A few of his favorite things

These are just a few of his favorite things that we have managed to do before this week's high temperatures suddenly descended on us.

He has been such a little trooper helping me around the house, and willingly I might say, as he volunteers to help every chance he gets. I decided to surprise him with a little trip to Corona (in Queens, a short walk from Flushing Meadows Park) for the iconic lemon ices. Here he is also holding one of his favorite toys, a light saber. He lugs that thing just about everywhere. At night, takes along one of the lighted ones with the sound.

I just love how this pic turned out! I'm SO in love with his smile! Just don't call him "cute" or "adorable". He says that's for babies, instead, handsome big boy will do.

Several trips to the farm, at just a five minute drive, is an absolute must. We go just about every week, sometimes twice. Here he relaxes on a bale of hay, holding a stick in one hand and a couple of rocks on the other. He does the same in our backyard (except without the hay, of course). I am constantly picking up sticks and rocks all around the house and tossing them back into the yard.

There is an authentic-looking tee-pee set up right now at the farm, though I'm not sure long long it will be kept up, maybe just for the summer. Though I tried to explain that long ago Native Americans actually lived and slept in shelters like these, I don't think he actually grasped the idea. He is just amazed at the shape and sheer size of it. Note to self: I've got to take some books out of the library with pics.

Here he is with one of his buddies from Church, also four years old. People kept asking me if they were twins even though they don't look alike at all. Their lean body structure and high energy levels are the only things that could pass as identical. On this day, I realized how difficult it would be to have twins. 'Nuff said.

Bill has half days on Fridays for the summer, beginning with the Friday before Memorial Day, up until the Friday before Labor Day. We met up with Bill in Manhattan and went to eat at his favorite vegetarian eatery. It's an unpretentious little place on Sixth Avenue off 14th Street in Chelsea, just a few store fronts from the Drummers Collective where my husband practiced and worked when he first returned to the U.S. (from having lived most of his life in Sydney, Australia). According to him the "decor" hasn't changed at all. You wouldn't really know that you can feast on delicious vegetarian dishes from just looking at the signage or the storefront. You walk right up to the counter where you order from a menu that is taped onto the counter. This is what we always order when we are in the neighborhood: the dumpling medley complete with brown rice, tofu and steamed veggies with Tahini and soy sauces on the side. It's not exactly Liam's favorite, but it's ours and it's really inexpensive, too. Delish!

What better way to soak in the sights and sounds of Manhattan than on daddy's shoulders?! 

 

And of course, summer isn't summer without an ice cream cone from a Mister Softee truck and a pic of him devouring it. This time it's a cherry-dipped, chocolate-and-vanilla-swirl cone! Yum!

Ever heard of the Ramones? Here is Liam looking at one of their actual autographed drum sets at a store front on 14th Street. (Sigh!) My sweet, little drummer boy, perhaps dreaming of following his daddy's dreams. Ahem! Well, he also says he wants to be an astronaut, a paleontologist, a Mr. Softee truck driver and a race car driver, so we'll see.

I think Liam has finally grown accustomed to me pulling the camera out constantly and taking pics of him, so now he actually volunteers sometimes to have his picture taken. Here he is on the Church's front lawn in the same suit he wears, Sunday after Sunday. He has great clothes, but he insists on wearing the navy pin-stripped pants with matching vest and a pin-stripped short sleeve shirt that obviously doesn't match the suit.

The following Sunday I made pretend I couldn't find that short-sleeved shirt, so to his horror he had to wear a plain white long-sleeved shirt. He is also sporting a sun visor he decorated at the end of his last class.

My little karate kid is still going strong!

He got a third stripe on his belt! Hooray!

(His dedicated instructor is doing really well, too! Congrats, "Joshu"!)

Finally, here he is with another little buddy, a Filipino friend, running around the cultural hall at the Church building. He tags along with me to my Valiant Girls Activity night twice a month. He's my little side-kick and best friend!

So, that's pretty much it. Last month's health drama is now behind me, I am regaining my strength and working on reversing the anemia. I now pace myself, stay hydrated, and try not to sweat the small stuff.

Just a matter of time

We knew it would just be a matter of time before we would acquire a drum set of our very own. Now that we have a little more space, it was the next logical thing to do (according to my husband). This second hand set sprung up mid March at an insanely low price for an electric set, so he did not hesitate in snatching it. Here he is trying out the drum set in our living room before I relegated it to it's new living space in our basement. Words cannot describe his happiness. He even took it to Church, that's right, Church-- to the ward talent show.

Sorry no pic and the vid is too large to upload here. If you can imagine it, here is how the "skit" played out. The curtain opens while the slow prelude of "Pass Me Not" (by Gladys Knight and the SUV Choir) plays and you see his drum set. Out comes Bill pretending to sweep the stage. As he's sweeping, he spots one drumstick and then another. He slips them in his back pocket. He keeps sweeping and then spots the drum set. He sits and immediately starts playing the moment the music speeds up. He arranged it so that the audience could hear the drums just a tad bit louder than the song. In the end, he could not help himself and he did some terrific rock star quality drumming that, of course, wasn't part of the end of the song, but was fun.

Now, it's only a matter of time before Liam starts up drumming. Thank goodness that drum set is in the basement.

Here's my little man at the drums during daddy's practice time before the talent show.

He had to set aside some time during practice for some monkeying around.

Liam also participated in the talent show. It was totally his idea. He grabbed this bugle, packed it up in a little backpack and brought it with him. He had planned on doing the Superman theme, but when the moment came, he went with the Star Wars theme (no big surprise there). He didn't actually play the bugle, he only hummed into it. Still, very cute!

Like father, like son.....drumming is in the blood

Did I ever tell you that I'm married to a drummer? Well, my awesome husband, among other things, is also a professional drummer. Not surprisingly, it looks like the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Here are a couple of pics and video clips that prove it. Enjoy!




Could he have a knack for drumming?? Hmm...




Here is the son and the father letting loose on the drums. Got to love those giggles!


The best thing I could have ever done was to keep him strapped in his stroller. When finished, I just wheeled him out instead of the alternative: removing him from the premises kicking and screaming bloody murder.

Music is definitely in the blood. He is, after all, the son and grandson of professional musicians (not including me, of course, who poorly chose to do seven and a half years of ballet instead of piano -what was I thinking?). We will slowly introduce a few instruments and wait to see what he likes. One thing we know for sure, he was one very excited, happy little boy today.

Many thanks to the guys over at the Sam Ash Drum Shop for letting little Liam try out one of their cool drum sets.


I get the feeling we will be regulars at this store or at the very least, at "music row" (48th Street off Times Square).