First day of school & a 6 month old Garbanza

I’ve been MIA for the last month or so, haven’t I? Well, the good news is that we’re closing on our house the day after tomorrow – Friday. Woohoo! So, next week is moving week. Yikes. Moving has been crazy pre-children; it was crazy when we moved to London with Anna, and now I have no idea what to expect with Anna and Elsa. Fingers crossed all goes well.

Today was Miss Anna’s first day of nursery school. All went well. No tears. Thankfully, two of Anna’s friends from playgroup are in the class. When it was time for me to go, Anna was holding hands with her friend Riley as they went off to the play-dough table. It was very cute. All the children at Anna’s nursery school wear smocks at school, and it was adorable to see all the little ones running around in their different colored smocks (Anna’s is yellow). Anna wouldn’t pose for me in her “first day of school” outfit so I had to settle for a picture of her and Elsa in the stroller as we were heading out the door. Hopefully, she’ll pose for me in her smock tomorrow.

Miss Elsa is six months old! Unbelievable how fast she has grown. Suddenly, she’s grabbing everything that comes near her, and chatting all the time. I can see her attempting to start crawling, but we’re not there yet. Her latest developments are two-fold. First, we’ve discovered that Elsa has a bit of a dairy intolerance. I noticed after starting her on solids that she was really itchy and scratching her skin very badly. For a while, it looked like I had dropped her in a rose bush; she had scratches all over her legs and arms. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. After taking her to the doctor, we guessed that she had developed eczema as a result of her increased intake of dairy through the formula that I was using to mix her cereal. Clearly, the dairy in my diet was only irritating her slightly, but as soon as we introduced formula it was too much for her to handle. So, I found a new formula and stopped eating most dairy. Lo and behold, smooth skin again! Development number 2, Elsa has developed a new move that I’ve called the “I’m so happy to be alive” move. I need to capture it on video. It is one of the greatest things to see. When I lay Elsa down in bed, especially when it is in my bed, she usually starts to do a full body wiggle with arms and legs pumping accompanied by an enormous smile. It just screams out: “I’m just so happy.” It makes you want to eat her up in all her juiciness!

A horse, a potty and a bribe

Have I been duped by a 2⅔ year old?

OK, here comes the inevitable potty training story.

Anna starts nursery school next month, and she needs to be potty trained before she starts. When I first started thinking about it I thought I had all the time in the world. No worries. She’ll be trained in no time. Think again, remembering what a headstrong child Miss Anna can be. Now we’re down to a month before school starts, and the clock is ticking (not to mention all the other things going on – i.e., we’re probably moving house around the same time as she starts school).

I decided the key to potty training was good, old fashioned bribery. Anna and I went out to the toy store and made a few purchases. For each successful pee in the potty, she gets several stickers of the Disney Princess variety (will someone please tell me where this obsession comes from – we didn’t have any of the princess paraphernalia in the house, but she’s still obsessed). Then, for her first poo in the potty, she was supposed to get a little, white horse. Last Sunday was the first day that we started potty training in earnest, and Anna spent the whole day without a diaper on (unless she was sleeping). The first pee was a little traumatic for her, but she did it and was over the moon with her princess stickers. Then, we talked about what she would get if she did a poo in the potty (the white horse). A little while later, she just sat down on the potty and pooed like there was nothing to it. As soon as she finished she said: “Have the white horsey”. I was feeling really excited that everything was going so well and Anna seemed to be getting the hang of using the potty lickety split. No, she was getting the hang of how bribery works. Once she got the horse, she lost all interest in pooing in the potty. Pees are still exciting because she still gets the princess stickers when she does those, but nothing was happening on the poo front. So, as if I didn’t learn my lesson the first time, I found something new to bribe Anna to poo in the potty. Stamps. I should have thought of this earlier. At Anna’s gymnastics class, the teacher gives them each a stamp on the back of the hand at the end of the class for a job well done. The kids just love getting the stamp. Now when Anna poos she gets a stamp on the back of her hand. It worked like a charm today. Ah, the power of the stamp.

