Officially Fun

I try to remember what we did for play this time last year.  It was September and Levi had just said his first word: bird.  He was crawling and standing without support.  That much I remember (in this sleep-deprived state I am..see previous whine post).  But what in heck did we do for play?  I know it was not much fun for this adult.  Lucky for me just staring at my amazing baby son was more than entertaining back then.  Today play is officially fun.

With the emergence of language, Levi's thinking is coming through loud and clear.  Imaginative, funny and all the happy superlatives you could throw in here, put it here--that's Levi.  Levi's thing now is retelling simple transportation events such as Pop going to work.  Grandma and Grandpa coming from Queens to visit.  Levi goes to school.  He adds details such as mode of transportation, traffic, signaling street lights and speed.

Fresh after an afternoon nap and snack, Levi went to his table where I had assembled some buildings.  He looked at each building thoughtfully.  I pointed at a purple building and said that it was our home.

Levi then had a question. "Where Anthony cat?"  For reasons beyond me, Levi is very concerned about one of Pop's friends' cat and asks that frequently.  I took a dog out of his little people collection and placed it next to a green building and said, "That's Anthony's cat.  The cat is at Anthony's house."

That was it.  Levi took over the diorama.  He took a train from his train set collection and put a little boy in it, saying that was him going to his Grandma and Grandpa's house.  Then he asked me where school was.  I pointed at another building, and he added two female figurines: Avigayil and Michelle, his teachers.  "Wait wait Levi school wait wait," he said, and moved a red car to the school.  Slowly I stepped back (actually plopped back on the couch) and let him do the talking.

This is so much fun, watching my son's mind unfurling.

Sleep Woes

I want to sleep.  At 5:30 am in the morning when I get up as an attempt to get things done early before Levi wakes up, I want to sleep some more.  At 9:00 am, when Levi has been up for three and a half hours already (yes, he woke up shortly after 5:30), I want to sleep.  Come lunch, I would forego food gladly and sleep.  But Levi is raring to go.  

Changes

(Photo Credit: Tate Tullier)

Lately it has been darn near impossible for me to post something.  My camera is not quite working--it will not focus.  Maybe it's the lens?  I have to take my camera to the shop and see what's up with that.  But I have plenty of photos to choose from.

Being pregnant with a toddler who suddenly MUST walk whenever we go out (no strollers, Mama, and absolutely no carrying!) is no walk in the park.  I am tired.  Most of the time I feel as if I closed my eyes long enough I could fall into the deepest, the most delicious slumber ever.  Unfortunately that does not happen, not even at night when in bed.  I am not sleeping well.

I think it is the changes in my body as well as the air.  Summer is ending; fall is coming.  This family of three is turning into a family of four.  The cellar still is not finished so our second floor is still in upheaval.  I am going to teach a couple courses starting tomorrow.  

Changes are also coming to those close and dear to us.  Doug's father, my mother.  For a long time we talked about those changes as if they were a distant possibility; now they are imminent and real.  

I am so sorry to be cryptic; some of those changes are not mine to share yet but sooner than later those changes will manifest themselves in future posts.  

Douglas and I are purging the contents from the cellar, including our photo albums.  He came across this photograph of my mother and left it on my bureau.  The photograph of my mother reminds me that changes are always happening, right under our noses.  It is just every now and then that those little shifts in life add up to a completely new direction that cannot be ignored and must be taken.

Facts of Life

Since returning from Paris, I felt disillusioned with New York City.  Even the Chrysler tower seemed duller than usual.

Yep!

Levi's 20 Month Snapshot

 Levi is on the verge of running.  Someone called it "powerwalking."  Exactly.  This is a snapshot of our powerwalker at 20 months.

Mirror, Mirror

Mirror, mirror, who is like me?

July 23: Au Revoir, France

Three weeks had gone by.  It was time to return home to our responsibilities and must-dos.  A friend of mine once wrote that "to travel was the best excuse to do nothing."

July 21: TA-DA!

Museums are excellent retreats from rainy days and sweltering days.

July 20: HOT

The Paris heatwave was waiting for us when we returned from Nice.  Bright and hot.  No breeze.  Ronit and Benjamin, a Parisienne couple we met in Israel a few years ago, invited us over for a day at the pool.  Pools are big in Paris.

July 18: A Different Kind of Beautiful

Photo Credit: Douglas Ridloff

My narrow definition of the perfect beach burst wide open that evening in Nice.

July 18: Nice Mistake

Looking back I want to pat ourselves on the back.  After checking out of Cannes we headed to the airport only to find out we somehow got the dates wrong.  We were at the airport a day too early.  Oops.

July 17: Checking Out

Hotel Canberra and its air-con and iced drinks did us good, and after two days it was time to check out.  Have a good weekend, everybody!

July 17: Gastronomy and Solitude

Cannes is tiny.  And crowded.

July 16: Bubbles in Cannes

We stayed up past midnight and it was so worth it.  Levi wasn't even the only baby around.

July 16: Cannes AM/PM

Cannes is what happens when Las Vegas meets Miami.  

July 13-15: A Miscellany of Photos

Our days in Paris began to get comfortable.  I got a little lazy with taking photos.

July 12: The Day of the Pink Balloon

We planned the day around a pink balloon.  Seriously.  And it backfired.

July 10: Be Cool, Fool

It took us a little over a week to finally say, the hell with it.

July 10: Jardin Du Luxembourg

The day of the Eiffel Tower was mostly for the adults.  So today was mostly for the kid.  We headed to Jardin Du Luxembourg, the park that supposedly makes people want to move to Paris.  

July 9: Day of the Eiffel Tower

We started the day early and had a simple, light breakfast before heading out.  It was the day of the Eiffel Tower.

