Still amateurs

Parenthood has increased the number of trips we make to Target. By a lot, actually. When Evan was just born we were there once a week, and even now we're there a few times a month. During these trips we noticed that the more seasoned parents adorn their carseats with toys - colorful toys, toys that make noises, toys that entertain while weaving about the store. We have therefore added toys to Evan's carseat as well. This makes us feel like semi-professionals, or at least very good amateurs. Here's Evan looking past the toys while we walk to our neighborhood cafe.


We've also been able to get a few pictures of Evan smiling. He smiles all the time now and even laughs on occasion, but these moments are quick and difficult to capture with the camera. In this one Evan is happy to see Jeff home from the office.

True professional child rearers (e.g., our friends who have older kids) have told us of a number of things to do with babies. Evan and I still take lots and lots of walks (that kid can probably navigate downtown by himself by now), but we have added a few more things to our list of options.

Mommy Matinee
These are at the Kennedy School theater Tuesday through Thursday at 1 PM. The seating here is couches with side tables in between, plus they serve food during the show. Patrons at 1 PM typically come with a child, so no big deal if he of she were to cry during the movie since everyone's in the same boat. Evan sits on my lap watching the movie, just like the big kids.

Tennis
You can bring the kids while you play tennis! Here's Evan and Apollo at the Westmoreland courts, too tired to watch us miss the ball (is there a hole in my racket?). In a few years Evan can be the ball boy.



Farmer's Market
Evan likes going to the Farmer's Market, probably because there are a lot of trees for him to watch. These pictures are from the market in the south Park blocks. I used to go to this one while I was in school, back when it was just a few stalls and I needed a break from building circuits. I went primarily for the cheese stand. Even on my meager research assistant earnings my senior year, I made sure $14 for a pound of pecorino was in my budget. Now the market has become both trendy and large, and has even more cheese. This particular week we went with Rachel and listened to musicians while we had lunch.



Shopping
In the last few weeks we've come across a number of nice children's boutiques. Little Urbanites is full of fun unique things you won't find at other stores. Many thanks to Dennis and Alexandra for helping us find this place! Posh Baby has a lot of the basics; wish we would have found this one earlier. We have most of the stuff they carry, including the Aden + Anais muslin blankets Evan loves (thanks Pam and Stu). Kids at Heart Toys carries high quality educational toys and games, plus they have books in the back.

These stores and various activities are full of parents who really know what they're doing (and not coincidentally usually have more than one child). We're still new at this, but we're getting better. For example, we can now distinguish between cries for food, sleep, attention, etc. We recognize that Evan's ability to sleep through the night, usually around 11 hours non-stop, is because we have a kid who likes to sleep rather than a kid who has veteran parents. So we're still amateurs, but at least we're having fun.