A Great Start to the New Year

On the morning of the first, we woke up early-ish (8 or so), packed a lunch and our yak trax, and headed out a for a winter hike in the Fells, a 2,000+ acre reservation area just a 15-minute drive from our place. It's crazy that we haven't taken advantage of this great, local hiking before. After a short walk in, we took the rock circuit trail and found a large flat rock: a perfect, if a bit-slushy picnic spot. After making a fine repast of PBJ sandwiches, clementines, and pureed peas and brown rice we hiked for another hour and a half before heading home for a lazy Saturday afternoon of napping, cooking, and playing on the floor. I only hope the rest of the year will be as good as this first day of 2011.

The OMs go to Philly

Isaac's tuckered out after a long day of sight-seeing--and a long night of on-demand nursing.

As many of you know, this past week, our family traveled to Philadelphia for a six-day, five-night stay. The purpose of this trip was for Anique to attend the ASCB (American Society for Cell Biologists) meeting. Our original plan had been to fly, but at the last minute we decided to drive and we were so glad that we did: Isaac is awesome in the car and we had so much stuff to bring (he comes with a lot of winter accessories). Plus, we were able to make a quick stop in Larchmont to see our friends, the Reists (Ali and Jason, sorry we didn't call you, but we figured you would still be at work).

Anique says: "While the trip was a lot of effort to prepare for, I got a lot out of meeting people in my field. And, it got me thinking about what to do after Brandeis."

While Anique spent her days listening to talks on cilia and centrosomes, Isaac and I took in the sights. From our hotel in Center City, we were super close to Independence National Historic Park, so on Saturday, I strapped on the Bjorn and we headed out into the cold to take a tour of Independence Hall. I took a couple of quick pics, but as you will see from the one shot of Isaac and me together, he was rather nonplussed by all that history. Later in the week, we returned to see the Liberty Bell and to visit the National Constitution Center; there, with Isaac asleep in his stroller, I was able to check out the Art of the American Soldier exhibit. Not sure if the website captures it, but for those in/near Philly it's really worth seeing.

On another frigid day (20 degrees), we visited the Franklin Institute, where we saw the Cleopatra exhibit -- very cool! -- and Isaac got to hang out by their giant walk-through heart, a Philly institution that's been there since 1953. Sadly, we didn't actually walk through it, though based on the cacophony of screams we could hear bouncing around its chambers, the experience must have been 25% educational, 75% fun house. (As you can see from the pics, Isaac was most impressed with the taste of his stroller's safety harness. Sometimes it's the simplest things.)

All in all, it was a fun trip. Anique's poster session went really well and even though she was working most of the day, we still had some quality family time, most of which we spent eating. We became regulars at the Reading Terminal Market and on the recommendation of our Philly friends, Morris and Rachel Levine (who we saw for dinner on Monday), we stopped for gelato at Capogira on our way out of town ... even though it was 21 degrees out, even though it was 10:30 in the morning. And let me tell you, it was worth it.

Isaac's dreidel

Like most Jewish kids, Isaac is only moderately enthusiastic about spinning the dreidel. And he hasn't even been exposed to TV or video games yet, so ...

Chappy Chanukah everyone!

Not Your Average Joe's--delicious dessert with candles just for us!

--
Brandeis University
Molecular Cell Biology (MCB) Ph.D. Candidate

Happy Thanksgiving

Continuing a tradition begun when we first moved to the area in 2006, my parents traveled up to Boston for Thanksgiving. They arrived on Wednesday along with my sister Moriah and her boyfriend, Craig, who both flew in from Tuscon. Then on Thursday morning, we all drove up to Barrington to celebrate the holiday with the Olivier clan. The meal was phenomenal and included Anique's first attempt at a tofurkey (Craig's vegan and Moriah's vegetarian, though most of the omnivores partook). Consesus: tasty but perhaps a little heavy on the tofu (6 pounds of it). More well received was Anique's vegan pumpkin bread pudding. Popular with Masons and Oliviers alike, this dish might have been sweet enough to have helped forge a more communitarian relationship between the Europeans and the Native Americans. If only we could go back in time. We capped the day with a walk along Swain's Lake and an hour of singing around the fire place.

Having my family here was great and Isaac provided plenty of entertainment and opportunities for the out-of-practice (and in Moriah's case, the uninitiated) to change his diapers, feed him cereal, make him laugh. Special shout-out to my folks who watched Isaac on Saturday night so that Anique and I could go on a special date to the Finland Steam Baths, a favorite spot of ours in Quincy (when you scan down the webpage, keep your eyes out for a picture of Danielle and Zev along with our/their friends, Christie and Charlie). We then returned to the Not Your Average Joes in Watertown for drinks, veggie spring rolls, and the Chocolate Peanut Butter Thing, a decadent concoction. Anique told our waitress that this was only our 4th date since Isaac's birth, and to our surprise, the dish arrived topped with candles and the framed with the words CONGRATS! in peanut butter sauce. And, even better, it was on the house! What a great date. We made it back just in time for Isaac's now-routine 10:30 PM wake-up. Hopefully, once those top two teeth come in, we can get back to sleeping through the night (all three of us).

Grandma T feeds Isaac

During her recent visit, Isaac's Grandma T showed off her impressive skills serving (and celebrating) squash. 

Isaac vs. Squash

As many of you know, Isaac has been a less-than-enthusiastic eater -- like a dieting actress, he prefers all of his meals to be in liquid form. However, he seems partial to squash. And when Isaac eats squash it's a full body sport.