Shop Girl

First things first: congratulations are in order for the Wilsons (Jessica & Sean), who brought Magnus Leonard Gray into our world bright and early in the Morning on March 4th! (We just found out, or we would have told you earlier...) See the cute pics here.

Next, Naomi covered some of the intense cuteness that is Nora in last week's post. I'm still floored every time I look at those adorable pictures of her from the Botanical Garden. And that one of her walking across Wade Oval really hits my soft spot, too (notice the cranes on the horizon? yes, shovels still turn and buildings still rise these days!). We forgot to post the following pictures of Nora's first face-to-face with a horse. Princeton is a member of the University Circle Police Department's mounted patrol and is very well-behaved!

I had the pleasure of spending the early part of the day with Nora last week at Shaker Square. This is one of the original transit oriented shopping centers in the US and the trains still run through every 5 minutes or so. Based on constant pressure from daddy, Nora is learning to love our beloved rapid transit. She definitely loves window shopping! It took us 45 minutes to walk the square, which I would estimate is about a quarter-mile. We didn't have the camera, but I still managed to take some pics with my phone. Here's one:


Next, Nora & I had a half-day together this past Monday. Mommy suggested that we go to the library for story time, but I doubt she really thought we'd get our lazy butts up and go. Well, we did and it was great! Nora's friends Zoli and Graham were there with Carol. They're Tuesday buddies as well, but Nora was thrilled to see them a day early! Again, no camera, but my trusty cell phone captured a few priceless moments.

After story time had ended, the gang (Graham on the left and Zoli in the middle) hopped on a horse built for three. They friggin LOVED this thing!

Next, we worked with the children's librarian to make Dr. Seuss hats!

They also have this great carpeted ramp and reading area, which is great fun for kids who can barely walk straight!


The very next day, Nora learned how to sign "Zoli." It's adorable... she does it A LOT!

You know what else she's learning about? The potty! Yes, Naomi bought her one last week and she's been spending some time on it here and there with a book in her lap. We weren't expecting much... just trying to get her comfortable with it, until one night, just before her bath, she tinkled right in the bowl! I was so excited and was praising her something fierce. She, of course, had no idea what I was so happy about. Suffice it to say, it hasn't happened since, but come on, that's cool! Sorry, no pics...

New topic:

I've mentioned our growing little retail district, Gordon Square, before. It's very exciting because there's a lot going on, including the fall opening of a new 3-screen art house cinema in what is the oldest standing theater in Cleveland. In the meantime, we've got a bright group of shop-owners who have invested in the district and take it upon themselves to create fun events to lure shoppers out. The latest was called "The World of Detroit-Shoreway" and involved each shop taking on a nationality. Room Service owner Danielle recently returned from a merchandising trip to Paris, so she was France. Duo Home was Germany and Kitsch City was the Far East. On top of having great goods to sell, Luxe provided fare from each region (baguette, cheese & wine, German chocolate cakes, dim sum... yum!). The whole thing was great fun and Nora enjoyed her second shopping trip (non-grocery) in a week. We even picked up a gift for Magnus!

At Room Service (courtesy of Danielle):

Lastly, I'll leave you with something that may frighten many of you. I ran in my first road race of the year this morning with about 3,000 of my fellow Clevelanders. It was the 29th Annual St. Malachi Race and I did well, tackling a hilly 5-miler through the Flats in under 42 minutes (that's good for me, especially this early in the season). That's not the scary part, though. It was what I decided to do after the race that might scare you:

Naomi wouldn't look at me without holding her hand over my mouth and Nora wouldn't stop staring at my 'stache. She even put sunglasses on to lessen the effects of its glow:

Don't worry... I shaved that sucker off after I put her to bed.

G'night!