Have you ever looked back at how you were when you were a kid, and thought: “Boy, I really hope my kids don’t do this to me.” This whole horse business reminded me of an incident when I was little and my dad tried bribing me to encourage positive behavior. I think I was about 8 or 9, and my dad thought it would be fun if I would go jogging with him on a regular basis. To encourage me to go with him, he told me that if I ran a mile, he’d buy me a new pair of running shoes and a new track suit. Anna’s princess obsession pales in comparison with my love affair with shoes. Off my dad and I went to our local YMCA. We went to the little track there, and 6 laps around the track equals a mile. I started running and with the rhythm of my running, I heard in my head: “new shoes, new shoes” in time with my feet hitting the pavement. Six laps later, it was time for my dad to pay up. I still remember the track suit – navy blue with different color satin stripes down the side of the legs and down the sleeves. The new shoes were white running shoes with green stripes. My poor dad never got me out on the track again.

In other news from Old Blighty, Elsa is about to turn 5 months. I gave her some rice cereal yesterday, and she gobbled it up. I think she’s definitely ready to start solids. She’s so big that sometimes I worry that my milk supply just isn’t enough for her. Elsa’s also rolling over from back to front all the time. She’s been rolling for a while, but now it has turned into a crazy compulsion – she can’t not roll over. The problem is that she doesn’t know how to get from her front to her back. So, I constantly have to flip her over.

We’re also in the process of getting a new house, but I can’t write about it because I’m afraid I’m going to jinx the process. Once things are firm, I’ll say more.

Pictures from Iceland

What do you think it means?

The heat is really getting to me. I think it is starting to affect both my conscious and subconscious minds (or what is left of them). Last night I dreamt I was grocery shopping and ran into Carlos Puyol (Barca and Spanish national soccer player) and Nick Rhodes (of Duran Duran fame). The dream wasn't very exciting; I just chatted with them in the store and then I woke up. Puyol and Nick Rhodes, what a combo for my subconscious to cobble together!

Too hot to think

So . . . . hot. Can’t . . . . think. Send . . . . cooler . . . . weather . . . . our . . . . way. Please.

There’s no let up in sight for the heatwave in London right now. Temps are in the 90s and there’s no A/C anywhere. Ick, ick, ick and double ick. I cannot handle this.

We had a wonderful time in Iceland. We just relaxed and hung out with family and friends.

Elsa’s now four months old and still a big girl. I’m not sure exactly how much she weighs now, but I think it is somewhere between 16 and 17 pounds. She’s rolling over now, and loves grabbing her toes.

Anna is still Elsa’s favorite person to look at. She makes Elsa laugh and laugh.

3 Months = smiles and laughter

Elsa turned 3 months on the 12th, and Anna was 2 and 1/2 on the 4th. Elsa just a chubby delight these days. She's constantly smiling and now she's starting to laugh. The catch is most of her laughter occurs in her sleep! Very very funny to see and hear. But, today, Anna's antics got the first real belly laugh out of Elsa while she was awake.

We've just returned from two weeks in Barcelona. It was fantastic to be in the sun and amazing weather -- warm with a nice breeze from the sea. Elsa was baptized while we were there, and Elsa's godmother (the lovely Sheryl) came from DC to spend some time with us in Spain. It was a lot of fun to see her. Now we're off to Iceland to visit my family and introduce Elsa to that clan. It should be lots of fun. More pictures and updates when we return!

Poop

Elsa is a pro when it comes to pooping. I don’t know how she manages it, but she is able to poo sideways out of her diaper about 5 times out of 10. It is amazing. This morning when I went to pick her up out of bed, Elsa gave me a huge grin (that should have been the tip-off), and when I reached down I found her entire right side covered in poo. It had gone all the way down her pant-leg and up her side. And she was happy as a clam. Thankfully, Anna was watching Pinocchio (for the 87th time), and I was able to plop Elsa straight into the bath. It doesn’t seem to matter how snugly I get Elsa's diaper on, she always seems to poo with such force that it gets out.

On the poo note, I’ve been making a somewhat half-hearted attempt to start potty training Anna. So far, she hasn’t grasped that she’s actually supposed to do something in the potty rather than just play around pretending to pee in it. I’m not sure how I’m going to go about getting her out of diapers, but I don’t think I’m going to start in earnest until after we do our traveling in June. Frankly, I’m being a bit lazy, but it seems like it will be so much easier to do traveling with Anna in diapers rather than always having to worry about finding a toilet for her. I think July 1st the diapers will come off and the rugs rolled up, and Anna will simply wear underwear (or streak around as she seems to love to do these days).

