It's Here! It's Here!

Halloween has arrived! It's the day Alex has been asking about all month. With every adventure decked out with jack o'lanterns and spiders and monsters, Alex would ask if it was 'Sunday' yet or if Halloween was here. This morning, I informed him that it finally was!

We took a leisurely morning, because, frankly, Mommy's a bit tuckered out from this month. (She had a midterm on the 26th too.) We didn't head out for our Halloween lunch until 1 PM. We didn't do costumes for ourselves this year because Alex had chosen a superhero costume for himself. We didn't care to pay 50-100 dollars each for superhero costumes. We didn't care to wear a clashing costume. Alex insisted! 'No! Be pirates! You have to!' he cried.

Thankfully, when Mommy had bought her textbook on campus last month, she splurged on some viking helmets at the book store. Alex had insisted then too, that Mommy had to have a viking helmet to go with the one she was buying for him. (SUNY WCC's sports teams are 'the Vikings'.) This left a Viking helmet for Daddy and a slightly-too-small one for Mommy, but at least we had hats.

After a yummy (and necessarily huge) lunch at Applebee's, we set out for Union Avenue. We'd passed by this block last year, learning too late that it is THE block to be on for Halloween in Mamaroneck. The homes there all deck out and get into the Spooky Spirit in full. It seemed, though, that they all kick off at about 5 PM. We had about 90 minutes to kill, so we did some Trick or Treating on Mamaroneck Avenue instead.

The merchants of Mamaroneck Avenue were wonderfully generous this year too. Alex couldn't believe all of the candy he was getting. It took him several stops to get the "Trick or Treat" thing down, but he finally did. When we stopped in one of the Asian delis on the south side of the avenue, she teased him by saying "Trick or Treat!" to him first and saying she'd love some chocolate. Alex dashed back from the counter "No! Not for you!" She still gave him two apples even after his rudeness.


After we reached the end of Mamaroneck Avenue on Halstead again, we walked towards Union Avenue. We reached it at a time when Trick or Treating had begun. The first house we reached was playing some techno spooky stuff to go with their decked out house. Alex thought it was THE coolest thing ever. Then the next house had lots of cool stuff there too. We kept on going.

Then we got to the fourth house. That didn't go so well. It was decked out to the max. Goblins, ghosts, skeletons, witches, monsters, everything. Some of their decorartions were animated and Alex was getting scared already. Then the lady at the top of the deck stairs was nice and gave him candy. He was OK and even started to enjoy seeing a skeleton pirate display. Then, an older kid was exiting down the side stairs when a loud burst of air startled him. They'd set a sound and wind booby trap for guests and the kid yelled out when he was surprised by it. Alex had a total meltdown.
"No! No! No!" he screamed. He started to cry. Daddy picked him up. He wouldn't go down the stairs where it had happened. A little shaken Iron Man trembled as Daddy took him away from the house.

After that, Alex insisted that we go home. We had to walk down that avenue to get home anyway, so we stopped at the "Nice and quiet" houses as Alex would call them. At the last house we'd stopped in, there were no noises - an Alex requirement - but there was a very nice Ming the Merciless there. (Villain foe to Flash Gordon.) He posed for a picture with Alex and Alex seemed to relax. Maybe the scary guys of Halloween aren't ALL scary-wary.

Per Alex request, however, we headed home. He got distracted lots of times on the way there, especially when we stopped at CVS to get our own candy for Trick or Treaters. We had to remind him that he was really, really tired. He finally remembered when we got to West Street and he insisted on being carried. Poor Daddy.

We got home. Moved Malter to his new tank. Got Alex into a warm bath and warm PJs and he went out like a light.

Happy Halloween, Baby! I hope you liked your Halloween-iest October yet!

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Halloween Crafts

I asked Alex if he'd like to do some Halloween pictures. He said finally yes! We'd tried to do the craft at the party the day before, but there weren't many stickers left. Mommy grabbed two pumpkin canvases for that we could make them at home. Now we had lots of canvases.

Mommy broke out the Halloween stickers and foam cards she'd picked up a few weeks ago (that Alex insisted we didn't need). We sat down at the coffee table and had a great time making haunted house pictures with ghosts and pumpkins. We even spelled out messages.

Alex wanted me to spell out 'Happy Halloween Iron Man' for his. It took a while, but I found the letters in our big mess of stickers. Alex helped.

Well, if you call swishing all of the letters around the table 'help'.

We got some cool pictures out of it though!

Friday, October 29, 2010

Chilled by the Sound

We took Alex to the Saturday matinee of 'Scared by the Sound' at Playland. It's an independently organized Halloween attraction that uses one of the larger structures at Playland for a Haunted House. On the afternoons of the day before Halloween and the day of, they stage a much lighter themed version for children under 8. This year, they did it as a theme of The Wizard of Oz.

