In the past few weeks, G has developed a pretty kick ass imagination. He's particularly interested in cowboys, pirates, and, recently, car washes, so we play a lot of hybrid games, like pirates go to the car wash. Fun stuff. In the pictures below you see him having his first dinner party. In photo 2, you see his "cowboy hat," adopted from my stash of old summer chapeaux. It is not, of course a cowboy hat at all, but it does nicely in a pinch- cowboy by way of England summer of 1920.

Note to all parents of new (and not so new babies). 2 year olds, though exhausting, are hilarious and joyful and rough playing. Just be prepared to run, a lot. Prepare as well for a sudden transformation; is it me, or is there very little baby left in this energetic guy? He even gets mad at me when I call him "my baby." Unless he's been hurt, when he prefers to be called "poor baby." 

We had a great time this weekend at the Mystic Aquarium, which, sorry to say, kicks the Boston Aquarium's butt. They have a beautiful outdoor setup for a group of beluga whales. If you asked Graham, he would tell you that he liked the pumps (water filtration? we're guessing); the crane (construction); the tunnel; as well as the hot dog, fries, and Coke (!), he had for lunch. So, essentially, the fish weren't the draw for him. 

In the past month, Graham has shown an accelerated interested in all things boy, especially trucks and balls. God knows he never was exposed to those items in our house, but he knows the difference between a football and a baseball; a backhoe loader and an excavator. You can often find him camped out on the rug, creating work for his team of guys: Uncle Travis, Joey, Mr. Darcy, and Seamus. They drive trucks, go to the gas station and car wash, and, generally, get it done.  

This post is for my dad, who called and asked if we had died or broken our camera or something.

We're doing better today, after 10 days of pneumonia- then Jen being sick - then a foot of snow on Monday. I, personally, have been diagnosed with a severe case of cabin fever. We've been getting outside as much as possible, exploring the community garden (in snow) and playing in the house as creatively as we can. Graham is suddenly really, really interested in the pets, as well, which they alternately like and, well, really dislike, depending how enthusiastically he pets them. He's also fascinated by letters and totally disinterested in numbers, which shows that he is definitely my child. Maybe we can learn to do long division together someday.

Soon, Spring!