Funny Anna expressions:
- Umbrellala
- Still says “Help you” when she means “help me”
- Walking around with her pants at her ankles saying: “Look, I like a penguin!”
- Thanks really much
- Still wishes me a happy Christmas periodically
- Starting her sentences with “Ackshully . . .” is a recent development.
- Informing about different body parts that she possesses: “I got toes!” “I got a bellybutton”, etc. etc.
- “Whehyayou?” [where are you?] she calls when she’s lost something. It comes out as one word.
- Finally, her favorite game in recent days has been the “how are you today” game. She gets her little play stroller out and walks with it between the living room and kitchen. Then she comes up to me wherever I am and says “Hello mama, how are you today?” I reply “Fine thank you. How are you today, Anna?” She says, “Ok, bye, see you next week.” And she goes off with her stroller into the next room. About 30 seconds pass, and Anna comes back in and the previous conversation is repeated, and Anna leaves. Another 30 seconds pass, and Anna’s back. And again, and again, and again. I don’t know how many times it happens, but I think Anna does this at least 30 times before she gets tired of the game. It is like the “Groundhog Day” of games.

Two Months

Elsa has hit the two month mark -- time flies so fast! She is doing really well. We just had her two month check up (and shots), and she’s a huge baby. 15.5 pounds (6 kg) and 60 cm (25 inches). As you can imagine, she’s turning into a wonderfully chubby baby. She’s also smiling at everyone these days and has recently discovered her hands. I can’t seem to capture a picture of Elsa in full smile mode; I always seem to catch the beginning or end, but I did capture a picture of her staring at her fist. She also manages to get her hand into her mouth periodically and she relishes the chance to suck on it!

Anna continues to do well with Elsa. She loves giving her little sister kisses although some are not as gentle as I would like. Nevertheless, Anna likes having Elsa around and hasn’t exhibited any aggression towards her. Any jealousy she feels seems to manifest itself against me rather than Elsa which isn’t a problem in my book.
I’m starting to get the hang of managing two girls. It is definitely challenging at times, especially when I need to do Anna’s bedtime by myself. Elsa seems to be a pretty relaxed baby, as long as she’s fed at regular intervals! She’s been great at night – sleeping through the night since about 4 weeks! I hope haven’t jinxed this by writing about it, but it helps so much to get an uninterrupted night’s sleep.

Easter Pics

More Pictures

Two Weeks

Elsa was two weeks old on Sunday. She is still an eating machine, and her cheeks are starting to get nice and chubby. Anna got to hold Elsa for the first time yesterday, and she thought it was really great. Actually, I had a hard time getting Anna to let go. It has been nice to see Anna show Elsa some more interest. She really likes giving her little sister kisses (which might be why Elsa has a stuffed nose at the moment).

Anna has been a real chatterbox lately, and yesterday she started calling everyone "honey". I don't know where that came from, but it's pretty funny to hear. She likes to help put clothes in the washing "mean" -- and now having Elsa, there is always plenty to wash in the "mean".

Garbanza!!!!

Just in the nick of time! Miss Garbanza, now known as Elsa Lind Reyes, arrived at 4:35 am on March 12th -- the day before her scheduled eviction by c-section. I went into labor on my own (finally) in the early hours of the morning and Elsa was born only about an hour after we arrived at the hospital. She was definitely in a rush to get out! Elsa was 7 lbs 15 oz (3.6 kg) and 20 inches (51 cm). Elsa and I are doing very well -- we went home two days after she was born. I have to say the recovery has been so much easier than it was with a c-section.

Elsa and Anna have been keeping me busy since I got home. Elsa has an enormous appetite! She never lost weight after birth -- she's only gained. It has been quite an effort to keep up with her feeding demands. Anna has been pretty good with the new member of our household, but I think she's still trying to come to terms with the new order of things. Thankfully, my mom is here to lavish extra attention on Anna to help with the transition. She has been a real lifesaver (as usual).

More pictures will be posted soon!

