Year of the Toddler

Oscar is ever more impatient to get up on his feet. In the past week, he's made great strides towards verticality, climbing whatever he can. Though he's still creeping, he can get up on all fours, and from a sitting position, he'll pull himself up to standing with the aid of a rail or something to grab onto.

This development has prompted us to get rid of our dresser/changing table in anticipation of the full-size crib we're getting tomorrow. Our clothes are in bags in the hallway. We're seriously considering moving to Queens.


We had a delightful Christmas in Groton. He got to see his first Christmas tree, at which he was suitably awed, and despite our aversion to religiosity, we took him to Christmas Eve services at the local Unitarian church. He got a kick out of the caroling and candle lighting, which he observed from his father's shoulders.

But mostly, of course, he got passed around alot and played with his stocking loot while the adults ate way too much bad food and worked on their houseplant impressions. After that, it was back to the city, where he had his first carousel ride (which he was unsure about) and a stroll through a decidedly un-wintry Central Park with Jack and Ginger.



Oscar's wearing the awesome hat Karen and Bonnie's friend Melinda crocheted for him. Unfortunately, he hasn't inherited his father's love of hats, and he's gotten very adept at pulling them off, but thanks to global warming, it's not really a big deal.

Starting Thursday, Oscar goes up to five days a week at the daycare. They're splitting up his class to accomodate more kids, which we're a little anxious about, but it'll probably be fine. He's losing his most senior minder, which is a little sad, and we're not sure if he'll be in the same class as Shogo, though if they are, as Shogo's dad says, "They'll run the place." When they started, a little more than four months ago, they were the runts of the litter. Now they're the biggest of the babes, and soon enough they'll graduate to toddlerdom.