Partying & Shopping

Kai had quite the debutante-lifestyle-day today! Here's a quick summary:

1. Wake up irritable and require loads of attention in order to feel better

2. Act like nothing's wrong once attention garnered. Ignore those who expressed attention.

3. Go to social event, mingle with like-minded & like-sized people, poo-poo such foreign notions as 'work' and 'bills'

4. Go shopping at boutique store (Trader Joe's)

5. Luxurious lunch provided by servants (mom & dad)

6. 4 (count 'em, 4!) hour nap

Ah, the life of a toddler....

Quick background: Kai has been a bit sick these last few days. We found out on Friday he has an ear-infection, but we also suspect some molars are trying to crush their way through, plus a stuffy nose. Toss in some constipation, and you have one irritable little man on your hands in the morning! Louise & I were worried we wouldn't be able to make our playdate today w/ friends Charlie, Carrie & Jeremy at a children's indoor gym in Arlington.

After some milks, brekkie and loads of attention, Kai seemed to settle down, so the playdate was still on. Good thing too - Kai had a blast! So did, apparently, most of the younger Boston crowd:

And this picture was taken before it got even crazier! The number of kids doubled, and with each respective prince/princess having an average of 1.75 adult-types following them, there was a lot of bumping and "scuse me's" going on.

Oddly enough, Kai wasn't his normal self - instead of laying back, playing it cool, and checking the scene, he just dove right into the fray! We were quite proud of our little socialite. Not that he was actually SOCIAL with anyone - most other humans (little and otherwise) were looked at with the same interest as a piece of furniture; (except for momma & dada, of course - we still garnered some smiles. This kid is smart - he knows from which hands the milks come from!) Anyway, ignoring other kids is considered normal for someone his age (in case you didn't know, like me) - but it was still good to see him cruise around w/ confidence, picking up balls, pushing over foam blocks, beating up other kids for their lunch money (just kidding!), etc. After a quick break for a snack, he got right back into it and probably would have wiled the day away if we hadn't forced him to leave.

After a quick foray into Bed, Bath & Beyond (BBB, for our acronym-hungry readers), we walked across to Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's is a relatively small, healthy food store, sprinkled around the country. They sell a lot of their own brands which are labeled as 'healthy', 'organic', and 'something-free' (sugar, gluten, taste, texture, whatever). It was our primary source of healthy nutrition when we were living in a Days Suite just down the road, before we moved into our warm, cosy Bedford rental :-) Kai likes the place because they cater to his needs - the need to push something with wheels:

Kai helped stock us up on some staples before our trip tomorrow to New Hampshire, including some crucial supplies of 72% dark chocolate. Louise started to object about getting more chocolate, but a quick & scathing sideways glare from Kai-ster put her back in her place.

After a decent lunch and post-lunch stretch (ie, he runs around the house), we put him down for a nap and he slept for 4 (count'em, 4!) hours. After a couple weeks of weak & sporadic naps, this was a pleasant change and hopefully just what the little man needs before hitting the slopes (not to mention the aprés ski scene) in New Hampshire's White Mountains this week!