The structure and maze were the same as that used by 'Scared by the Sound' during the evenings on weekends. So, I can't say it wasn't slightly scary. Alex wasn't having any of it by the time we got to the front of the attraction. The actors were fantastic, being cheery and funny and friendly, so he trusted it a little bit more. But there were times we had to scoot him through parts of the maze.

His favorite characters seemed to be the monkey (done as Curious George rather than the Winged Monkeys of the story) and the Cowardly Lion in which the actor really did a great and funny role. There were words to memorize ('Brains', 'Heart', 'Believe' and 'Courage') and puzzles to solve (counting yellow bricks, finding witches, playing with the wizard's crystal ball) and prizes to be won (candy and plastic spider rings). I thought it was cute, but Alex didn't care for it much AT ALL thankyouverymuch.

'Too dark.' he sniffed.

Though he was quite pleased any time any of the characters commented on his muscles. Alex wore his Red Power Ranger costume for this adventure. It has a musculature effect built into the top. He'd pose in his Superhero Stance - fists on his hips and chest puffed out - anytime he was complimented on his physique.

The outdoor party was fun too. That's where Alex got a prize of lots of candy from the Wizard himself and danced with a groovy vampire. He won a green bat ring for tossing beanie animals into a cauldron and got some really cool Halloween stickers. It seemed to have made up for the icky-dark of the Not Too Haunted House.
So Mommy lead us all down to the Edith Read Wildlife Sanctuary on Manursing Island. We missed the Birds of Prey exhibit, but Alex wanted to find a horseshoe crab. First we played a bit with the exhibits in the center, but Alex didn't care for the matching game - which makes a loud buzz. Then we set out to look for Alex's horsehoe crab. We strolled the beach looking at shells and interest rocks. We watched doggies dive into the waves. Soon enough, it became way too cold to be at the shore. Alex didn't seem to care at all!

Incidentally, we did find two horseshoe crab shells. Alex dismissed them. No real crabs with lots of legs? He didn't want them. It seems he actually wants a horseshoe crab PET. Oh well. Not this year, kid.


We made our way back to the boardwalk. We checked out the tail end of a Halloween Party at the Ice Casino (or, at least, Mommy got Alex a cupcake there). Then we took a cab to Murphy's Law, a new restaurant in town where Mommy and Daddy warmed up with a much welcome turkey dinner. Alex just wanted his candy that he won at Playland. He also wanted to walk on the beach some more.

"Scared" by the Sound may not have been too fun, but it seemed that being Chilled by the Sound was a big hit.

Saturday, October 30, 2010

Recent Alexisms

- After a particularly naughty breakfast and a snap from Mommy, Alex asked 'Are we having a Bad Romance right now?'

- He's taken up a desire to be the 'Baby in the Basket' again. He thought it was a riot to see a photo of himself as a baby unable to sit up on his own, propped up in a laundry basket.

- Loving the song 'I Don't Like Candy Corn' on Nick. Jr. Props to Alex that, at the Bronx Zoo, he tried the kind of candy used in candy corn before he confirmed 'I don't like candy corn.' Neither does Mommy. It's too sweet!

- Adding in 'Malter' to 'Brown Bear, Brown Bear'. When Daddy got to the part about a '...Goldfish looking at me', Alex gleefully changed it to 'Malter!'

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Pet Emergency

Today was the day I felt we had to go get Malter and Nudder a new home. We skipped Stompers class this morning and, instead, headed out to the pet store. We already had a a 10 gallon tank - too small for two goldfish, but all we've got.

We washed out the tank with the lawn hose this morning. At the pet store we got a filter, more gravel, water conditioning solution and...a castle! (Just like Goldie now!)

It was a rough trip home for Mommy, what with 10 lbs of gravel in tow, but it was Alex who got to nap when we got home. A good thing too. Mommy set up Malter and Nudder's new home while he slept. Now, all we have to do is introduce more of this water to Malter and Nudder over the next few days. Let's hope they make it to next week.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Halloween Party!

J.W. Tumbles hosted a Halloween Party for gym members. It included an obstacle course and crafts and, of course, treats!

Alex was proud to be Iron Man in the gym. He dashed to be a part of the obstacle course, heading straight for a bouncy ball pool and the slide. Then he ran back and forth among the 'walls' of the obstacle course. He thought it was really cool to hang out with the Big Kids too.

There wasn't too much interest in the crafts, as usual. There was some interest in the Fruit Loop and candy string necklaces, with more emphasis on the strawberry strings.

