Monthly Archives: May 2010

I got Ari a scooter for his 2nd birthday. He loved it immediately, but HATED the helmet. I told him if he wanted to ride the scooter he had to wear the helmet. He was unconvinced. He screamed each time Wil and I put the helmet on him. Finally after both Wil and I took turns wearing the helmet and talking about how awesome it was, he agreed to don it. So we went out for a ride.

After scooting around the neighborhood, he was pretty thirsty. So we stopped for a carrot apple ginger juice.

He’s still getting used to the scooter, but overall I think it’s a success. If you’re interested in checking it out for your kid, it’s called a Micro Mini. For more information on this particular scooter, click here.

Yesterday, Ari turned two, or as he says it “Tee-ou!” Wil and I asked him what he would like to do for his birthday many times. He would always reply with:

“Cow!” or “Baa!” or some kind of animal.

I wrote a post, a little while ago, about my visit to The Fosterfields Living Historical Farm in New Jersey. My friend Judy read it, and recommended the Queens County Farm Museum as another great place for kids to see and interact with animals. This farm is free to the public!

Since Ari was intent on seeing animals for his birthday, we decided to check this place out! Grandma, Grandpa, Wil, Ari and I piled into the Fadermobile and off we went.

The Farm is located in Floral Park, NY which is about a half an hour drive from our place.
It’s called a “museum” because it is a historical farm which has been preserved since 1677.

We had a lot of fun. Ari spent most of his time feeding the goats. The gift shop sells little buckets of alfalfa to feed to the sheep and goats.

In addition to goats, there are also pigs, cows, geese and chickens to see!

When we entered the farm, a rooster walked right in front of us!

If you live in New York City, and you want to see farm animals, I highly recommend visiting the Queens County Farm Museum.

For more information on the Queens County Farm Museum, click here.

I just woke up from a three hour nap. This is a rarity, since my son (who will be two on Thursday) does not like to sleep. However, he is sleeping in “my bed” right now. “My bed” is in quotes because it is not my bed anymore, but rather belongs to everyone living in this house including me, Wil, Ari and the cats.

Every night, he sleeps with me. Whether it is in our bed, on the couch or in his bed. As one veteran mom deemed it, we are playing “musical beds” in my house each night.

I wanted to see if my sleep situation was unique, so I asked parents on the playground with toddlers: how they are sleeping these days?

These are the results of my study:

There are four sleep groups I came across-

1. The kid is still trapped in the confines of her crib. She may or may not wake up in the middle of the night for some comfort. But mainly stays in the crib.

2. The kid is still trapped in the crib but eventually (at some point during the night) ends up in the parents’ bed.

3. There is not crib involved, the kid exclusively co-sleeps with the parents.

4. My group (containing only me) my child starts out in one place (our bed, his bed, the couch) and periodically rotates between these three places throughout the night.

I wouldn’t mind sleeping together in the same bed, if Ari actually slept! But instead he wants to dance on the bed, unintentionally kick me in the face and scream with delight or horror until he exhausts himself, which can take a long time.

Here’s where you come in: what’s your sleep situation? Is your kid sleeping through the night, or are you ready to have a 20th cup of coffee and/or throw yourself out the window because you’re so tired?

The artist recently completed The Face Series. Upon completing the eyes and nose, his mother asked if he would like a mouth on the first portrait. He replied “Yes.” The 2nd portrait needed no maternal assistance.