Infant Lap Time

This picture is about 6 months old, which is significant when the child is only 7 months old, but there you have it.

My stay-at-home sister Emily recently moved to DC, in fact to within 2 miles of my house! It is so great having her and her husband and their adorable baby so close all the time. Seeing as I am currently a stay-at-home dog walker/tennis instructor/full-time uncle, I often attend baby Ruby's (Rubies?) infant lap time at the DC public library. These play times are very precious. Once a week (sometimes twice) I gather with about 40 other women and the children they have been entrusted to watch over (while their mothers are busy being lawyers and welders; that's not entirely true, about 1/4 of the women are non-nannies) to sing and move in a coordinated fashion. We sing difficult songs, read lengthy books, and overall do all we can to inspire these 6-12 month old prodigies. Today's song was very hard for me to remember so I wrote the lyrics down. They are as follows: "We tap the floor. We tap the floor. We tap the floor with our hands." I can always remember the first two verses but that third one is very forgettable. Then we read a book about babies. It had all sorts of terminology I didn't understand (onesie? layette?) but most of the pictures were of babies so I assumed that's what the book was about. The infant lap time lasts about 20 minutes but then most of the mothers, and one uncle, hang out to let their babies stare at each other awkwardly while the mothers/nannies/uncle discuss stroller speeds, Amazon mom (not at all what I thought it was), infant modesty, and diaper strength. I am certainly getting quite the education with my move to DC and my new little niece Ruby!

Some Timely Sporty Observations

I've been watching a lot of sports games the past few weeks. The NBA playoffs are in full swing (basketball), the NHL hockey playoffs are full throttle (hockey), and I'm currently following two baseball teams- the Nationals of Washington and the Boston Red Sox. It's a full time job keeping up with all these sports (reading news articles online, reading the sports page in the morning, listening to sports radio, checking scores on my phone, and managing relationships not based on sporting events); thankfully I have the time right now. I've made some observations that I would like to impart for your benefit and the benefit of my Iowan readers, who, by my estimation, don't know what hockey is.
Hockey Fights- I've watched a handful of hockey fights this season and they are always entertaining. Here are funny things about hockey fights:

1. The players have so many pads on they can hardly even reach the other person. Their arm movements are very limited and they can never seem to get very close to each other because, well, they are standing on slippery ice. Actually landing a punch is about as common as a spelling 'Welcome' with a 'k.'
2. The players have so many pads on their punches don't even hurt. If by some chance they do land a punch the chances of it hitting any bare skin are slim to none. Trying to attack a person who's dressed to withstand an imminent, flaming meteor is just not a smart move.
3.  In addition to hockey fights, I love it when a player drops his stick and then can't pick it up because his glove fingers are too puffy. It's really funny. Hockey is such a great sport: Go Bruins!

Onto the basketball front, there's been one main observation I've made while watching many, many playoff games. It is this: Basketball players are always hunched over. Go watch a game and you'll see what I'm talking about. They're like cavemen with their knuckles dragging on the parquet (but luckily they aren't generally slavers). Basketball is my favorite sport to play and I too turn into Quasimodo when I hit the court... with my knuckles.
Now for my baseball observations. I've been blessed to attend 3 Nationals games thus far, and watched a few other games this season. The baseball season nearly has more regular season games (162) than basketball (82) and hockey (82) combined, and it leads to an arduous season. As a result the players tend to get a little bored. I love watching an 'attentive' third baseman spinning his glove on his finger as the pitcher goes into his windup. I enjoy watching a right fielder doing cartwheels while the shortstop pulls out How to Win Friends and Influence People in an effort to finish the chapter before anything happens. Baseball really is a great sport, especially in person. If you haven't been to a game this year come visit me and we'll go watch the Nats.

The Lobster Shanty

Now that I am done with college it's time to start working. Oh wait, I'm sorry, did I say work?  I meant PARTYING! My next job doesn't start until late June so I have two months to live it up. I went home to Boston for two weeks and had a really delightful time (for all you Boston peeps, I'm sorry I didn't call you to hang out. I was pre-occupied). I went to the Chihuly exhibit at the MFA, did lots of shopping and basketball, watched the Boston Marathon, and even had some visitors. Both my sisters and their husbands came up, as well as my friends Michelle and Melissa. The next weekend my friend Diana came up too.  I think the most fun thing I did was eat a twin lobster dinner with Diana in Salem. I mean seriously, look at these pictures. Can't you see how much I've matured since I've graduated college?

I ended up just eating the whole lobster, including the legs.

Oh my gosh, Diana is being suffocated! My nose has enlarged! (That's a joke regarding Pinocchio).