Columbus Day

After our house-bound weekend, Lilian and I were fortunate enough that we  felt well enough on Monday to meet up with  family that was still around. We all headed downtown to the Rose Kennedy Greenway to enjoy a lovely, fall day.

We stopped to check out the fountain, but it was too cold to play in it.

We also took a ride on the new carousel that debuted back in August. I wish I’d taken more pictures (I especially wish I’d brought my real camera so I had better photos than what I got with my iPhone). The carousel is really beautiful. It has 36 different creatures on it, including bunny rabbits, a fox, a skunk, and a couple lobsters.

I wish Lilian could have had a ride on the lobster, but we decided she’s still too little to sit on any of the animals. We decided to sit on the bench carved like a seal. It was still loverly.

I don’t know if it was the music (the most bizarre playlist I’ve heard in quite some time – it included the theme from Harry Potter, Baby Beluga, and some random pop song from the 80’s), the sites, or the motion of the carousel. But Lilian just about lost it out of happiness. She sat on my lap and smiled and clapped and just about looked as happy as I’ve ever seen her. And this kid is always happy. I told Kristian that we have to take her back. She really loved it.

We took a walk around the waterfront (not pictured), stopped by the aquarium to see the seal habitat out front (not pictured) before finally walking over to Faneuil Hall to get lunch. We decided to eat at a restaurant with outside seating, which should have been a good plan. Except we waited for almost an hour for our food. Which, with three little kids in tow, was just about as awful as you can imagine it getting when three little kids get hungry and they all meltdown simultaneously.

Luckily, my little kid is still super portable. So I took her for a little wander while we waited. Which is how I got to see two half-naked street performers doing acrobatics.

Lilian didn’t want to stick around to see the finale. At least that’s what I think she meant when she started screaming and grabbing at my hair. I figured our food would be ready, so I didn’t mind heading back.

I… figured wrong.

I’m still not sure what happened with our food. They eventually ended up comping half our bill, so that was nice.

Lilian got to try her very first french fry, so that was also nice.

I bought a little Red Sox hat for Lilian. Mostly because I felt guilty about buying a little Lego Dustin Pedroia for myself. She normally hates hats, but she loves this one. That’s my girl!

We headed back to my mom’s house for the rest of the afternoon. Which just might have been the nicest part of the day… because we got to spend it with folks we don’t get to see all that often. My step-brother and his family live on the other side of the country, so we rarely get to see them. I think the last time we saw them was at our wedding. This was their first time meeting Lilian.

Lucky for us, we get to see lots of these lovely people in November when we’re all getting together for Thanksgiving. I can’t wait!