Alex was the last to leave. He never wants a session at Tumbles to end. I'm glad I enrolled him in L'il Maestros for next session then!

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Happy Anniversary!

One year ago today, I discovered Cozi.com's Family Journal. I've been keeping a journal of Alex's adventures ever since.

Yay for memories!

Monday, October 25, 2010

Pumpkin Patch

Mommy has a midterm coming up on Tuesday, the 26th. Daddy was kind enough to take Alex out to the Mamaroneck Avenue Spooktacular. There were lots of kids in costumes already doing their Trick-or-Treating. Alex got to see Captain America in person and everything! (Captain America was about 4 years old, but Alex was star struck nonetheless.)

They took a trip around the pumpkin patch at the Episcopal Church, where Alex ran through the rows of pumpkins. Of course, there was the obligatory trip to Dunkin Donuts (he no longer calls it 'The Munchkin House).

And Mommy stayed home to study Statistics AND Goldfish. It seems that no goldfish should live in a tank. They are dirty dish who pollute their own water quickly. They're supposed to live for at least 15-20 years and grow to at least a foot. For this, they need some 20 gallons per fish in which to live.

Sorry Malter and Nudder, you're not getting the recommended 55 gallon tank for the two of you. But if we can make sure you live at least a few years more, we'll move you to a 10 gallon. We happen to have two on hand.

In the meantime, Statistics and Pumpkins are our focus for today.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Osborn Halloween Fair

The Osborn School in Rye hosted a Halloween Fair this afternoon. Alex was thrilled to walk around the hallways of a Big Kid school, like he belonged there. Once he saw there were rides available, though, he headed straight for the bouncy castle. There, he decided to lie down and let the other kids do all the bouncy work.

Most of the games were too complex for him, being set for grade school age. He was able to win goldfish though! The very first game we saw was that of a tot's wading pool containing lots of lots of goldish. He scooped up a beauty right away and I carried said beauty in his water bag for the rest of the day.

But Alex got to ride a cool carousel in Thomas! And he got to win another goldfish (whom he named 'Nudder' as in, 'nudder goldfish). He got to have a hot dog with Daddy. He got to see all of the cool decorations in the school. His favorite part seemed to be playing in the regular school playground. He loved the maze and slide the most.

The bonus was that Mommy and Daddy got to meet Congresswoman Nita Lowey who was out representing for Democrats this year. Some Tea People were seated next to us who were just tuning out what she had to say. We told her we were there for her and the Dems.

Luckily, we left early enough to go to the pet store in Mamaroneck to pick up a bowl for 'Malter' and 'Nudder'. Alex picked out some really pretty teal and orange gravel and a nice clam shell decoration for them. Now, at least Malter and Nudder have a home to go to.

Alex was absolutely in love with them by the time we got home.

Saturday, October 23, 2010

The Journey is the Adventure

I told my Mom I wanted to bring Alex to the Staten Island Zoo for a few reasons. The first is because I so fondly remember it from my own childhood. I couldn't have told you any details about it. Only that it was a place I remembered loving as magic. The second was that I want to make sure that Alex regularly visits all 5 zoos in New York City plus its aquarium. The last is because I know that traveling to the SI Zoo will involve riding the Staten Island ferry, a trip Alex loves to take.

Our journey to the SI Zoo actually took between 2.5 and 3 hours one way. The first leg is on Metro North, a trip Alex always appreciates. The second leg is the 4 train from Grand Central to Bowling Green, another adventure for Alex. He LOVES the Battery Park area and Battery Park.

Then came the ferry. We walked through Battery Park calling for Zelda, the wild turkey who lives there. Then Alex wanted to know why we weren't turning toward the South Street Seaport. I told him that it was time to ride the SI Ferry. He didn't want to now. He wanted the Seaport Museum, because the Ambrose is one of his favoritest places ever. I bribed him into the ferry terminal with a big salty pretzel.

We arrived in plenty of time to get on a 10 AM ferry. After calling my mom to tell her when to expect us at the zoo, I found Alex his pretzel. A REAL salty pretzel; soft and hot. Alex complained that it was even a little too hot, but I think he preferred it warmer than the carts usually keep them.


On a nice, sunny morning in the harbor, the outdoor deck was pleasant. He wanted nothing to do with it. "No!" he shouted. "I'll be too chilly!" It was only on our return trip at a really chilly 5 PM that he wanted to stand outside for the whole trip. Brrrrrr!

The last leg of our trip was a trip on the S48 to Broadway from St. George. Alex kept asking about everything he saw and verifying that it was, indeed, in Staten Island. Even as we walked from our stop to the zoo, he kept asking if we were still in Staten Island.

