Sarabeth's with the Millers

What a day. Last night, we let Brandon cry back to sleep. He cried for 58 minutes and then fell asleep on a pile of his stuffed animals he pulled down off the side of the crib. It was so sad and sweet at the same time. Anyway, I am not sure if that caused him to have a hard time with naps today but it wasn't his best nap performance. Finally, at the end of the day both of us needed some fresh air. We headed to the playground to play until dad arrived. It was so fun to see him CRAWL everywhere. He got so dirty but he seemed happy to be on his own. He followed after big kids, tried to convince them to play with him. He followed after other people's balls. He sprayed himself in the water fountain. We had fun "dribbling" with the ball. Not soccer but basketball style this time. He stood there with the ball and rolled it in his hands until it dropped to the ground. Then I would quickly grab it and bounce and dribble it back into his hands. He loved that. When dad showed up he was very excited to see him.

We met up with the Millers at Sarabeth's - by the end of the night, Brandon was exhausted!

Jim, Carol, Hannah and Ali Miller. Emily Miller and Jilleen Moore.

Children's Museum

We headed to the Children Museum on 83rd St. Brandon LOVED it, although you wouldn't know that from the first picture we took. When we first got to the Dora floor, we put him on the floor next to Dora and Diego and he seemed excited. But when we actually looked at his face, he was crying and looked scared. But, by the time we got to the next room, all was well. It was great because there were areas dedicated to babies Brandon's age. The Dora floor ended up being a fun floor with fun things to touch and explore. The 4th floor had a crawling space that had him moving for over an hour with fun discovery stations that he had to do something to make something work. For example, if you place your hand on the silver hand, the air would start blowing and make styrofoam float up. We had a wonderful time watching him discover all that he can do. There is also an outside water play area.

On the way to the museum, we stopped at Jacques Torres to pick up one of their famous chocolate chip cookies. Good stuff, though still doesn't beat our favorite Levain ones. Brandon loved the chandelier in the chocolate store and the employees were so nice to Brandon!

The Dora Floor

Dad gave Brandon a hand around the museum

The Discovery Floor!

Independent was the word of the day!

Figuring out how things work...

The long tunnel was pretty dark - he didn't like it about half way thru - but he made it.

Outside in the water area. They had some crazy wind vanes that Brandon loved...esp the lady bug one. (like his 10 little ladybugs book)

A Salt and Battery

We met Ryan in Greenwich where we ate at A Salt and Battery - a British fish and chips joint. http://www.asaltandbattery.com/ We ate the fish and chips in a little park near there. Brandon ate a whole lot of fish and potato. It was pretty good. I saw it on Bobby Flay's Throwdown. The whole block on one side of the street of Greenwich were British shops. There was a cute clothing store for kids. I found a great shirt that said, "LOCK UP YOUR DAUGHTERS!" Unfortunately, the $40 price tag turned me off.

On the Subway home...

Every time we come in through the double doors into our apartment, Brandon grabs the door knob and smiles. It's so funny.

Next stop...World Cup 2030

Much to his father's delight, Brandon is obsessed with playing ball. And, he's already leaving his dad in the dust as a budding soccer star. When we go to the playground, his favorite thing is to dribble the soccer ball around the playground until Dad's back gives out.
I'm completely biased in saying that it's pretty amazing. He's already got some serious skills at 10 months. Look out Ronaldinho...

Maybe he'll be a future "free runner" instead

"Anywhere you can go, I can go faster!"
Brandon can cruise so fast, it cracks us up. If he can walk along a wall, he will.
If he see's something he wants, he's after it. He's awesome!

Watch out Beyonce...

Recently, Brandon has become quite the dancer. He's always loved music, but he's really starting to groove these days when anything with a beat comes on. He has a toy drum that plays music and when the beat starts, the bum starts shaking. Baby got back!!

Mmm, Veggie Booty!

I gave Brandon veggie booty for the first time yesterday and to my shock, he downed it so fast taking 3 pieces in at a time. He really liked it. Luckily, it has some KALE on it. haha. Speaking of Kale...I never used the kale I bought and so it dried out. He's been eating other iron rich food and taking his vitamins. He is pretty good about taking them in the morning.

I'm innocent!

Ok, maybe I know something about it...

I was just eating, honest!

It was so horrible...they made me do it. Let me tell you about it!

There was a battle - peas and carrots flew - I almost didn't make it!

But I was victorious - battleworn, dirty and ready for my bath...

We went to a new playground yesterday on 70th between Amsterdam and West End. Unluckily for me, my phone fell out of my pocket and hasn't been heard from since. I will have to get everyone's number again but worse of all, it has some pictures of Brandon from day 1 of his life until now. I hate to miss out on those.

I'm so sad that Jack (Wisan), Meg and Jacquie (Killough) aren't here to play ball with me.

Hey, I have an idea...A GREAT IDEA!

Come visit me Jack - come visit me in New York!

I'll be waiting...

The firetrucks always stop in front of this playground. Brandon loves it!

He is so funny. He gives you the cutest looks...and he knows it. That is what makes it so CUTE. He continues to try to be independent. He LOVES balls, he can kick them along. It's awesome. He also flips them in his hands and rolls them away from him, so he can crawl or run after it (with my help, of course).

The last 4 day mornings, he has woken up early, between 6:30 and 7:30 and stays awake for exactly one hour and then falls asleep. I bring him to the bed, he rolls around - or I should say he throws himself around - and then finally after one final flop, he falls back asleep between 1.5-3 hours more.