Who?

Finally! I have a name, my very own name. For months, Sasha has referred to me and Nerdy (and occasionally other random adult women) as "Mama." But now he's started to verbally distinguish us. That's right, call me Mahmoo. I love it! Nothing makes me smile faster than hearing him yell from the other room, "MAAHMOOOOH!! MAAAAAHMOOOOOO!!!!

I Love My Friendly Son

Lately Sasha can't get enough of greeting everyone he sees with a nice wave and "Hi!" and "Bye!" It's cute and funny to interact with people on the street where we would otherwise pass each other unnoticed. But today... Today takes the cake.

We went to a Vietnamese coffee/sandwich place and they have a maneki neko on the front counter. What the heck is that? I never knew the name of it until now, but it's one of those Japanese cats with the upraised arm (the translation is "beckoning cat"). They're for good luck, more money, more customers, etc.

The shop we visited had a triple cat statue with whiskers and a gold one with a moving arm. I guess they need a lot of luck. Anyway, Sasha starts meowing at the cat while we're waiting for our order. I let him touch the whiskers and check it out for a few seconds, but the coffee came really fast. So we took a seat and the Bub is facing the cats though we're a fair distance away. But now he notices the one with the constantly waving arm. Then: Waving. Hi! Waving. Hi! Meow! Waving. Hi! Hi! Meow! Waving. Meow! Hi! Hi!

I usually try not to laugh when he's being serious, but I couldn't help the guffaws. Even more ridiculous, he wouldn't stop until I blocked his view by sitting in between the cats and my sweet goofball.

Teetza

The Bub and I met Mama at the Dashing Diva nail salon after work. There's a playground across the street, of course, and we spent so much time there we decided to have pizza slices for dinner. Why was the playground so much fun? Because there's a gate.

Sasha made a frienemy in another boy almost exactly his age who also wanted to open and close the entrance gate 300 times in a row. The parents hovered, encouraging them both to "Share the gate! It's good to share!" They came close to a shoving match a couple of times but generally impressed me by not freaking out on each other and successfully taking turns, one opening the gate, the other closing it.

Then we went for pizza. We took off his shirt to protect his clothing if you're wondering why he looks naked in the picture. Bibs cramp his style. Nerdy taught him the word for it, "Pizza," and every time he took a bite he announced, "Teetza." Chomp.

P.S. from Nerdy: for those native NYers reading this blog, I apologize for the flat piece of pizza being offered to the Bub but it was much easier for him to bite into than the traditional (and far superior) folded slice.

Nerdy Chic

This picture (captured by Nerdy's phone) is from February, but I thought it was funny enough to post. We were at Costco trying to entertain the Bub until we were done shopping-- which is really hard now that he can run faster than most adults. So, let's try on kid glasses! Sasha thought it was a blast and wouldn't take them off til he was good and ready.