He was a real trouper on the way home. He went without a nap all day through a bust and exciting day. He fell asleep on the ride on the S48 to the ferry terminal. I had to wake a grumpy gus to get him into the terminal to get on the ferry.

While we were waiting there, a toddler in a stroller was kicking up a mighty fuss. She was kicking off her blanket and trying to slide out of her restraints. Her mother straightened her back up, tightened her restraints and wrapped the blanket around her again. At this, the tot wailed and shrieked. Her mom warily just rocked the stroller hoping she'd get lulled into a calm. No luck.

"No nap?" I said to the mom, recognizing the symptoms. She rolled her eyes and nodded. The baby continued to cry.

Alex asked me why the baby was crying and why she won't listen to her mommy. "She didn't nap", I explained, "So she's a Grumpy Blue Gus" (a symbol on his chart indicating "No nap"). Alex took it on himself to advise the youngster.

"BA-beeee," he said with his hands out gesticulating in a lecturing pose, "You gotta take a nap!"

"Take his advice", I said to the little one, "He's not using it." That brought on a hearty chuckle from the suffering mom and the stranger-helper mom in front of the baby who had been unsuccessfully trying to entertain her.
Yeaaaah, he's a PRO at those naps, boy. All about taking them when he needs them.

Thankfully, there wasn't that much acting up on the ferry on this No Nap day. Well, actually, there was some. There was that insistance on going outside and then trying to climb over a chain towards the front of the ship. Calmness was bought with some hot chocolate chip cookies at the snack bar.
A mellow state followed on the subway and commuter rail ride home, but boy did he need some sleep when he got home.
As Mary would say "WHAAAAT a day!"

Friday, October 22, 2010

The Staten Island Zoo

Alex and Mommy traveled to Staten Island to visit the Staten Island Zoo with Grandma McCann. It was fantastic! I'll do a separate entry about our travel there, since that was a fun adventure on its own. The zoo was lots and lots of fun. So much to see in such a small space.

Alex was thrilled to see Grandma McCann waiting for us at the zoo entrance. Then as we paid our entry fee, he was anxious to get to running around. 'Come on Mommeeee!' he shouted. He really wanted to climb on that bronze turtle he saw through the gates.

But first, there were peafowl to chase. Alex thought it was a riot as they would land on their feet after jumping down from a rail. He ran up a ramp to chase a few, including some white peafowl I'd never seen before. Not successful at capturing one, Alex took off to find the bronze turtle. I hoisted him onto the turtle's neck and he laughed a ton.

There were so many animals to see there, because the Staten Island Zoo specializes in small animals that can humanely be kept in small enclosures like reptiles, fish and amphibians. They also have a fantastic children's zoo with lots of domestic animals to feed and a duck pond with many different kinds of water fowl.

Our first stop was in the aquarium, where we even saw a seahorse. It was adjacent to a cool jungle/rainforest exhibit. Alex wasn't too sure about it, since it was a little dark. After some King Vultures tried to peck at him through the glass and, worse so, tried to peck at the new quacking duck Grandma gave him, he'd had it with that exhibit. Soon, he was pushing for the door.

Our next stop was the children's petting corner where Alex just loved the duck pond. He wanted to get more quarters to operate the food machine which, eventually, became his real attraction. We had to keep coaxing him back to the animals to feed them the crackers that Grandma had bought. We had so many left over, we had to decide to come back. Alex just wanted to get going and roam around some more.

Next was the reptile house, which he loved so much he didn't want to leave. We saw many beautiful snakes and tortoises there. Especially gorgeous were the mesmerizing Egyptian cobra and the enormous boa constrictors. Alex was having a ton of fun there, even making a friend who showed him around a bit. (That boy goes there every week). Alex wasn't too thrilled about the rattler exhibit though. On the wall was a large lift-and-read exhibit on the anatomy of a rattlesnake. At the end where the rattle is, one can lift the flap to see a cartiledge fossil of a snake's rattle while a loud rattle-hiss comes over a soundspeaker. "Mama!" Alex cried in that voice that tells me he's really, really scared. Of course, like he does with all things that terrify him, he kept checking it to see if it made the sound. It would and he'd get scared again. It wasn't enough to get him to leave the reptile house, though. We had to bribe him out. (Grandma had a stash of Swedish Fish.)

The stars of our visit were the Red Kangaroos - still there with their new joey and out on exhibit. Grandma and Mommy were thrilled. Alex played with the water fountain. He's soooo seen wallabies before at the Bronx Zoo. Who cares about a bigger version of them when there's cold water to splash around in late-October?

