Tuesday, August 18, 2009

New York pictures

Despite the title, first here are some of Michelle's pictures from Portland and Seattle. Here is a cute shot of him cruising around Portland.



They had this great picture frame at the Portland Children's Museum, but Carter was too busy to stop and pose...



He found a flower at the Portland Children's Museum, and played with it for a while.



He really liked having us smell it.



He even found someone to share it with!



In Seattle, he wanted a little out-of-stroller time, and it was really cute to see him walking along with us!



And now on to the New York part of the trip. Doug used some of his special upgrade certificates to get us into first class, which made the 6 hour flight a lot easier. Carter did really well, as usual. He slept for about two hours, and we entertained him and fed him snacks for the other four hours.



The New York trip was lots of fun. We spent our mornings sleeping in, then hanging out a bit before going to some of our favorite restaurants for lunch. After lunch, Carter would take a nap, and then we would get some dinner before Doug and I headed out for the evening to see some Broadway shows, while Michelle stayed with Carter. Sometimes they would go out and play, and sometimes they would stay in. Here are some pictures of Carter and Michelle out on the town.

Playing in Central Park:









Here are some shots of Carter in Times Square:





We took Carter to eat at great places like Lupa (one of Mario Batali's restaurants) and Gobo (an amazing vegan restaurant), but the one he enjoyed the most was John's pizza:



The last day we were in New York was the day before my birthday. Doug and I headed out early to record our radio segment with Seth Rudetsky at the Sirius studios, something we've won in a charity auction for the last few years.



Then we went to a favorite Mexican restaurant called Toloache for dinner. I mentioned that it was almost my birthday, and they gave us free tequila shots and a free dessert!



And finally, we went to see Hair that night. Doug had gotten us seats in the front row, where we got to interact with the actors quite a bit. At the end of the show, they invite the audience onstage to join the cast for "Let the Sun Shine In", and we ran up there to dance around and sing. It was awesome! Probably the only time I'll ever stand on a Broadway stage and look out at an audience!



So yes, it was a great birthday!

The next day we got up early and flew home to Austin. It was Carter's 47th flight, and he handled it like the little jet-setter he is. He actually enjoys flying, and he really seems to understand what's happening. He likes to look out the window and talks about taking off, then points out clouds and talks about being in the sky. He loves airplanes, so it's a lot of fun for him. We always take his airplane books along and read them while we fly.

People often say things like, "Oh, what a good baby, he didn't make a sound!" when we fly, which I always find a bit uncomfortable. So if he got upset about something and cried, that would make him a bad baby? I really dislike people making such judgments about children based solely on their behavior. All children are good, and to pass such judgment really sends a message that their behavior is more important than anything else.

Um, no. Sorry, but it's not. After all, most serial killers are described as being nice, quiet people, the ones you'd never suspect of such atrocity. :-P There are a lot of things I value more in my child than "well-behaved". Like loving, sensitive, empathetic, smart, curious, honest, thoughtful, confident, persistent, and so on. "Well-behaved" too often means "docile" and "easy to control". No thanks.

3 comments:

Deb said...

Take the comment of "he's such a good baby" to mean "you're such a good parent". Not sure how many times I have been on the stereotypical screaming baby flight, where the parent(s) are behaving quite inappropriately!

Emily said...

I have to agree that Carter has great parents which makes him such a sweet, sensitive, caring, curious and etc baby!

Thanks for putting into words what I think a lot when people gush about how "easy" Will is..it's actually quite uncomfortable for me. He's not always easy- and that's okay too!

I love your photos ... glad your birthday was so great.

Debby said...

Thanks for the pictures....I does look like you had a wonderful time... I can't wait to see you both in a couple of weeks..Love you! Mom/Nana