Penchuk.com

This weekend we flew up to Boston to visit Matt and Carrie. We couldn’t wait to go because Matt didn’t know we were coming for his 30th birthday! We flew up on Thursday afternoon and made it to their apartment before Matt (and Carrie) made it home. So when Matt arrived, Laura, Ben and I were already there. Surprise! Mom and Artie showed up a few hours later.

He seemed pretty shocked and appeared to love the surprise. We stayed in the Apartment Penchuk (a great place in Back Bay) and experienced big city living, even if for just a few days. Friday night was Matt’s birthday celebration. We got a babysitter and headed out to Maggiano’s for a feast with the family and a few of Matt’s friends.

Saturday brunch was spent visiting with my dear friend Alissa, with whom I went to college. She got to meet Ben for the first time. Then we took a walk across Boston for a great dinner at Dom’s in the North End. If you go, I highly recommend the cheesecake.

To end the evening, Ben stayed overnight with Grandma and Artie. The young folks then did what young folks do…we stayed in and fell asleep early. Seriously. Matt’s 30 and Laura and I are even older. We’re not as young as we used to be.

We had a great time and can’t wait to go back. Of course, we can probably wait for the spring thaw.

As I was leaving Ben’s room tonight so he could go to sleep, Laura said, “Tell Daddy night night.” And Ben being the absolutely brilliant child that he is, said, clear as a bell, “Night night.” They say it’s the little things in life. They’re right.

It’s really a weird habit that Laura and I can’t figure out. We get in the car to go someplace and within 5 minutes, Ben has taken off his left shoe and sock. It’s almost without fail every time we get in the car. Lately it’s been extremely cold here, but no matter, our sockless wonder is still at it. Anyone know why he might do this?

They say kids do something new everyday, partly because their minds are nothing but these incredibly absorbent mental sponges. Well, Ben is doing something new everyday. Today he actually sat for a good 6 or 7 minutes in my lap while we read a book. It may not seem like a big deal, but his attention span has been shorter in the past. More and more now I am noticing little changes like being able to sit through a whole book.

Parenthood is just the greatest. By the way, there are new pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Just in case my legions of daily readers of Penchuk.com were wondering what was going on here, I wanted to let you know that the site is currently in transition. I’m trying to figure out how the new version is going to work. Obviously, all of the old content from years past isn’t available. I’m not sure that I’m going to bring it back (it was getting a little overwhelming). Just hang tight and I’ll get the site back to the “new normal”.