We has some snacks, which, for Alex was a big salty pretzel. He got a new "horseshoe crab" (manta ray) water toy. We walked around a hay stack maze where Mommy found some peacock feathers for her scrapbooks (and even coaxed a bunch of birds to kick her over a white one). We bamboozled Alex into a pony ride that he swore he didn't want to take, but who wanted another as soon as he was finished riding "Apache". He even wanted a new toy horse to name "Apache" after the ride.

It was a full, full day with lots of fun and animals and crackers (which Alex didn't want to share with the animals) and snacks and toys! Alex wasn't too happy to leave. At least Mommy had a boat ride home as a bribe to get him out of there.

He was a tired, tuckered-out little guy when we finally got home. He was still a little traumatized by the rattlesnakes. He slept in Mommy and Daddy's bed that night and seemed to be the better for it. I noticed he didn't wake in the middle of the night while there. Too tired!

Friday, October 22, 2010

Rodin of the Seas

Alex has happily discovered a new craft, Play-Dough! He asked Mommy if that's what we could use for Art Time today. We had a blast as Mommy made a dinosaur, an elephant, a house and all sorts of other goofy-colored things.

I asked Alex what he was working so hard on and he seemed shocked that I had to ask. 'It's a horseshoe crab!' he declared.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

'Fridge Raider

Alex has found a brand new bennie to being able to open the baby gate at the kitchen. He can open the fridge and help himself to his own treats.

I have to babyproof the INSIDE of my fridge now too??

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Boo at the Zoo!

The Bronx Zoo is hosting things Halloween-y during weekends in October. They've set up a spooky hayride and magic shows along with lots of spooky decorations and even treat stations. Alex told everyone on the Metro North ride that we were headed to 'Boo at the Zoo'!

The hayride was available right at Rainey Gate and we were seated next to none other than Iron Man!!! (We'd brought Alex's costume just in case he wanted to wear it.) To our surprise, he was more thrilled to sit next to Iron Man (who was about 6, therefore, probably the REAL Iron Man). Unfortunately, the hayride turned out to be a little too haunted for Alex. The ride through the kinda scary village was enough for him when he saw the huge spiders and ramshackle houses. When actors in make-up burst out of nowhere onto the truck, he was done. It took some time to calm him down, though the treats at the end of the ride seemed to help.

After that, we decided to take it easy on the Boo at the Zoo particular events. We avoided the 'dark' exhibits too.

Alex's spirits were lifted when he saw Batman, though. Batman appeared to be all of about 5 or 6, but Alex was sure he was the one to ask about Superman. 'Excuse me', Alex said to the pint-sized superhero 'I'm looking for Superman. Have you seen him?' Before the confused Caped Crusader could answer, Superman happened by. 'I see him!' Alex declared 'Thank you!' And off he ran.

Poor Superman was a taller 3 year old who was positively terrified by Alex's star struck hero worship. He paced around Superman with a shy smile, as if he was seeing a real superhero in person. We explained to the adults with Superman that Alex was sure that he was meeting the real thing and we tried to explain that to Superman, who was overwhelmed by it all. Thankfully, Alex didn't seem to notice that Superman wasn't exactly speaking in response.

After seeing his heroes, Alex seemed to be over the hayride.

He declared that he wanted to ride the Bug Carousel, as usual, but he also wanted to ride the Monorail! That's a first for him. We decided that we had to get to Wild Asia first instead of last, like we usually wind up doing.

On the way there, we went through the Butterfly Garden, where Alex agreed to pose with some photo billboards - looking adorable as a Zebra Swallowtail butterfly. Once at Wild Asia, we got to see a puppet show. Then we headed off to the Monorail. Alex was really into seeing the animals this time around. After the tour guide had said that their juvenile rhino was celebrating a birthday that month, Alex even sang "Happy Birthday" to him.

We got some lunch there at Wild Asia, where Alex asked for a giraffe "hoopdey-hoop" straw. Then he did a wonderfully Big Boy thing. He used the public potty with Daddy! Yay! (We promised him a new superhero for that.)

Alex loved seeing Jungle World again, even though he had to be reminded that he loves their pond-like aquarium with its lower-than-water level seating. (Lots of "dark" to get through to get there.) He did want to leave and only the promise of seeing tigers did the trick.


After a walk that was longer than Alex would have liked, we got to see no fewer than SIX tiger cubs of different species frolicking and wrestling in their exhibits. Alex growled like tigers do and pretended that he was a tiger cub.

More to see on our way to the store, where we promised Alex a souvenir. He preferred his ride on the Bug Carousel and the giant Halloween cupcake in the cafe. We wound up staying at the zoo until closing.

In order to keep our promise of getting his superhero, we actually went to the Galleria in White Plains taking the buses all the way there. We couldn't find what we were looking for, but a very sleepy Alex just didn't care at that point. Since he already found Iron Man, Batman and Superman at the zoo that day, I guess he figured he'd see Captain America some other day.

