Nathan at the Exploratorium

Once Nathan found out I was going to spend the morning with him, he kept coming to the bureau every five minutes to check if it was time yet... Finally, it was time and we decided to go to the Exploratorium.
We had a great time looking at jumping steel balls/marbles, water tornados, vibrating sand, etc. and the coolest contraption I had ever seen, a gravity powered calculator calculating square roots with steel balls... amazing math!

Kermesse du Lycée La Pérouse

Sunday, we were invited to this year's Kermesse in Marin. The weather was incredibly hot and "summery"... quite a change from the cold and fog we have been getting. The food was great and the show as well. Nathan was tired because this was right after his swimming class.

And Sidney was cranky because hungry but after lunch and while his big brother was showing us how well he is doing with potty training, he agreed to pose for a few shots.

Our shortcut

This week, our shortcut to the pool looked like... this!

Fantastic Friday

Nathan, Ana, Sidney and I attended Crissy Field's Fantastic Fridays for toddlers. Today's topic was "Things with Wings".

Nathan was more interested in running around than hearing about birdlife. The only view I could get of Nathan is of his backside as he was running.

When asked to act like the mama bird feeding her birdies (me), Nathan would get the popcorn (bird food), run towards me and as he would reach me, quickly shove the popcorn in his mouth. His birdies wouldn't last long, would they?

Another day at the BADM

This time, Nathan, Sidney, Ana and I spent our time at the "river" playing with the poissons and grenouilles.

Wave room at the Bay Area Discovery Museum

Every time we go to the Discovery Museum we find something new to see. Today, it was the wave room, where Nathan had really a lot of fun practicing "fishing".

Blue Grass Festival

Sam, Nathan and Aunt Betsy met with Steve and Lila in Golden Gate Park for the Blue Grass Festival while the moms and Sidney were at the Fairmont Hotel having tea for Monica's baby shower.

Nathan made sure to introduce himself to all his neighbors at the concert and danced a storm with Aunt Betsy and Nounou.

SF Gym

Miraculously, we were able to make it (late) to the Littlebug class at SF Gymnastics. Nathan was overwhelmed by all the activities but had fun climbing, jumping and crawling.

Fun at Ryder Park

Chasing the sun, we decided to go for some water fun at Ryder Park and meet up with Paula, Mika and Patrick. The water jets start automatically at 11:00 am and are on for 5 min every 10 min. Nathan got surprised by the jets and preferred that Papa stay right next to him while trying to "catch" the water!

Safari West

Nathan, Alex and I went on a Safari (in Santa Rosa, California). The weather helped to make it seem VERY authentic -- 100F at the park, and up to 105F on the roads on the way home.

Even though it was hot, Nathan had a fantastic time looking at the animals and running around, sticking his fingers in every pile of dirt he could possibly find.

No mas... Bye bye l'eau... Vamonos a la casa?

We had our first real day in the sun and the sand, today... And Nathan was a little uneasy about the whole "pool" thing.

We haven't had him in a pool for quite some time, so it appears that he has 'forgotten' how much he enjoyed his earlier swimming with Alex and me.

SO... when we put him in the (very nice) pool water today, he tried his best to let us know that he wasn't really "into it."

He started by saying, "bye bye, l'eau" ("goodbye, water"). Next, he thought he'd try suggesting we head back to the hotel room and he said, "vamonos a la casa?".

Finally, when he saw that these weren't working, he switched to "no mas" ("no more").

He was more than a little panicked, and quite "sobby" throughout his attempts to communicate with us. But, the amazing thing was that he "kept it together" enough to be able to make three different attempts (in as many languages) at communicating with us what he wanted, and using the different concepts of "going home," "no more," and "goodbye, water" appropriately.

Update: 5/21/2008: Lots of hugs and reassurances later, Nathan is now asking frequently to go to the "piscine."

Cole Valley Bound

Ana, Téa, Nathan, Alex and I all took a walk to "La Boulange" in Cole Valley for a quick coffee.

We decided it was REALLY NICE having REALLY NICE neighbors.

Picnic at Sutro Heights Park with Lila

After Nathan's first dentist appointment, Alex and I took him to a picnic with his friend Lila (and her personal assistants, Steve and Deborah).

Lila looked pretty as a picture in her yellow get-up, while Nathan strived to 'one-up' her by going for the rugged dirt-encrusted look.

Nathan at the Discovery Museum

Nathan had a lot of fun at the Bay Area Discovery Museum in Sausalito with Alex and I.

He loved hitting the "boutons" ("buttons," in French... coincidentally it was Linda's favorite word at that age, as well!), enjoyed getting wet in the fake river they had set up for kids and hitting on the xylophones.

Fun fun!

Go!

Nathan and I came up with a game -- basically one of us yells "Go" and we both run around the living room table (big time fun).

Nathan enjoys it, though, and that's what is important. So I really enjoy it as well!

Nathan and Papa on the carousel!

The weather today was just TOO beautiful!!! I decided to take Nathan to the "big playground" with a carousel at the Golden Gate Park.

Nathan enjoyed the carousel a lot more this time than last, especially because he recognized a bunch of the animals that we could ride on.... He ended up choosing a puppy.

Snow bunny at Heavenly

Taeyaerts/Sorkins/Wanders/Fells

While my sister was here, we got together with the local Sorkin/Wander families to break bread together at Park Chow. Even though the restaurant was only running at half-capacity because a section was closed, we managed to get a table for 11 people in about 15 minutes. It was amazing.

The company was wonderful, the food was great, and everyone had a nice time (and desert from Arizmendi bakery was a lovely way to end our hike in GGP)

Steppin' Out, SF Style

We went out to the park today. Nathan had fun playing with his cousin. His aunt had more fun than he did, I think.

Toddler Tunes

Nathan, Alex and I have signed up for a class at the local community center called "Toddler Tunes." Nathan enjoys it, but we think he may be a little young to really participate in the activities... instead, he seems to just enjoy hanging out and playing his dad's head like a drum!