Our First Rock Concert

August 2: Today we went to our first Kiddie Rock Concert. It was at the Prospect Park Bandshell as part of Celebrate Brooklyn. After a pretty crazy morning of rain (luckily Grandpa was here to play with trains and trucks!), we took the bus to Prospect Park and then danced and clapped our way through Father Goose and the Sippy Cups. It was a beautiful afternoon, and we had so much fun! Of course, we worked up quite an appetite, so decided to stop for some Thai food on the way home. Gabe is really getting good at using chopsticks!

Cyclones: Take 2

July 26: Today we tried to see the Cyclones again, and this time we brought some additional fans. Unfortunately the weather just didn't cooperate. At least we got a Nathan's hot dog before we had to head home. It was still a great visit with Suzki and Pops, with a visit to the dinosaurs and animals at the American Museum of Natural History and some ice cream! Plus, Gabe loved seeing Uncle Seth and Aunt Linnea.

Wet Weekend

July 19-20: It was REALLY hot in NYC this weekend, so we decided to do as many water-related events as possible! On Saturday, we headed to the Red Hook public pool. Despite some problems opening the pool in the first place (that great city-government bureaucracy), it was amazing. Huge, clean, and SO cool and refreshing. We all loved it. Plus, we got to hang with our friends Harper, Shannon and Aaron, which is always fun. In the afternoon we headed to Ruby, Steph and Brad's for a BBQ. Of course, the kids jumped and splashed in the kiddie pool while the rest of us enjoyed some burgers and hot dogs in the shade (and who could forget that blueberry pie? YUM!). Sunday we headed to some of our favorite local sprinklers, and Gabe loved running in and out of the water at Chapin Park. We ended the day with a uniquely (we think) NYC event: playing in the fire hydrant water! Someone opened one of the hydrants on Montague and it was really fun. We ran into Ruby there, and she showed Gabe the ropes. As you can (sort of) see here, he loved it. If you can't hear, that's him saying "I'm getting SO wet!"

That Silly Pigeon

July 18: Gabe has always loved reading and his books, but he's finally become more interested in books with regular old paper pages; no more board books for this "big boy." One of his favorites is now the great series by Mo Willems about a pigeon. He especially loves Don't Let the Pigeon Ride the Bus. It's a great fun book, and it's particularly funny to hear Gabe's pigeon voice.

Car Carrier!

July 14: Suzki stopped by on her way home from Massachusetts, and lucky Gabe (well, all of us of course)! She got him a new car carrier that he just loves. He especially likes taking the front off so that she'll put it back together for him!

Gabe's First Game!

July 12: This afternoon we took advantage of the beautiful day to head to Coney Island for Gabe's first baseball game. We decided to start small with a Cyclones game, and we weren't disappointed! We got great seats, right behind home plate (and much to Dad's relief, behind the netting). Plus, who doesn't love Nathan's hot dogs and fries? Gabe also really loved Sandy the Seagull, the Cyclones mascot. Well, he liked him an awful lot from far away (that's who he's waving at), but not as much when dad brought him up close to say hello. Maybe next time?

Pop

July 12: We took Gabe out to the Pop Up Park in Brooklyn today, and he wanted to wear his hat and glasses.

Have Front Loader, Will Travel

July 6: When we got home from the Hamptons, Gabe decided to play with one of his new trucks. He really loves filling the shovel with all sorts of things and rolling it around our apartment. Oh, and check out our new floors!

The Hamptons

July 4-6: This weekend we celebrated in the Hamptons with our our friends Kristin, TJ, Brendan and Molly. We also got to meet some new friends! Gabe had so much fun playing in the pool with mom and dad, going out for lunch in Southampton, and just playing around. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great, but we made the most of it!

Mighty T-Rex

July 2: Today Gabe got a great treat from his Grandpa -- a T-Rex puppet. He loved dad's little show, and then decided he would also be a T-Rex. He's pretty scary, right?

New Trains

June 28: Today we went to the new Brooklyn Ikea. We loved it! There is a bus that goes right from our neighborhood there, and that was Gabe's favorite part. Mom and dad liked all the cool stuff. Gabe really made out on this trip, with a new stool AND this fabulous train set. He loves it so much he feels like he should wear his crown when he plays with it. OK.

Field Trip

June 25: Today Gabe went on his very first field trip with his class at school. And mom came along as a chaperone. We had a great time. We took the bus from our neighborhood to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens where we played with some plants, looked at the fish and turtles in the Japanese Garden, and looked at all kinds of different lily pads. Then it was back on the bus and back to school in time for nap. All in all, a huge success!

Make a Wish

June 22: After a yummy breakfast at the Pancake House, one of our favorite spots when we go visit Grammy and Grandpa, Aunt Emily taught Gabe how to make a wish by throwing money into a fountain. He didn't really get the wish part, but he sure loved throwing Aunt Emily's money away.

Vanilla

June 21: After a long day of playing and visiting, we needed some ice cream. YUM.

To the Playground.

June 21: After a really fun lunch with Grammy, Aunt Emily and GG, it was nap time. After that, we headed to a playground near Grandpa's house with Aunt Emily and Grandpa. It was really fun. They had a great slide, and a swing. But Gabe's favorite part was the all terrain vehicle he got to ride. If mom has anything to do with it, this will be the fastest one he ever gets on!

Trucks with GG!

June 21: Today we got to visit GG in Maryland. It was so great to see her! Gabe brought some of his favorite trucks, and he let her play with them, which some of you know is a REALLY big deal.

Legends of the Fall

June 17: Today Gabe took a bit of a header at school. He's fine, and assures us that it looks way worse than it actually felt. We think he got too excited about finally being the line leader when the class went outside today!

Happy Father's Day!

June 15: Today was father's day, and we had a really fun day. First we woke up and dad and Gabe played together a little. Then we all went out for breakfast at our favorite place: the Park Plaza Diner. Gabe had french toast AND pancakes - two of his favorites. Then we headed to Cadman Plaza Park for a few minutes and ran into our friends Jeff, Amy and Henry. Gabe and Henry played a little soccer and then we all went to see the cool Ikea "box" at the end of the park.

Then we got on the bus for a ride, and hopped right off when we saw a street fair on 7th Ave. in Park Slope. And boy was it a fun street fair. Block and blocks of displays, and we hit all of them. Gabe and dad liked the Brooklyn Nets' basketball hoop. Gabe made his shot so we all got t-shirts! Unfortunately, we got caught in some of the rain that plagued the day, but we made it home in time for a nap. Then it was off to the Promenade and the playground, followed by a delicious dinner at Noodle Pudding. All in all it was a great day!

Oh, and Gabe wasn't in any trouble with the Police. Quite the contrary: He was really excited that they let him sit in their tow truck!

Brendan's Dance Party

June 8: Happy Birthday Brendan! Today we braved the unbelievable heat to celebrate the 3rd birthday of one of our all-time favorite people: Brendan Connelly. It was a fun party with some dancing. Gabe particularly loved the trampoline and also really got into using his legs to open the pretend oven (where we were baking the pretend cake. Duh). And, of course, there was lots of time for pizza and cupcakes! yum!

Dave

June 7: Today Dave came to visit. We had a great time hanging out, and since Gabe is growing so fast, it was lucky he brought money with him... that's right, a new G$ shirt for our very own G$! Phew. Gabe decided he couldn't wait until after his nap to change into it either. We're talking immediate shirt off. By himself, of course.