Yawn...Bye Zoo! See you next time!

Saturday, October 16, 2010

A New Fixture in Mama's Kitchen

Alex learned how to open all of the baby gates earlier this month. Since then, it's been a challenge to keep him out of trouble, to say the least. It seems that the kitchen is quickly becoming his favorite room.

Today, while I prepared dinner, Alex came into the kitchen and asked for a snack. I had some sliced almonds on hand, so I offered them, since dinner was a little late. Alex sat right down on the floor and enjoyed his little snack.

I asked him what he was doing and he said 'I like being in the kitchen with you.' He's also been given to coming in there while I'm washing the breakfast dishes and sitting right next to where I'm standing, leaning against my legs.

'So you like being in Mama's Kitchen?' I asked during one of these snuggle visits. 'Yeah', he giggled, 'I love you.'

Thursday, October 14, 2010

A Detailed Reckoning

During a phone call to wish Grandma McCann a happy birthday, Alex gave a fairly detailed account of his busy day. I overheard;

'It's your birthday today!'
'I'm 3 years old.'
'I went to CVS, but I wanted to go to Magone's. It was on my way.'
'I had chocolate milk, but it has too much sugar. Regular milk doesn't have sugar.'
'I can't see the CVS, because it's too far away. And I watched 'Dinosaur Train' on PBS.'

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Enjoying the Colors

It's neat to see that Alex is now noticing the colors of fall. Thanks to Moose and Zee of Nick.Jr, Alex learned all about the season. 'I feel like I'm falling for Fall...', we like to sing. We've even made a nice placemat with a Moose and Zee frame, filled in with a whole bunch of colored leaves that we collected when they first started to turn.

On our walk to Stompers class today, Alex said 'Oooooh. Look at the trees, Mama! They're orange now!' He'd never seemed to notice before.

On our way home from class, which Alex never likes, we stopped in CVS and bought some Play Dough along with some needed supplies. We took a long walk home along Harrison Avenue and West Street to spy all of the leaves. Earlier that week, Alex asked me when he could jump into a pile of leaves. It had rained recently at that point, so I told him he had to wait for the piles to be a little drier. Today was the day they were a little drier, so I encouraged him to do little crunch-by's in the leaves on the curbside grass and other areas in which he wouldn't scatter them back onto someone's lawn or sidewalk.

What a cool, colorful, crunchy fall day.

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Keepin' in Touch

Alex is learning that if he messes his pants - as he did today - he loses computer privileges. He can even say 'privileges' by now. Tonight, he tried to get onto the computer, hoping that his privileges had been magically restored. I reminded him that it wasn't the case.

'But I have to get my mail.' he argued.

Apparently Mommy, then Daddy has sent him email.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

That Spooky Spirit

I think the concept of Halloween has kicked in for Alex. This afternoon, we traveled to Mangone's with Daddy to pick out a large pumpkin for carving. Their yard looked great, decorated with many of the yard decor they have for sale including a giant, inflatable haunted house. When we were last there a few days ago, I couldn't get Alex out of the house. Now, they had a cauldron stirring witch next to it and he wasn't so sure about it any longer.

He loved all of the other decorations though. The ghosts, the scarecrows, the gourds, the pumpkins. He was thrilled to have helped pick out our pumpkins. He even agreed to pose with some of their photo props, like a pumpkin truck and old fashioned farm pick up.

He wasn't too thrilled when it was time to leave, but poor Daddy was going to have quite a hike ahead of him carrying this large pumpkin. We had to bribe him out of there with a promise of stopping at CVS and a carving of the new pumpkin.

Carving the pumkins turned out to be a lot more difficult than we expected. There was pumpkin goo and pumpkin seeds and thick shells and tricky pictures to trace. Alex was thrilled though!

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Take a Hike, Take a Hike!

We started Mommy and Me nature classes again! Alex was thrilled to get back to the Rye Nature Center and see the pond and acorns and, yes, the Rye City water pipes that run through it.

This time around, Alex wasn't as slow to join in with the class. He wanted to see the animals and sit down with everyone else. He objected to the hike at first, but then he learned it was going to the pond and the dock. Then he didn't want to return to the Nature Center.

After our class, it was time for a nice afternoon in Rye. There was lunch at Poppy's Cafe, at which Alex insisted on sitting at the counter for his french fries and bananas. There was the struggle to get to the toy store and the shoe store, both of which were averted by bribes to go to a new favorite place; The Country Store. Apparently Alex remembered their yummy sugar cookies from the summer and wished to get in on that action again.

