Cold Spaghetti

Will loves our neighborhood park and especially loves the slides. Sliding on his belly, he flies down the slides so quickly that he often lands on all fours on the asphalt at the bottom. He LOVES it.

We’ve recently lost the camera lens cap, so we haven’t been taking the camera to the park. What a pity! Paul said that today on the slide, Will’s hair caught the static electricity from the slide and caused his super-baby fine red hair to stand on end, much to the amusement to Paul and the other parents and kids in the park. THAT would have been a great photographic moment!

Will loves his peas! Valentine’s Day 2005

Will laughing and cheering at dinner… hooray for Will!

1. Decide what food preference is for the day. While anything is game, current preferences should definitely be different than yesterday’s.

2. Choose one food (for example, peas). Put as many as you can in your mouth, chewing steadily, but don’t swallow. Watch Mommy and Daddy get very excited and put more in front of you. Continue to fill your mouth.

3. If something else more interesting should be placed on your high chair while you are filling your mouth, feel free to spit out what you are chewing and fill your mouth with the other food.

4. Just as they are convinced you are eating, stick out your tongue and allow all your chewed food to fall into your lap. For the smaller pieces that don’t fall out, make raspberries with your lips to spray them across the room.

5. Watch as Mommy and Daddy put another food in front of you, for example bananas. Eat two pieces of banana. Then take the third and press it on your head. Be sure to smear it through your hair. Then lick the rest of the smashed banana off your hand. Try this method on your plate. For the rest of the meal, everything should be smashed.

6. Open your mouth as Mommy gives you pieces of peach. Make her happy by eating a few pieces. When she puts one in front of you, be sure to smear the juice all over your highchair with your hand. Remember to smash!

7. Try to stand up in the high chair. Clearing your highchair of all food will help you. Clear it well, getting all remaining pieces of food on the floor. Extra points if you can hit a cat.

8. Make grand gestures to show that you want exactly what Mommy and Daddy are eating. Then push it away with gusto when they attempt to share. Extra points if you can get them to give you their food, and then throw it on the floor.

9. Drink some of your milk. Shake it up until the flow regulator falls out of the top. Then pour milk from the spout on to your high chair. Try to soak your sleeves with milk. Then toss your milk at the cats.

10. Wait for Daddy to share his pudding with you. Eat up all of this neatly, it’s the good stuff.

Here are our photos from the weekend, playing with Will and hanging out with Niki!

http://www.ofoto.com/I.jsp?c=8wsl6ap.1lyyedud&x=1&y=-b3an1g

Will helps Aunt Niki figure out how to work her camera! February 13, 2005 

Niki Wolf was in town judging a dance competition this weekend and was able to spend Saturday and Sunday evenings with us! I made my Mom’s famous ziti for Saturday dinner and then we went into the Quarter to the Jackson Square Cafe du Monde for beignets and hot chickory coffee. Sunday, we played with Will during the afternoon rain, then walked to the local Taqueria for dinner (where our super nanny, Margarita, works in the afternoon) and then played with Will some more! Niki and I bonded over the latest episode of “Desperate Housewives” before driving her back to her hotel. We had a GREAT visit and hope to see her and Jeff in New York sometime soon!!

Mommy’s dear friend, Nikol Wolf, was in town for the weekend! Will had JUST woken up for a nap when we snapped this picture! 

Me: “Will,” (showing him the cow puzzle piece), “what does the cow say?”

Will: “Moooooooo!”

Me: “That’s right! Cows go ‘Mooo!’ Will,” (now showing the sheep puzzle piece), “what does the sheep say?”

Will: “Baaaaaaa!”

And if that weren’t enough, we can have the same conversation in spanish.

My mom-in-law sent a Valentine’s package to us — including Will’s first crayons and drawing pads! Will and I instantly opened them and went to work. We made our first drawing together! Granted, Will’s primary interest was in taking the crayons in and out of the package (and shaking the package to hear the crayons inside) but he hooted away contently while I showed him each color (“This is GREEN… frogs are green, grass is green, lettuce is green…”) and then gave it to him to press to the paper. Without guidance beyond me giving him the crayon, he made some decent spots and streaks of color on the paper — and had clear preference for purple and orange as the crayon colors of choice.