July 8: Olivia's Flat

I was unable to blog while in Paris.  Levi essentially went to sleep when we did, woke up when we woke up and napped while we were traveling from one place to another.

A Blink of an Eye

Found via clin-doeil.eu

The film festival was an overwhelmingly wonderful experience.  Nine thousand people showed up.  Nine thousand.  From all over the world (mostly Europe, but there were people from Japan, Taiwan, Australia, Brazil, Africa and so on) people came to watch films starring or done by Deaf individuals.  Levi took it all in stride, not taken aback by the confusion of different sign languages at all.  He was unfazed, unlike his parents.

La Pere Lachaise Cemetery

We slept in until noon like a group of teenagers.

Biz

Here we are in Paris!

List #24: Getting Ready for Paris

Having a baby requires careful preparation.  Douglas and I always liked the fly-by-the-seat-of-our-pants approach to traveling, but that was then.  This is now--traveling with a little darling changes things.  We want to have an easy, smooth journey so we are preparing.  Tonight we fly!

Throwback Thursday: 19 Weeks

This actually isn't a photo--this is a freeze frame from a video.  I could not quite figure out how to use Douglas' camera.   Since I was home alone for a few days and wanted to document my pregnancy without missing a week, I set the camera on a tripod and filmed myself and took one frame out.  I am so glad I now have my own camera and am learning how to use it, self-timer and all.

Levi's First ASL Slam

Idyllic

I feel a kinship with other parents whose baby is the same age as Levi.  I love hearing their stories.  Okay, I like to compare and contrast our babies.  It's very English major of me--to compare and contrast  in order to gain a better understanding of the world.  

My conversation with other parents usually goes something like this: "So what is your baby doing now?" "She's talking nonstop!"  "My kid too!  He's also climbing on everything."  "Really?  My girl got over that months ago."  That's a typical conversation.

Last Friday during a typical compare-and-contrast chat with another parent, he tossed the word idyllic at me.  He said that my life appears idyllic here.  That word stayed with me.  Idyllic?  

I choose to focus on the good moments because we humans have a funny tendency to dwell on the bad and forget the good.  In addition to wanting to record the good moments, I also want remain true to who Levi is and what mamahood is.  

So, idyllic?  Life is far from idyllic.  Lately life has been sticky, hot and messy.  We have no air conditioning (that's another story) and we are going through a renovation so our home is still in upheaval.  And most importantly Levi is going through changes.  He ate practically nothing for days, sending me into panic.  

Then, boom, one day he asked for orange juice and crackers.  

Now he is eating and nursing like a madman.  I feel as if I have the hungriest, thirstiest baby in Williamsburg.  Also the stickiest--Levi has turned into human Velcro with a shoe fetish.  

I.  Cannot.  Put.  Him.  Down.  That's the human velcro part.  

It was flattering for a few minutes but now when I need to go to the bathroom, things get a little complicated.  Balancing a 22 pound toddler while trying to do a very basic thing requires strength, stamina and a sense of humor.

The shoe fetish part comes when he is feeling cranky or out of sorts.  Levi demands to put his shoes on.  He has a preference for the red sneakers that are now too small for him, but he is placated by other shoe choices sometimes.  

I suppose my pictures betray those little moments of reality.  I suppose that is because every now and then Levi detaches himself from me, perfectly content.   My arms are free so I am able to grab my camera.  

In the picture above, Levi actually was having a rough episode and the only thing that seemed to soothe him were his yellow boots.  After I put them on, Levi happily said, "Levi mama camera!"  He asked told me to take a picture of him in his boots!

That is the kind of moment I choose to record on this blog.  When I see the silver lining, I see that split second of idyllic.  

List #23: Levi's To-Do Paris List

Macarons found via favim.com

Incredible.  One week from today we will be flying to Paris.  We depart on July 1st, arriving July 2nd.  Lists are being made--things we need, things we must do before leaving and stuff we need to pack.

Using my book Paris With Children by Kim Horton Levesqu, I created Levi's to-do list.

1.  Take a boat tour on the Seine.

2.  Experience celebrations on Bastille Day.

3.  Visit Jardin des Tuilieries, the oldest garden.  It borders the Louvre.

4.  Brave the Musee du Louvre (to be saved for a rainy day).

5.  Fool around the black and white columns at the Jardin du Palais-Royale.

6.  Create art on level 0 at the Centre Georges Pompidou.  The exterior of the Pompidou is cool also--exposed ductwork.

7.  Revel in consumerism at Au Nain Bleu, the oldest and fanciest toy shop in Paris.

8.  Chase butterflies at the Parc de Paris.

9.  Marvel at the colors (or lack of, depending on which period we're looking at) at the Musee National Picasso.

10.  Sample macarons at Laduree's, an institution.

11.  Skip to L'As du Fallafel for some falafel bites.  Mark Bittman never skips this place.

12.  Ogle at the animals at Menagerie Du Jardin des Plantes.

13.  Hit one of the most fabulous playgrounds at Jardin du Luxembourg.

14.  While in the area, sail a toy sailboat.

15.  Play at Cite des Enfants, a children's museum that supposedly has amazing science toys for toddlers.

When traveling with Levi, I figure we can plan on doing one thing a day.  We have three weeks--let's see how much we get done in between the days of relaxing and doing absolutely nothing!

Should we take Levi to the Eiffel Tower?

Throwback Thursday: 18 Weeks

Photo Credit: Douglas Ridloff

My father, stepmother and two sisters (Lucy and Isabelle) came to visit.  We had just moved into our duplex so our home looked quite sparse.  I remember watching Isabelle (who is in the photo above) running the length of the first floor and spinning around.  Now our living room is cluttered with toys and furniture--no way would she be able to run around!  How I miss those days of spacious living.

Seeing New York City