Bowl-A-Rama

With Daddy and Noah in Columbus today, Ben and I had a chance to do some not-so-fun-with-a-1-year-old activities. First, Ben started a week-long camp at school, which he absolutely loved. He met a lot of new friends, and (you may not know this) in the world of 3 and 4-year-olds, who can pick up whom (and I mean literally lift off the ground) is a matter of serious bragging rights and elite social status. We got reports all last school year about who could pick Ben up and whom he could lift. Well, today, the most exciting part of camp was that "there was a girl there who could pick me up ... AND WALK!!!" For him, it was a great first day.

After camp, he and I went home to bake oatmeal cookies, which he's been dying to do since seeing it done on Sesame Street. Then we headed to the bowling alley for Ben's first foray into the game. He was intrigued by it all -- the shoes, the noises, the rows and rows of alleys. So funny to see things through a 4-year-old's lens. It was beyond cute to watch him barely be able to lift the 6-pound ball, waddle up to the line with it, crouch down, and send it off with as much gusto as he could muster ...

The crouch was key.The ball rolled in unbelievably sloooooow motion down the entire alley, taking FOREVER to get to the end, and once even completely stopping midway. Just when I thought it was going to be the longest game in the history of bowling ...
We devised a new method - the ramp. Like a walker for bowling! Gotta love it. Once we found this, in combination with the gutter bumpers, kid had mad skillz.

Fun-filled 4th Weekend

On Friday, Jess took the day off and we headed down to Centennial Olympic Park to play in the Fountain of Rings. I'm not sure we've ever seen Noah laugh as much as he did running through those fountains. Summer at its best ...

This went on for about an hour. So fun!

Ben, with goggles, was not quite as adventurous, but he had a blast too.

The next day, the 4th, we played at the pool all morning and spent the afternoon and evening in downtown Decatur. There's a sweet little Pied Piper Parade that we take Ben, and now Noah, to every year. You wouldn't know it by these faces, but the boys were actually really excited for the parade to start.

Waiting for candy to be tossed their way.

After the parade, we staked out a spot on the lawn to wait for the fireworks. We had a picnic dinner and listened to the concert on the square.

The boys had fun hanging out with Uncle Joseph while we waited (and waited and waited) for darkness to fall.

We also met up with our friends Chad and Leah and their 4 beautiful girls.

Ben and Mary Catherine danced and danced,

and Noah and Sarah Frances giggled and giggled.

Noah tried to hang in there for the fireworks to start, but he grew increasingly weary. This was the first year we kept the boys up and we weren't sure what their reaction would be ...

Ben's face lit up - he absolutely loved them!Noah was intrigued at first, but then fatigue took over and he had had enough. A very happy 4th it was, though.

The next day, my birthday, was a great cap-off to the holiday weekend with some pampering and lots of time spent with my favorite guys. Nothing sweeter in the world.

B in the Big Apple

We decided (at midnight before our 8:20 am flight), due to circumstances beyond our control, to take Ben with us to NYC. While this was supposed to be our first trip away without kids, it turned out to be a fabulous vacation anyway - Ben LOVED the city, we saw a ton, and Jess and I got to do almost everything we had planned, including seeing "Wicked," which was, by the way, completely wicked (thank you, Christy, for giving up your Friday night on such short notice to watch Ben)! Leaving Atlanta.
"Happy Feet" in the air.

Chillin' at the hotel before heading out to see the sights.
Ben's first meal in the city - a NYC bagel as big as his head!

American Museum of Natural History.

You've gotta love Ben's natural smile in all these pictures.

Daddy and B in Times Square.

Radio City Music Hall (and one of MANY city fountains Ben had the pleasure of tossing pennies into).

Rockefeller Plaza.

Early morning subway ride.

On the ferry to the Statue of Liberty ... can you feel the boat rocking?

Ben is dwarfed by Lady Liberty. Feeling good on Liberty Island, but ...

the ferry ride back to Battery Park put him under. Our happy boy had turned green and he passed out as soon as we got off the ferry. After about a half hour, we got into a taxi and the poor kid exploded all over. The cab driver just handed us a roll of paper towels and kept on his way.

After a short rest in the hotel (and the purchase of an umbrella stroller), we were back out to walk some NYC neighborhoods.

Bryant Park.

NY Public Library - Ben HAD to see the "handsome library lions" that we had read about in his NYC book.

Playing in Central Park.

We had an awesome view of the Hudson from our room.

The next morning we got on a double-decker bus to see some more of the city. Ben was a great tour guide.

Empire State Building.

Chrysler Building.

Flatiron Building.

Waldorf-Astoria.

Then we headed to Citi Field.

No, we didn't buy him a Mets hat - they gave them out at the game.

On our final morning, we took the uptown loop on the double-decker bus. This was in Harlem.

We got off the bus near Central Park and took a horse-and-carriage ride.

Hot chocolate break at Dean & DeLuca.

Then we window shopped down Fifth Avenue all the way to The Village and Madison Square Park, where Ben played until we had to head back to LaGuardia.

So, it wasn't in the cards for Jess and I to get away this time, but we had such a fabulous time with Ben. Planes, trains, taxis, buses, boats, and miles upon miles of walking - he was a trooper through all of it, our little jet-setter. And thank you, Booma and Papa, for staying with Noah!