Your first outings

Dear Nicholai,

Today is Monday May 30th (5 days after your birth), and we're resting today to give your mom some time to heal and get some sleep. The day before yesterday, we took you on your first outing. We went to the park just outside our apartment on the Mystic River. We pushed you in your stroller and you got your first feel for the outdoors. Later on we want to take you camping, so this was a great experience for you. We took a lot of pictures, especially since your grandparents from Texas are still here.

Yesterday, we took you on your first historical tour at the Lexington Battle Green. We took a tour of Buckman's Tavern, which was the meeting place for the Minutemen just before the first shot of the American Revolutionary War occurred just outside on the Green. Paul Revere was in the tavern with a trunk full of treasonous secrets that he took across the Green just before the first shots rang out. We even bought you a little shirt that says "One if by land, two if by sea" of course referring to the lantern signals that were hung in Old North Church in Boston for Paul Revere so that he could alert Lexington and Concord. We'll definitely take you there sometime too since it's on the Freedom Trail.

Your expressions when we took the tour made it seem like you were understanding the history. We said that you were already "knocking on history's door" and that maybe you would be a brilliant historian when you grow up. Andrea said that she was told babies don't even know they're outside the womb until they're about four months old. So I looked at you with your Paul Revere shirt and said "So you don't even know you're outside the womb but you understand the whole revolutionary war?". Of course, I've also said that maybe you would be an optical or particle physicist, or a concert pianist (since we only listen to classical music when you're in the car since we heard that it might help your brain development). We have high hopes and expectations for you and I'll see to it that your given the best opportunities to make your dreams come true.

We're taking it easy and just hanging out in the apartment today. Tomorrow, I'm taking you to work at the lab to show you off.

Love, your dad, Justin