November 2019

This year has had a lot of challenges that we've been adjusting to, so we are looking forward to the cozy comforts of the holiday season that officially begin in November. Here is a link to more photos and videos from November.

Turning 3 (Rob)

We celebrated toddlerhood in all its glory as Alex turned 3 this month. That means an influx of even more new toys than he usually gets, and we thank our family for all the kind gifts they sent. In our photo album linked above, you'll see many videos of him unwrapping or playing with those new gifts. We took him to Bouncing Monkeys, an inflatable playland, which he mildly enjoyed. Then we got pizza, opened some of his presents, had birthday cake, and watched the Minions movie (one of his birthday gifts). At age 3, Alex is 36 inches tall and 32 lbs, which puts him at about 50 percentile in both categories. He especially loves cars, trucks, and tractors. Not coincidentally, his favorite YouTube video and song is probably "I Love Trucks." One of his favorite activities is sitting in the driver's seat of the car and turning the wheel and pushing the buttons. His favorite iPad video game is Thinkrolls, which he is very good at. He is energetic and loves to run, climb, snuggle, and wrestle. He likes bananas, bread, chicken nuggets, and cookies of course, but can be picky about eating other things. He is still not verbal, but knows several signs now and says a few words on occasion such as "truck." He's starting to do some vocal imitations in therapy, which is promising. He knows many letters of the alphabet too, and can say them when he wants to.

AirBnB and Apartment (Rob)

Since summer, Becky and Alex have been staying in various AirBnB locations during the week out in the Hudson Valley area where Alex's ABA therapy clinic is. As interesting as it can be to sample different people's homes, getting an apartment is a less stressful long term approach. After many searches and unsuccessful applications, Becky found a decent apartment that seems to be safe and has what we need. The week of Thanksgiving, I met them out there and we started transferring some of our items and getting utilities set up. This will be a work in progress over the next few weeks, turning it into a home away from home. Now that Alex is 3, we think he's ready to graduate from his crib. So I foud him a big red car bed made of large molded plastic pieces that someone in the area was selling used. Once we get it set up with a mattress, I think he'll be excited to sleep in it.

Our plan is that starting in January, I will adjust my work schedule to have longer weekends, and I'll be going out there with them on those weekends so Becky and Alex don't have to make the drive (2-3 hours) to Binghamton every week anymore. Since our house will be more empty, I am listing it on AirBnB. I'll stay in the basement when I have guests during the week. So far, I have two bookings scheduled for January so I'm optimistic that there might be enough interest in this venture to make it worthwhile. 

Thanksgiving Week (Rob)

Since we aren't moved into the apartment yet, we were staying in someone's AirBnB that week in Newburgh. It was a HGTV-style renovated rowhouse (which is kind of like the brownstone buildings that are common in Brooklyn). Alex was getting over his cold and Becky was coming down with one, so it wasn't much fun.  We did take Alex in for a few hours of therapy on Wednesday, and I got to see the clinic and meet some of the people who have been working with him for the first time. On our way back to Binghamton on Thursday, we stopped in a small town called Middletown for our Thanksgiving dinner. We ended up at The Colonial Diner, a popular local spot is open 24/7, where we enjoyed nice hot meals. It was the comfort food that we needed. We had no other major plans for the long weekend besides relaxing, recovering from illness, and bracing ourselves for the first big winter storm of the season.