Arriving in Boston

My first view of the Boston skyline

We visited Boston for a couple of days last week. I have been wanting to tour this historic city ever since we moved to New England, but it just never happened for one reason or another. My wonderful hubby took a couple of days off of work last week to fulfill my dream before leaving the area.

Not on our list of sites to see while in Boston

Our trip started roughly. We left our house later than planned, and, when we arrived in Boston, we encountered many closed roads as we were trying to find the apartment we had rented. A was screaming in the back, and, when we were forced to turn around at a closed bridge, I seized the opportunity to nurse her and hold her a bit. Meanwhile, Timo took H to relieve his bladder. They stepped over a construction fence, and, on the way back, Timo's foot caught on something, and the two of them crashed into a pallet. I was oblivious to all this until I see Timo carrying a crying H. Then he said, "I'm sorry, Jennifer. We have to go to the hospital."

H waiting for his turn to see the ER doctor

Thankfully, we could look for hospitals on the GPS, and the first one we encountered was at MIT. They refused to see H because he was too young. They claimed that they aren't allowed to see anyone under 18. Frustrated, we moved on to Massachusetts General Hospital. They were great. They put us in a family room to wait, and we were out of there in about an hour and a half. They also brought us crayons and coloring pages, bubbles, toys, and stickers. It made waiting with five overtired kids so much easier. H had his chin glued in two places, and we were finally able to complete our journey to the apartment.

H Turns Five

Yesterday, we celebrated H's fifth birthday. Life has been crazy, and I was a little worried that he would not feel special and celebrated. The morning after arriving home from Boston, I baked a cake for his party. H had requested a castle cake, which I had never attempted before. Honestly, I was a little intimidated by the whole thing. When I was done, though, I was satisfied with the results, and, more importantly, so was he.

When I had asked H what he wanted to do to celebrate his birthday, he mentioned some neighbor boys he wanted to invite over to swim. I therefore planned on a relaxed swimming party where the time would be filled in the pool. Unfortunately, H could not swim because of his chin. The glue was supposed to remain dry for another week. This left me mentally scrambling to figure out how to entertain the kids. Fortunately, H is a good sport, and, after a couple of races and a water balloon fight, he said that they could still swim. He came inside with me, and I let him watch some Animaniacs. Then, he went back outside and got in the pool. He was good and stayed on the steps to keep his chin dry, though it did get splashed a couple of times.

After the kids got out of the pool, we got out a veggie tray to snack on and the cake. The party was about over, so after cake and ice cream, H opened the present from his friends, and we said goodbye. When they were gone, he opened his presents from us, and the kids played superheroes for the rest of the day (he received four superhero costumes).

I think he had a good time. He told me today that he likes birthdays. I take that as a sign that all went well in his eyes. I love my sweet H, and I am glad he feels like we took time to make him happy.