February 14, 2007

In Worcester our streets are not plowed by mere snowplows. Ok, some are. But they are HUGE, and don’t fit down some of the residential streets. Instead, we get a hinged-at-the-middle-so-very-nimble full-sized bulldozer. And you’ll never guess who loves bulldozers. Ok, you will. It’s Hayes.

Fortunately, I can prolong the bulldozer watching magic, as I can see the bulldozer come down the street from our home office. So, when I saw it, I went to get Hayes. The sitter, Hayes and I watched as the bulldozer plowed. Hayes couldn’t have been more excited. Better still, the driver noticed us watching and put on a show. He took about 5 more passes than he needed to clear the street, then he pulls in the driveway plow raised — into the driveway (which is quite narrow and book-ended by picket fences) drops his plow (which barely made it between the fences), and dug out the the annoying snowplow backwash that usually collects at the end of the driveway.

I thought Hayes might have a heart attack, he was so pleased. The only problem was he started crying when the bulldozer left, shouting “Bulldozer come and see ME!” But… my job just became easier because I have 1/4 less driveway to shovel. Yeah Worcester Public Works! Whoever drives that bulldozer in the Mass Ave neighborhood deserves a raise!

September 26, 2006

Well, it’s been a while and it’s time for a change that more reflects Hayes’ stage of development. Here it is: Hayes 3.0. (Take that 2.0 crowd, Hayes is 3.0!)

Since my time is limited these days, I haven’t tested it in IE, so feedback is welcome. Let me know if you have any display problems or any other problems, for that matter. Also, please keep in mind this is a work in progress. I really wanted to get it up there, so you’ll notice it’s missing some of the things my old blog had… like a blogroll. For the moment, you can find that at any “single post” page. Rest assured, it will return to the homepage.

Oh, and about the cars. I was inspired by Hayes’ love of Richard Scary (same book I was obsessed with, it turns out) and did all these Scary-esque little illustrations. I’ll be rolling out some shirts, onsies and such with them on Cafe Press… when I get the time.

So, enjoy. And please, let me know if you experience any issues with the new look.

September 5, 2006

Is it just me, or did this summer FLY by? I mean, it was faster than a running toddler, yes? I have to admit, I am — perhaps for the first time ever — disappointed that summer is over. Well, I know, it’s not officially over, but by indication of traffic on the morning commute and the LD holiday in the rearview, I’m calling it done.

Jen had a good description, she called it a “practice summer.” And I couldn’t agree more. We just didn’t get as much summer out of it as we usually do. It could just be the reality of having a child, but I really do think it was more practice for next summer — we can do better, have a fun filled summer, and still have a kid.

I also chalk much of it up to the weather. It was either raining, or hot. I swear, there was month of rain. And rain is oh-so-much fun with a toddler who likes to run. Good thing, at least, that we moved to the big house instead of being stuck in the little condo in Boston. Wow, wow… wow, now that would have been awful.

Anyway, don’t get me wrong, there were some highlights:

1. Our trip to Martha’s Vineyard (without Hayes, however)
2. Going to Maine to visit the twins
3. A surprise visit from my college roommate his wife and twins
4. Going to my cousin’s and Hayes’ pony ride (and my GTO ride)
5. Our first anual Sagalyn holiday
6. Kayaking with my brother and sister and their significant others in Vermont
7. Going to to see Little Miss Sunshine this weekend (yes, a movie — we only saw three this summer)

So, it wasn’t without bright spots. Just lots of not so bright spots. Not much bad, really. Just kind of “meh.” Oh well. I was, after all, a practice summer. Now onto practice fall. I’m looking forward to apple picking and folliage.

August 3, 2006

I always thought Hayes would prefer a ride in… say a 66 GTO convertible to… say a pony. And, I mean, how many times to you get to prove these theories? How many times can you do both in one day? Or find both in the same place? Or find a 66 GTO covertible with a child’s seat? Really, how many times?

Well, it happened. My cousin’s farm is said fantasy land. She houses horses, and her husband has a car hobby that any car guy without enough garage space would be jealous of. Yes, there was GTO with the car seat, and a pony for my cousins’ two year old. I thought for sure the car would be a hit, and the horse would be a miss.

So, I asked my cousin’s husband about the car seat in the GTO and he told me to take it for a ride. We buckled Hayes in, fired up the 360hp engine and set off. The wind blew, the car growled and Hayes said, “All done car.” I got it going again, but between the wind and the engine growl, it was obvious Hayes was unhappy.

So, car loses. Horse?

Hayes saw the first horse, and after seeing us pet it, he wanted to do the same. We then put him down on the ground and he went right over to the horse and triend to stick his hand in its mouth. We put a stop to that right quick, went on a tour of the other horse stalls and then my cousin got Tony the Pony out of his stall and put Izabele (my cousin’s kid) on back. They trotted around the indoor ring, and Hayes was instantly ready for a horse ride. “Go ride” he repeated as they trotted around the ring.

When my cousin got back to us, we put Hayes on the pony with Izabele. Hayes was fine, Isabelle, well, she wanted her pony to herself. She acquiesced, cuz she’s a great kid, and then Hayes went on a horse back ride. Big shit eating grin, ear to ear. After once around he wanted to go again.

Horse wins. Who would have thunk it?

April 27, 2006

I admit it. For a while I was concerned Hayes wasn’t going to like tractors, trucks and cars. Really concerned. I know, I know, I’m an ass for being concerned about something so petty. But here’s the thing: I LOVE tractors, trucks and cars. I’m even kinda a savant about car models, horsepower, 1/4 mile specs, 0-60 (and 0-62, gotta read those pubs that report in KM). I was hoping I would have that in common with Hayes.

I mean, I still need a good reason to buy my Lotus, and if Hayes were excited about it, how can we deprive him?

Ok, that’s not fair. Jen is entirely supportive of my Lotus dream. She loves cars too. In fact, one of the first conversations we had was about cars. She knew what my WRX was, and I fell in love.

Enough of that sappy stuff. The point is, Hayes LOVES tractors, trucks and cars. According to my mom, I should have already know this, since he’s been making “Rmmm” noises for several months while dragging and pushing his toys about. No doubt copying me, since I’m laible to race about the house carrying him and making engine and shifting noises.

This, I am told, is much different than my younger brother who could have cared less about cars unless I was playing with them. He was more excited about baseball and numbers. He memorized the baseball encyclopedia when he was about 8. The whole thing. Yes, all of it.

So, no moment that finally punched me in the gut with Hayes was last weekend. We were out trying to buy slate for a path from our porch to the lawn. We were walking down a hill toward a parked tractor, and Hayes missed it entirely. I was dissapointed. We moved onto a path so we could no longer see the tractor and I put Hayes down. Then, the tractor started up.

Holy shit. I’ve never seen Hayes run so fast. He made a fastbreak down the path, whipped around the corner and tore through 6 inches of mud toward the tractor, finger pointing and screaming, “Whassdat? Whassdat?”

It was AWESOME. Yes, I’m now sure. Like father, like son! Vrmmm-Vrrrmmm!