Another first: The Zoo

K experienced her first trip to the zoo at the national zoo in Washington DC this past weekend and had it been 10 degrees cooler, we would have all actually been comfortable. Perhaps the excessive heat was to blame for the lack of animal sightings? For the first 30 minutes, every animal exhibit we came to was devoid of any living, moving creature. But there were plenty of rocks and trees. Which is why K kept pointing and enthusiastically crying out "rock"!! Naturally, she believed we were spending the afternoon at a rock museum and was humoring us, sweet child.

Okay, admittedly these pictures are not going to win me any awards in photojournalism. But it was just too hot, I tell you!

We will probably wait awhile before our next zoo outing as K wasn't as excited as we had hoped. That and I suffered massive panic attacks at the tiger exhibit when my maternal instict to protect my offspring consumed me. Why is it that as a mom you envision every worst-case scenario in every circumstance??

Our (fleeting) return to NYC

Over the labor day weekend, K, J and I went up to NYC for a little E & E (eating and eating). That was our primary goal, along with 1) getting J a decent haircut; 2) hitting up children's boutiques; and 3) seeing old friends. The haircut didn't happen, J began to complain when I dragged him to the 9th toy store in 2 days, and having brunch with old friends made us feel like we never left nyc.


We stayed in Union Square for old time's sake and during the entire weekend, the city never missed a beat. K particularly was in sensory overload - the fire engines, the fantastical toy stores, the near-perfect croissants (her favorite pastry to date) and strollers, dogs, people everywhere! Oh, and undoubtedly the very best part of the entire weekend for K was...





...pistachio and hazelnut gelato at Cones in the west village. Who knew you could buy (and eat) happiness?? Or that it came in a sugar cone?

Here are some more pics from the trip:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/80427798@N00/

Martha, you have nothing to fear from me. Your throne is secure.

My first sewing machine!

Does it look like it cost $20? Yes. But does it sew? Heck yeeeeah.

The first project: A mini pillow for K's chair. Much to K's dismay, I've definitely caught the crafting bug. K is doomed to lose social acceptance if my visions of sewing all her kindergarten outfits play out.

Living for the here and now

K is now 17 months and surging ahead, with no concern for the past. I, however, lurk perpetually in the past, especially on evenings such as this when I'm going through her baby albums. I am silently desperate to clasp onto those moments so tightly, hoping to keep them fresh in my memory banks for as long as I can.

As I look through K's baby pictures, I feel like I am living some of the moments for the first time. This is because, sadly, I committed the worst of parenting crimes in that I failed to live in the present for much of these moments. I remember when K was a week old, I was thinking about when we'd ever reach the 12-week mark. When she reached 12 weeks, I yearned for all the allure that the 6-month stage held (solids! yay! what did i know!). When she graduated to 6 months, I pinned all my aspirations on 10 months - surely she would walk by then (again, i knew not for what i wished). I counted the days until she turned 12 months - surely that number contained magic? And as she inched toward 14 months...I held my breath for her first non mono-word sentence.

K has grown up too fast. I miss her grunting, instead of saying "momma, up, now!". I miss the the chubbiness, the drooling, compulsion to put everything into her mouth, the fascination with pulling herself up to a standing position before she plopped down again.

I'm determined to try harder tommorow to savor every unique moment that K offers up - the teething tanturms, insistence of running around unclothed and diaperless, the need to plunge headfist into every conceivable danger. I understand now why we shouldn't live in the future - it comes much too quickly!

The first family vacation, south beach style

We just returned from the "first" family vacation in South Beach, Miami (but have no j.lo glow to show for it - I guess spf 85 was a wee bit higher than neccessary). K experienced tons of "firsts": plane ride, beach sand, ocean, the pool, palm trees, seeing women running around topless, and art deco.
We actually ate everything but cuban food - the hotel was not within walking distance (in 90 degree humidity) of little havana, nor the rest of miami. So we spent most of our time on the beach, by the pool, eating at the pool restaurant and on Lincoln Road mall (which is a close approximation to being in a European city with all the euro[trash]peans lounging at the outdoor cafes chain smoking, sipping espresso and ordering a pound of bufala mozerella for dinner.)
Highlights of the trip include:

1) genius jones - a most delightful toy store!

2) ice box cafe - considered by some as home to the best cake in the u.s. after tasting the sour cream pecan coffee cake (for breakfast, might I add - aren't vacations sinfully indulgent?), we'd have to agree.

3) cafe con leche - strong cuban coffee +steamed milk + unknown and obscene quanitites of refined sugar = AH, NOW I'M BUZZED FOR THE NEXT 12 HOURS.

4) la sandwicherie - a french sandwich stand run by a group of italian men. the sandwiches were generous and fresh and packed with goodies (like a special french vinagerette).

5) friendship. we stayed in a hotel that was unfathomably spectacular due to the graciousness of j's friend. the setai lived up to the hype, but we missed out on the celebrity sightings since K's bedtime was 8pm. ah well, there's always next summer!

A few of our favorite moments...

The dog days of summer 2007

I have no reasonable idea as to what the "dog days of summer" refers but it was the only summer cliche that came to mind. And the phrase does conjure up images of running through lawn sprinklers and lemonade stands so it captures the spirit of today well as today marked the momumental 1st summer popsicle!

Nothing fancy went into making the popsicle - just some pear nectar diluted with water poured into an ikea popsicle kit. But a lot of trepidation was felt immediately before introducing the popsicle to K, a 15 mo who had not quite mastered the skill of holding a rapidly melting frozen treat w/o dropping it/letting it drip/refraining from hurling it across the room. I knew that short of putting her in the bathtub, a ominous sticky wet mess loomed in the near future. The OCD in me fiercely protested. But in the end, I was only too happy to present K with her popsicle. K's eyes grew wide as she tasted the cold treat. My soul swelled with the simple joy of the moment. Oh to taste a popsicle for the first time!

Too lazy to blog

I've been too lazy to blog lately. Ever since I got a library card from the local library, I've been borrowing books by the cartfuls to bring home, have them sit in a pile in the corner for three weeks untouched, accumulate a few days worth of overdue fines, and have them carted back to the library because reading books take time and time is scarce scarce scarce when there's an increasingly independent 14.5 month old in your life! K is truly coming into her own. These days, her favorite activities include:


1) Saying no
2) Still refusing to eat anything remotely healthy while saying no
3) Pulling every reachable item off the shelves at Target while I say no

Her major milestone is - ta da! - walking! Kind of. Her skill level when it comes to walking is somewhere between that of a hobbit and a graceful sumo wrestler. You'd know what I mean if you saw her in action.

Ah, the mismatched socks day. Sometimes K and I just throw caution to the wind and live life with abandon.

Here a couple more pics from the homefront to make up for the long absence...