Quotes of the day

Drew: "[Pointing] Thees is Dada. Thees is Mama. Basketball hoop."

Dad: "Are you introducing us to the basketball hoop?"

***

Mom: "Okay, Simon, time to get in the bath."

Drew: "Simon, get in bath please?"

Wonder why this tune is stuck in my head

I like the Lumineers song "Ho Hey." Though slightly less after the boy got ahold of my phone and managed to:

1. Play the song. 

2. Put it on repeat. 

3. Disable the phone for 15 minutes. 

Needless to say, he loves that song: "Hey Ho," more "Hey Ho." You got it, buddy. 

I know I could have simply turned the phone off, but I was fixing lunch, we were late for nap time and I didn't want to rock the boat. 

At least he hasn't figured out how to make a call "para emergencia."  Yet.

36

Happy birthday to me. I do not consider 36 old by any means, but it does feel strange to hit another year. The numbers keep getting bigger, yet inside I feel like that naive 20-something just trying to get by and figure things out. Maybe it's because most of my friends here in the D.C. area are younger, but it's weird to think about 36. I guess I thought I would feel older.

I love my birthday, but I also realize I'm an adult who doesn't need the world to stop and celebrate. Mostly I'm hoping for a good nap, good food and a happy toddler. And maybe not having to change a poopy diaper.

This morning the boy and I went to a fun yoga class, and then at lunch I dunked my phone in milk, which means it's not working. A mixed bag so far. Sigh.

Taken a few months ago. I believe he's helping me blow a kiss.

Like mother, like son

Well, it had to happen some day, and that day was this past Thursday. We both slept in and had 20 minutes to get out of the house for music class. I threw on something warm and comfortable, then rushed into the nursery, woke up the boy and quickly changed him out of his diaper and pajamas. It wasn't until we were in class that someone pointed out: "Hey, you two are dressed the same!"

Yep, red sweater, gray pants. You just knew it was going to be with red, right?

Evidence.

Even the collars are similar.

He didn't seem to mind.

TV TONIGHT

Uncle Rico is in town, so we rewatched "The League" from last night which he hadn't seen. Also caught up on the last two "Daily Shows."

Last night: "Parks and Recreation" (with Joe Biden cameo; have rewatched that scene twice), "30 Rock" and "The League."

Toddler milestone: swiping

The boy learned to do this a couple of weeks ago, but I witnessed it for the first time today: He can swipe to unlock an iPhone or iPad. I am simultaneously proud and ashamed.

Here comes the defensiveness: It's not like we give him our devices to play with all the time. I try to keep those instances rare. But sometimes the little thief pinches my phone from my pocket. Sometimes I decide it's not worth the begging and tears if I take it away. So yes, at 17 months he can unlock a phone. It's pretty freaking cute.

Beyond that there's a lot of pushing of the home button, so he limits the trouble he can cause. So far no stray e-mails, texts or calls. He has rearranged and deleted some apps. That is less cute.

So obviously I have failed in my quest to blog every day this month. Three nights ago I took a three-hour night nap that killed any resolve I had. Two nights ago I was just tired. Last night I was just lazy. Honestly, I haven't been happy with some of the posts, and I had hit my limit on posting half-formed thoughts.

The Oatmeal puts it better and funnier than I could in his latest comic, about making things and writing things for the Web, particularly his panels on what it would be like to post on his site every day.

Just loverly

Manna Nichols and Benedict Campbell as Eliza Doolittle and Henry Higgins.

I had a toddler-free afternoon today, and I gotta say: It was glorious. I went with my friend Kendra to see one of my all-time favorite musicals, "My Fair Lady," at Arena Stage.

I have lots of great memories of watching the movie with my dad as a kid. We each had our "own" song: Mine was "I Could Have Danced All Night," and his was "The Street Where You Live." I suppose these actors' renditions were better than ours.

The dialogue was almost exactly the same as the movie, but the costumes and staging were unexpected and a real treat. A bonus: The actress playing Eliza Doolittle is half-Chinese!

Special thanks to my friend Jenny for suggesting the show (really sorry she couldn't make it), and to Neil for watching the boy.

TV TONIGHT

Saturday is a wasteland. Caught up on an old "Daily Show" and "Colbert Report." 

First museum

Learning about ballast.

The boy and I joined a friend and her son for an outing to the Air & Space museum today. It was terrific! This was a big deal for me, as I'm usually too chicken to go any farther than the local playgrounds. And it wasn't hard! The little guy was in good spirits the whole time, even though we stayed out past his nap time. Hopefully this will give me the courage to do more than the usual activities with the boy.

We caught a planetarium show (starring Big Bird and Elmo), played with toy planes and wandered. I feel bad that I didn't really absorb any of the exhibits or learn anything, but I suppose that wasn't the point of the visit. Where shall our next adventure be?

The only photo I got with an actual plane in it. 

TV TONIGHT

"The League" and "The Office" from last night, then a rewatch of "Parks and Recreation" because I love it so. Had the IU men's basketball season opener on in the background while catching up on stuff on the laptop. Hard to believe the team is the preseason No. 1. Between that and Obama being reelected, that's way more good news for my teams than I'm used to processing.