Then there was the visit to the Dress Up museum and the library where Alex treated ME to a story instead of the other way around. And now Alex knows that he can play on the computers, though he doesn't stay on the children's station for very long.

Yay Fridays in Rye!

Friday, October 8, 2010

Negotiator

Alex was unusually naughty today. It started with his refusal to get out of the house to ride his tricycle. His new tricycle! Nope! He wasn't budging without the 'beam' attachment to his Crimson Dynamo action figure. After a fruitless hour of my trying to get him sneakered and jacketed up so that we could go, I decided that the time had passed. Now, I had to get to the drugstore. That set off a howling fit that is, thankfully, a rare sight around here.

He wouldn't go to the store. He wouldn't get his jacket on. When I told him that his temper tantrum required a time out, he refused! He never refuses time outs. Then I told him that he'd lost his computer privleges for the evening. More tantrum. So, then he earned the most dreaded punishment of all - an upside down smiley face sticker on his chart. Oh, the horror and howling that brought on!

I couldn't get him to calm down enough to explain the ground rules, so I told him to go to his room to calm down. He refused. So, I got up and placed the upside-down smiley face sticker on his weekly chart. He was so angry and upset about that, he marched into his room and peeled it off. Now, he was definitely getting a time out, but I didn't really desire to do it while he was in this state. I laid down on the couch and, for a change, watched some of my true crime shows.


After a while, a no longer howling Alex was heard dragging his little rocking chair from his room and across the dining room. I watched as he acted with such determination to maneuver the chair around the bench in the living room and through a narrow passage behind the computer chair to a spot right next to the couch. He faced the chair towards my head at the place where I was lying and sat down, facing me, hands on his knees.

"Mama, we have to talk", he informed me.

"OK, Baby. What is it that you want to say?" I sat up a little and looked at him.

"Mama, when you feel angry, you have to remember to take a deep breath." At this, he demonstrated a deep breath. "And calm down," he continued.


I told him that he was right and that I should get a handle on myself when I get angry, but that he had to as well - and he still had a time out coming.

"Mama!" he insisted, "You're not listening! When you get angry, you have to take a deep breath and calm down."

Apparently, this sage advice was offered in lieu of the time out. No dice, buddy. And thank you, Kai Lan, for teaching us a valuable lesson about taking a step back from a sticky situation.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

A Hard Knock Life

Today after his class at Tumbles, Alex wished to get a pumpkin. We strolled to Magone's and found a nicely shaped medium pumpkin. We also found a pumpkin carving kit in CVS. Later that afternoon, following his nap, Alex wanted to carve the pumpkin. Unfortunately, he was too wound up about Nick Jr. Boost to pay much attention. I told him that we'd do pumpkin carving on another day.

Later that evening, Alex had to eat his dinner in order to play on Boost some more. In the meantime, I sat down at the computer to do my homework. Alex asked if he could get on Boost and I explained that if he didn't finish his dinner, he'd get no computer privileges for the rest of the night.

'No pumpkin carving AND no Boost today!?!?!' he exclaimed.

Poor kid.

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Everybody Needs a Red Tricycle

Alex earned another big prize from his Big Boy Boot Camp accomplishments: a shiny new red tricycle, even with the 'hair' on it (handlebar fringe). Dan had taken Alex to look at tricycles some months ago. Alex selected the very sturdy and very attractive Schwinn Roadster. We tried to find it at the store again last weekend to no avail, so we had to order it online. It arrived on Friday and we assembled it this morning. Alex wanted to take it out for a spin NOW!

And we were all too happy to go with him.

He was besides himself with joy about his new tricycle, even though it proved to be harder for him to do than he originally thought it would. But he practiced and practiced while we pushed him or pulled him by the handlebars. By the end of the day, he was able to pedal himself a few feet.

That didn't stop him from thoroughly enjoying pointing out his new trike to everyone who passed. He wanted to take it through the sidewalks and past the school. I can only assume that he wanted to show the big boys who are often there with bicycles just how big HE was getting too.

After a wonderful afternoon of practicing in the park, we decided to go for ice cream to celebrate. While in Applebee's, Alex was not happy one bit that we had to leave his tricycle parked in an area in which he couldn't see it. "Someone will take it!" he cried. We assured him that we could clearly see if someone went up to the trike. No sharing rule was in effect for the ice cream, of course, but he let up on it. Apparently he was appreciating the trike we gave him.

He'd told us yesterday while walking towards the train station "I love you both". I guess he was feeling all sorts of warm and fuzzy towards us again today.

We had to make a stop at CVS for a few things before we headed home. Unfortunately, Alex wanted to ride his tricycle all the way home from the lower school (Warren). It won't be so bad when he knows how to ride it. It's the having to bend over to reach a 21" tryke to pull or push it all the way home that hurts.

