Feathered and Non-Feathered Friends

Our Bug is difficult to entertain. Okay, maybe that’s not entirely true. Today he played with a 4-pack of toilet paper. And he’d be perfectly happy if you let him loose in an empty warehouse to run and run and run. The problem is that in the city (especially in our miserable snow-packed winter) there are not many spaces available for a Bug to explore. Finding places he enjoys is one of our constant missions.

This is why we’ve been going to the Aquarium. We have a membership. We use it. The Bug enjoys not only the animals, but there’s also–get this!–doors and ramps. He could stay all day.

So when we were given the chance to come to a SeaWorld sponsored event, I was more than happy to sign up. The Bug is a big fan of animals. There was also lunch and that can be more of a challenge. But animals! Free parking! We were on board and I planned to keep my diaper bag at the ready in case we needed an emergency exit.

Nothing can ever be too easy these days. I got myself nice and lost on the way there. This would not happen so often if Boston learned about these things called street signs. They are a wonderful invention that I find quite useful. (Also, Boston, we really need to talk about those potholes on the Riverway. Holy cow, I think you might have killed my car.) I made it, eventually. It’s useful when your destination is right on the Charles. (Also useful: turning the right way.) But after a long trip full of ear-piercing shrieks (seriously, these are horror-movie worthy screams we’re talking about here) I got a surprisingly docile Bug out of the car. We were late, but we were there.

Until today, the Bug has made friends with penguins from afar at the Aquarium.

Today it was time to get up close and personal. The Bug and the penguin surveyed one another.

Ultimately they declared a  truce, though both parties remained a bit suspicious.

(That penguin looks like he’s plotting something, right?)

After that intense encounter our Grammer could not be bothered with anything else.

Aw, poor shunned alligator. (Crocodile? Aack! I don’t know. And we missed the intros cuz we were late. And I am the kind of person who feels guilty for misnaming a reptile. Amphibian? Aack! Wait… Reptile!! Thanks, interwebz.) That reptile, whatever he/she is, looks cute and introspective. Actually, it looks a lot like Graham did, all enticed by the big windows. (You can see the snowy Charles in the background.)

It was exciting and fun and the Bug enjoyed himself highly. But what I enjoyed highly was lunch. Y’all, I have had lunch out with the Bug 2 days in a row. I cannot explain to you what a big deal this is. He sat. He ate. He smiled at people. He was like a normal baby and I got to relax for a while and feel like a normal mom.

I don’t know how to make this happen regularly. But yesterday he ate his quesadilla and was still hungry. Today I kept dashing back to the table to refill my little bowl with cucumbers. He was all over them. I’ve never actually fed him cucumbers before. Who knew he liked them so much? (Although perhaps I should have suspected, given his devotion to zucchini. Yesterday he “asked” for it before 9 a.m.)

I also appeased him with some of his favorite things. Like silverware and empty soda bottles.

The best thing of all, though, was watching him play with everyone’s kids. There were loads of them there, all adorable. A whole slew of them went out of their way to play with my little Bug, who kept throwing his bottle on to the floor where they’d diligently go pick it up and bring it back as if it was the most hilarious thing in the world. “Just watch,” said My Shiny Monkey‘s kids, “He’ll throw it AGAIN!” And, of course, he did.

The Bug has always done pretty well with bigger kids, but it was still lovely to see him interacting even though the little guy can’t say a single word. He laughed, they laughed, it was almost as close a friendship as he had with his Uncle Frosty, the cat. As I got to chat with the amazing MommyNiri I kept glancing back waiting for things to get tricky. But they never did. He stayed happy. So did all the other kids. It was unexpected but wonderful.

And to top it all off, my first Swag Bag. Squee!

See that little stuffed dolphin and little stuffed orca sticking out of those front pockets? Right this minute they are tucked in the crib with Graham, a serious stuffed animal devotee.

We have a few weeks off in June and now I’m pondering SeaWorld… The Bug is too little for Disney, but he loves animals and I’m sure we could get a few good days out of it. Definitely something to think about. He is not the most travel-friendly kid, but I think it’s one of the few places we could do with him and enjoy as a family.

It’s hard to express how nice it was to have a day like today. Tomorrow is our big eval at Children’s. I am not really nervous, mostly because I don’t know what to expect. Tomorrow is also our 2nd attempt at our 1st Early Intervention appointment. (Stupid snow canceled our last one, among a myriad of other plans.) I don’t care much about what they say, I would love for someone to tell me what I can do to help him. Every day Graham has a preferred syllable that goes along with his usual “Ga.” This evening he kept repeating “Ma…. ma…. Mama.” I know he has no idea what it means, but it’s nice to hear anyway. Hopefully we can help him figure it out one of these days.

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• Our Own Little Horror Story
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