Tacos, tumbling and blogs - OH MY!

Last night we had an unexpected adventure. Though it looked as if it might rain any minute, the three of us set out for a walk once Mark came home from work. The other night Kristen mentioned that it looked like there was a new taqueria open at Fifth and Thompson. I had read that the owners of Las Cazuelas were opening a taqueria and I had been looking forward to it. So Mark, Noah and I strolled (with stroller) in the direction of the new Taco Riendo. We wanted to see if it was open and to grab a menu for a possible future meal.

When we arrived at Taco Riendo I asked Mark to stay outside with the stroller while I ran in for a menu. But we both soon realized that inside was a friendly neighborhood couple we know (Mark met them while doing neighborhood canvassing for Move On) and their ten-month old son. I greeted them and they invited us in. We chatted briefly while they ate, and we ordered food to go. In their situation Dad stays home and Mom works - and that is always refreshing. Their son is adorable and definitely in the grabby can't sit still phase. He's on the verge of walking and talking - and he is proudly sporting one shiny new tooth. It's really nice meeting neighbors with infants - I fantasize about swapping babysitting and our kids growing up together. It would be so cute if they would interact - but I read the other day that children don't play interactively until the age of two. And of course while we were in the taqueria Noah sat quietly and scanned the room with saucer-sized eyes. SO much to see.

And the food - AMAZING. I had the enchiladas mole which came with black beans and rice. It was a delicious. And pretty reasonable. My entrée was a whole meal for $6. But skip the Mexican sodas if you're on a budget. They are $2.50 each.

Oh and we found out from said neighborhood couple that the former Zekas market on Girard which is now adorned with an awning that says "Taste" is to be a restaurant operated by the father of Hadar Nisimi, the owner of Aden. That too is very exciting. I really like Hadar. He worked at Il Cantuccio when it first opened and Mark and I went there often. Hadar remembers faces and was always super friendly and accommodating. And when he opened Aden we became regulars there too. Plus his sister who often hostesses at Aden was in our yoga class. They are really nice people. And of course the food at Aden is excellent. I would be willing to bet that Taste will be just as good.

Have I mentioned that Noah has become quite the gymnast? He's become very adept at seeing something out of his reach, rolling towards it, and reaching out and trying to grab it. He has gotten pretty agile at the rolling and reaching, but the grabbing needs some work. Often he bats something out of his reach several times before he actually gets it in his grasp. Practice. Practice. Practice. I have a series of photos to illustrate but I am having problems with my photo posting program.

And last but not least - blog talk. Yesterday I got my first comment from a stranger! So exciting. You can check out her blog. We wish her daughter Sophie gets well soon. I use the next blog function in blogspot all the time, but I never comment. But as I was next blogging yesterday I ran into this blog. Inspired by my first stranger comment and because she had a post requesting that next blog visitors leave her a comment - I did. And she was as pleased to get her first stranger comment as I was to get mine. Pay it forward. (And no, Jon, not the Haley Joel Osment movie, just the idea that spawned the movie. Though I do often see dead bloggers.)