then got to crawl around in the sand and get it all over me. I can't wait to go back to the beach! And don't worry, I didn't lose my Crocs. Mommy took them off for me.

Addendum to Oops-y

I was inspired by my outfit the other day and I think that I've found my calling in life - to be a spiritual and political leader like Gandhi! I make a good apprentice, don't you think? Check out my glasses and sandals.


In case you think that my Mommy was clever enough to come up with this on her own, I have to give credit to my Dee Biu-Coufou. Apparently, he is having a lot of fun at my expense. Also, for those of you who didn't see my explanation in the comment section of yesterday's post, I was soaking wet because I had a little too much fun in the sprinklers at the playground. See, Babcia wasn't aware of my absolute love and obsession with the sprinklers and she wasn't quite prepared for the wet adventure.

Oops-y

This afternoon, I went out for a walk with Babcia dressed in my navy blue shorts and Gap T-shirt. A couple hours later, I came home soaked and wearing Babcia's extra shirt. Can you guess what happened in-between?

Euro 2008

In honor of Italy advancing to the Quarterfinals of the European soccer championships, I donned my own Italian soccer jersey today. Okay, so it's not the Italian national jersey but it is an AC Milan jersey, one of Italy's top teams. Yee-Ma bought it for me when she went to Italy last month. Truth be told, Italy is my second favorite team but due to Poland's poor showing, I've decided to pledge my allegiance to them during the tournament.

I'm wearing #22 - Kaka's number, the team's best player. Do you think that I have a future in soccer? Here I am trying to score! Really, I'm running away from Mommy.

You might also be wondering what exactly I am wearing on my head. That's the latest contestant in Mommy's search for a hat that I will not rip off immediately. We'll see how long this one lasts. BTW - those are lobsters on the hat.

Sand Dance

Every morning for the past week or so, Daddy has be taking me to the playground to play in the sandbox for as long as I want. It's the only time of day when it's not super hot out. Plus, the sprinklers aren't on in the morning so I'm less likely to make a total mess of myself (see, I like going from sand to sprinklers to sand again). The best part of my morning is doing my sand dance - my ode to So You Think You Can Dance, my new favorite TV show. The dance is a mix of a Mia Michaels' contemporary number crossed with a Shane Sparks' Hip Hop routine. Do you think that I could be America's next favorite dancer? Or should I try for America's Best Dance Crew?

There's so much exertion involved in my dance that I get sand all over myself, even on my face!

I also like playing Godzilla, crushing all the little sand buildings.

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to all the Daddies out there! I had a very special present for Daddy this morning - I slept in until 7:30am!!! What a treat for him since he usually takes care of me in the morning. See what a good little boy I am? Dziadek came to visit today too so we three Dawidowicz men could bond.

Yesterday, Mommy and Daddy took me to South Street Seaport for Children's Day. Here I am with Mommy and the Peking, one of two tall ships at the seaport, and another of me and Mommy with the Brooklyn Bridge.

While Mommy has fond memories of going to South Street when she was a kid, I hope that Mommy and Daddy don't take me back for a very long time...

First Real Haircut

I admit that I have a lot of hair. I always have. I think that I get it from both my Mommy and my Daddy. But, as you can imagine, having a full head of hair isn't too much fun in the summer heat. I just get hot and sweaty. So, we decided that it was time that I let go of my luscious locks and get a professional haircut at Lulu's Cuts and Toys. Here I am with my full head of hair.

You would think that I would like having my hair cut. After all, I love having my hair combed. It's weird, I know but I find it calming and soothing. But, when Mommy put me in the chair, I wasn't so sure about what was coming next. The lady sprayed my hair and got it all wet and took these sharp metal things close to my head!! Needless to say, I was not happy and I started crying... a lot.

After a little while and a little Thomas the Tank Engine and Baby Einstein on TV (and help from my sucker), I calmed down. With all my crying, I didn't even notice that I was sitting in a tractor chair.

The hairdresser did a nice job and my hair feels so much lighter. Here I am with my new 'do. What do you think? Daddy likes it I think because my hair is almost as short as his. Mommy is sad that my hair is so short. She liked the longer locks.

P.S. I'm learning about all the things my little piggy toes are doing. This one went wee wee wee all the way home.

Relief From the Heat

I'm starting to go a little stir crazy being stuck in the house all day. There's only so much to do in 1350+ square feet of space. But living in a city like NYC where there aren't that many public, indoor spaces to run around in and we spend lots of time outside walking from place to place or on the playground, there isn't really much choice (plus I start to get heat rash in my leg and arm folds). So I get to go outside early in the morning and play in the sandbox to my heart's content. Or we go out late in the afternoon when the heat starts to dissipate a bit. But yesterday, Mommy, Daddy and Babcia took me to the playground in the AFTERNOON. There I discovered a new feature of the playground - SPRINKLERS!!!

I was a little apprehensive at first. I wasn't quite sure what this was all about. Mommy kept trying to show me how much fun it is to play with the cold water. It was coming at me from all directions!

But, I worked up the courage and decided to attack the water myself. This might be my new favorite thing!

This Totally Counts

I made a decision yesterday. I decided that I'm really going to give this walking thing a go. No more dawdling and crawling around. If I'm going to be a big boy, I have to figure out how to stand up and start walking on my own. While I might still slap my feet, waddle and do some funny things with my arms when I walk, the fact of the matter is, I'm walking. It's official.

Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Garden

It was another scorcher out today - high around 95 degrees! Mommy, Daddy and I decided to leave the city to try to get some relief from the heat. While we didn't really escape the heat, we did get to see lots of pretty sculpture. We went to the Donald M. Kendall Sculpture Garden at the PepsiCo Headquarters in Purchase, NY (he was the co-founder and former CEO of PepsiCo). It features 45 sculptures by some of the best-known artists of the 20th century including Alexander Calder, Joan Miró, Alberto Giacometti, Henry Moore, George Segal, Jean Dubuffet and Auguste Rodin. The grounds are beautifully landscaped with some formal gardens and wide open spaces for people to frolic around in. I enjoyed surveying the grounds and seeing how each piece of sculpture is set within the landscape.


At one end of the grounds there is this huge red metal sculpture by Calder named "Hats Off." I'm not sure why it's named that. It doesn't look like a hat to me. It looks more like some crazy beast.

Daddy and I enjoyed playing under its legs although I kept thinking that the sculpture was going to catch me!

A little further down the path and on the edge of the pond is David Wynne’s “Grizzly Bear." Isn't he cute?

While near the pond, a Mommy duck and her little ducklings came swimming by. Then they all jumped out of the water to say hello to me. The little ducklings came right up and almost nipped my toes. I guess that they were looking for food. Since we didn't have any, they lost interest in us and swam away.

One the other pieces that I really liked was Isamu Noguchi's "Energy Void." Here's Mommy and I doing our best to fill up the empty space.

Nearby is Henry Moore's "Sheep Piece." My stroller just fits underneath. Good thing because the sculpture also provides some good shade from the sun.

While I enjoyed seeing the works of art, it was hot out and I started getting cranky. How would you feel being stuck in the stroller and being wheeled around in 90 degree heat? Luckily, the sprinklers were on. Mommy and I had fun splashing around and getting all wet. After a late lunch at Jordan's Hilltop Restaurant, we got in our air conditioned car and headed home.

P.S. Happy Birthday Coufou!