Happy Father's Day

So Ethan informed me that last weekend was Father's Day. On the two days a year that he calls the shots (we don't do gifts, we "give" the day to the honoree), he's prone to waking up, dawdling around our flat for a few hours and then suddenly proclaiming, "Let's hop a train!" Ummm, my spontaneity gene apparently evolved instantaneously when eight pounds of scream entered our lives four years ago.... So I warned him Thursday to warn me by Saturday if he wanted to vamoose Sunday. Anywhere, anyway, just let me pack a bag for the kid. But after many weekends filled with work (and this weekend no different) E decided mellow would be his theme. And thus, he planned our day.

Brunch at an old favorite in the city.
The World Science Fair in Washington Square Park.
The movie "Up." (Using his throne to sanction something I'm usually not on board with. Sneaky. Very sneaky :)
Dinner out and a leisurely walk home.

Generous as always, he had considered everyone's needs. Nevertheless, as we headed into the city for brunch, P sighed a great sigh and muttered that he wished there was a Phoenix day :) I LOVED that comment.

Brunch was lovely, despite P's loooong 10 minutes spent in the loo at a rather busy brunch spot. The kid knows how to pick'em. If there are stalls upon stalls, he is the picture of quick bid-ness. A nice one holer and whalah! Bid-ness screeches to a (obviously fruit lacking) halt. E just chuckles as we re-emerge, "hours" later, his food eaten and the check waiting...

The Science Fair was fab too. P was super psyched to see the large robots. He even muscled the gumption to throw some balls back at them. The bright white ground covering just about blinded his baby blues though...



Then we saw an adorable Rutgers student lie on a bed of nails, with a bed of nails then placed on top of him too. Then children climbed aboard. P did not get up the gumption for this....

Having retained almost nothing from previous science classes, I felt like I learned a lot of new stuff from all of the presentations (retention this time: fairly foggy...) Apparently, the little man picked some stuff up too. The next day I overheard him muttering to himself "mumble mumble, rotation, mumble mumble, pressure, mumble mumble, gravity..."

On to the movie we marched. And it was, actually, pretty adorable. And it allayed my fears that Pixar movies always set Horrible examples for small children (just count how many times the characters in Toy Story call one another "stupid.") P cuddled on my lap and quietly whispered his questions while we noshed on berries and popcorn (sans food coloring!) from Whole Foods. E laughed so hard at one point he almost choked. Which, in turn, made me laugh pretty hard ;)

We dined outdoors at a fave Italian eatery, entertained by Sock Monkey. Come to find out, E and P share a lot of personality traits. I try not to chuckle too loudly when I hear their big Schultz toes drawing heavy lines in the sand. Sock Monkey has proven to be a fabulous defuser in most head-butting situations. And since P was never satisfied with E's BB voice, Papa now has a creature of his very own with which to woo the little man.

So, though P wished the day was actually his, and, though we got the dates wrong and the day wasn't actually even E's, it was lovely. And I'm thinking we'll make the same mistake next year too. Cuz, really, E certainly deserves a couple of Father's Days a year....