You might know I was in New York last weekend. It was my first trip away from Gabriel, to all new parents, I have to say: the anticipation is far worse than the reality of being away. I went for dinner with Matt, Jackie, Rich and Rachel, and met up with Stu and Claire afterwards. We tried to go to Buttermilk Channel. At 6pm, there was a 1.5 hour wait, so instead we went to Ferdinando's on the other side of the BQE.
I also got to meet David for the fist time. My little nephew David who can't inherit any of G's clothes because he grows as fast as Clifford the Big Red Dog.
I also saw Nell and Jonah and got to shop on my own, and eat tons of great food. Nell and I did a pilgrimage to 9th street espresso.
Gabriel was unsure how to react on my return, but after a few seconds processing, he said: You came back! It was only 4 days, but it felt like he had more words, more songs, more jokes for me. He was filled with stories of going to the museum and seeing dinosaurs with his dad. He has even developed this new "fake" laugh. It's pretty awesome.
Jackie got him this fake food set that has a painted wooden knife component for "cutting" through velcro-assembled food. He loves that knife and won't put it down. Last night we went for a walk before dinner in the warm spring weather - just his black hoodie and no coat for once. And I didn't think about the knife until he ran ahead, brandishing the "play knife" and giggling like a maniac.