No matter, Alex tried and tried to pedal himself. He'll get there. We're sure of it.

Congrats on your new ride, Baby!

Sunday, October 3, 2010

The Quiet Schooner

Today was the day of our Pioneer sail. Alex had earned the sail as a prize for accomplishments in Big Boy Boot Camp. He choose the Pioneer over the tugboat cruise they also have. Apparently Alex doesn't much care for boat engines. The Pioneer is an 1885 schooner that has been retro-fitted with a small engine to get it out into the harbor and back to the pier, but granted, it would sound nothing like a tug's giant engines. I think Alex made the right choice.

It took the first half of the 2-hour sail for Alex to feel comfortable enough moving around the ship. He was really into watching Daddy help hoist the sails, even though he first objected. ('Don't walk around the ship, Daddy. It's dangerous!') After Daddy helped hoist the second sail, Alex felt a little bit more at ease walking around.

After staring into a cabin porthole for about 20 minutes, he felt a lot more at ease. He even walked up to the First Mate and declared 'I want to help!' They had a hard time locating a small line for him to haul, so we allowed Alex to explore some pretend jobs on the ship.

The sights didn't interest him at all; not even the tugs all over the harbor. He only took a passing interest in the Statue of Liberty. It was all about the boat crew for him - and that he just loved! He was soon parroting the First Mate's commands about the "jib" and the "main peak". He was shouting out commands himself as he "steered" the ship by turning a small wheel on a line peg. He was walking all around the cabin tops (with our sturdy grip), pretending he was hoisting line. This was just a pretend play date come true for him.

Our sail wasn't until 4 PM, so there had been some time spent on the Ambrose before we went sailing. That hadn't been enough of a visit for Alex, so I promised him that we'd be back soon for a Mini-Mates play class at the museum. I also hope to get him to Governor's Island before the ferry there ends this month. He asked ALL about it as we cruised back and forth past its shores. He actually remembered the island from last year's NY 400 festival.
And, yes, the Pioneer proved to be just as quiet as Alex likes his ships to be.

Saturday, October 2

A Summer of Successes

Tomorrow ends the first phase of Big Boy Boot Camp. To be honest, I didn't know there would have to be a second phase. I had no idea just how long potty training goes on. This is not to say that Alex didn't have amazing successes through the previous nine weeks. He did. We just have to extend it for potty skills.

Two months ago, on July 30th, we celebrated Alex's 'graduation' from being a baby. He got through the trauma of being separated from Mommy for a real duration of time in his nursery school summer camp. He started out in tears when we'd leave. We ended the six weeks with his never wanting to leave the playground and his beloved Blue Room.

At the time, Alex was still in diapers 24/7. He was still refusing to sleep in his big boy bed, preferring a bean bag on the floor. He was still demanding a bottle before bed time. He was terrified of sitting on the potty most of the time. His few successes in it had come far between. He didn't care for underwear at all, nor even pull-ups. Dressing himself confounded him. He had to be literally forced to pick up toys, with my holding his hand over the toy and grasping it for him to put it away.

Today, he knows where every toy goes and he gleefully puts it away, to show how well he can clean his room. He's thrilled to put on his own socks and pull up his own pants. He thinks it's fun to put on a shirt. He hates the thought of daytime diapers now and refuses pull-ups for a different reason. The bottle is a distant memory as is the bean bag. It seems he can't even remember not having his beloved Superhero comforter and sheets.

For success in Big Boy Boot Camp categories, the big prizes from which he had to choose were; a tricycle; a sail on the Pioneer at the Seaport Museum; a big fire engine from Playland and a sail on the W.O. Decker at the Seaport Museum.

For conquering the bottle nearly immediately, he won his big toy from Playland; a school bus that he preferred instead. This left his success in his big boy bed and his moderate scuccess in potty. We promised that if he left daytime diapers and learned how to use the potty regularly, he'd win a big prize. He's accomplished at least that much.

Now, he wants more and more lessons. Clean up assignments. Academic lessons. More challenges on dressing himself. The next potty step is for him to use it without fail and to use a public toilet. He says he's eager to learn. He knows that he does not want diapers any longer.

So, Alex has won his tricycle and at least one sail on a historic ship. We ordered his tricycle this Monday. Between the two sails, he surprisingly chose the 1885 schooner, the Pioneer after a summer of talking up the 1930 tug, the W.O. Decker.

"The W. Decker is too noisy", he says. He wants the schooner for its quiet sailing.

Mommy has put up his new Big Boy Boot Camp chart for the next 8 weeks. New categories. New challenges. New prizes to be selected.

Congratulations baby. You did it.

October 1, 2010