we had a great visit last weekend with both sets of grandparents and aunt josie. they brought all manner of goodies for us, including a crib (!!!), a high chair, toys and books and delicious foods of all sorts. it was a whirlwind of activity and made me long for a larger space that we could house everyone in for longer stays. eh! things to look forward to.

alden was out on the town yesterday. i thought for sure that a full day of fun activities, new sights, sounds, smells and tastes would wipe him out and lead to a wonderfully restive night. oh, how foolish! no. instead, our wonderful day inspired sir to stay up all night long, laughing and dancing, climbing on his poor old mama and papa, pulling our hair and biting ferociously. in addition to his two bottom middle teeth, he now has one top middle, poking through. surely another is on the way.

anyway, yesterday started off with a trip to our neighborhood park and a ride on the swings, where our tough and handsome fellow was mistaken for a girl more than once. it must be the hat? he's never mistaken for a girl. not that it matters, it's just interesting what people attribute to girlishness. the other sunhats available were horrid, hawaiian shirt affairs. i thought this one was classic.

after swinging for a good twenty minutes or so, we headed into manhattan, picking up a baby friend and mama on the way. our destination was tribeca, where we met another baby friend and mama at bu and the duck, which, in case you don't know, is the very best children's clothing line ever made. a hefty statement? possibly. but also true. the owner/designer was there and we chatted her up on a number of clothing-related topics. she is a true new york character. one of our pals agreed that if the store were closer, we would probably make a habit of going regularly just to talk. i wonder how many people do that. i wonder how annoying it might be for the owner. ah! no matter. i bought alden a pair of coveralls (on super, not-to-be-believed sale) that are an exact replica of a pair from 1910. i had seen them on my first visit to the shop when i was pregnant and they'd been in the back of my mind ever since. they're so unusual (and amazing) and i suppose you have to appreciate a certain aesthetic to want to put your child in a pair of coveralls that they have to unbutton in the back in order to use the toilet...and they're a size 6. hey! they are that amazing. we'll try them on when he's four. you'll see.

after bu and the duck, we hiked over to moomah, which is a kiddie friendly cafe and class space. the mamas ate delicious sandwiches and we ordered a "super tryers" meal for the babies, which was a choice of 6 tiny taste bud teasers, including carrots, hummus, dates, banana slices, cheddar cheese and shredded organic chicken. alden was particularly fond of the cheddar cheese, but also tolerated the dates and carrot sticks, on which he employed his new teeth! we didn't try the chicken (we're going to raise bun a vegetarian until he can decide one way or the other) and he was vehemently opposed to bananas (a shock! he usually likes them) and hummus. oh well.

on the walk back to the train, we passed an enchanting toy store, which i think was playing mantis (we didn't see the sign, but i believe that was the street we were on), filled with beautiful wooden toys, waldorf dolls and crafty items. we're definitely going to have to take papa to tribeca for alden's first birthday. it's a strange part of the city, but secretly (or not so secretly?) a baby wonderland.

now i'm just waiting around for bun to wake up from what has so far been an hour long nap so we can go out to the park to crawl around with some baby buddies. this weather has me appreciating just how spoiled rotten i'm becoming, snuggling this bunny and going on adventures while poor papa works every day. as soon as we get our living space arranged properly, i will get back to the sewing and (hopefully) selling.