Fashionably Late

The Garbanza has been officially served her eviction notice. If she doesn't make an appearance on her own by Monday afternoon, she'll make her way out by c-section. I have tried pretty much everything to get labor going -- long walks, acupuncture, reflexology, raspberry leaf tea, really spicy food, etc., etc. Nothing seems to have any effect. I was hoping not to have to have another c-section, but it is looking like that is the way I'm going to have to go. Actually, I'm feeling pretty good about the decision; I feel like I've done everything I can to avoid it and this is just the way I'm going to have to go.

I'm feeling the same intense curiousity to meet Miss Garbanza as I did at the end of my pregnancy with Anna. I cannot wait to meet this little person who has been kicking away inside of me. I can't wait to see what she looks like, what she sounds like, what her personality is like (you'd be amazed how quickly a baby's personality shows through -- Anna's was clear within a few hours of her birth).

My mom has been here for about 2 weeks, and she's going to stay to the end of the month. It is fantastic to have her here. However, I think she must be getting bored of waiting for the baby's arrival. About 2 weeks ago, it looked like labor was imminent and now we're still waiting. Nevertheless, Anna is having lots of fun with her Amma.

Anna seems excited about the arrival of her baby sister. She has decided to become her own stylist -- it is no longer acceptable for me to pick out her clothes for her. We've had some pretty interesting combinations recently. Anna is obsessed with wearing dresses, and ideally she'd like to wear the same one every day. If her favorite dress isn't available, generally she'll want to wear something that is completely inappropriate for the weather (i.e., a summer dress when it is windy, raining and freezing outside).

Stay tuned for baby news!

From Glowing to Overflowing

The final days of pregnancy have arrived at last! Ugh. I’ve started to resemble a bipedal whale.

I’ve discovered that a shift occurs in people’s attitudes toward pregnant women at some point during the last few weeks before the baby is born. Gone are the comments about how you have that pregnancy glow about you. In the last week or two, suddenly perfect strangers see fit to comment on your girth. “Wow, you look like you’re ready to pop!” “Oh boy, I hope you don’t go into labor here!” I just don’t understand these comments. I think you can tell from the look on my face when I’m waddling around town that I am fully aware my current physical state and wouldn’t care to be reminded of it by random passers-by.

I spent all of yesterday going through Anna’s old baby clothes, sorting things out for the Garbanza. It was a bit of a trip down memory lane. Newborn sized clothes are so unbelievably small!

Anna is continuing to surprise me with certain sentences that seem to come out of nowhere. Yesterday, she walked up to me and said, “Hey, what’s going on?” She said it as if it was the most normal thing the world. I don’t know where she learned it, but it cracked me up. She also continues to refer to herself in the third person. This becomes most evident when she’s claiming ownership over things – “That’s Anna’s!” is a phrase we hear quite often these days.

Tippy Toes

Has Anna gotten her mother’s ballerina bug already? It seems that Anna has discovered ballerinas and has taken to running around on her tippy toes (while shouting “ballerina! ballerina! ballerina!”) – her version of how a ballerina dances. I wonder how much she’ll like it once she finds out that ballerinas don’t generally shout at the top of their lungs while they dance. I guess I need to start looking for ballet classes for her.

Still counting the days till the Garbanza’s due date. My bump is getting enormous. It has created quite a convenient crumb-catcher, but the problem is that often I forget to look down after I’ve eaten and end up walking around for the rest of the day with some variety of crumbs on top of my belly.

Happy New Year

Hmm, a month since my last post – not a good track record. Happy New Year everyone!

2006 has gotten off to a busy start. After hosting my family for Christmas (which was loads of fun; the pictures are from their visit), we prepared for the arrival of the “Ladies”. The Ladies are my oldest friends, and all of them came for a visit during MLK weekend. What a treat! The weekend was amazing; we don’t all get a chance to get together very often so we thoroughly enjoyed our time together. Somehow, whenever we’re together, I feel like we revert to 6th grade slumber party antics. Although we were missing the Skittles for breakfast. Anna also loved having all of the Ladies around and was asking about them for days after they left. By the way, we saw a show called “Pam Ann: Sky’s the Limit”. It has just finished its run in London, and I think she’s going to take it on tour later this year. It was hilarious; I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much. If you get a chance, go see it.

Anna has been a small ball of energy lately. Thankfully, she is taking her afternoon nap right now, but for the last week or so I have had very little luck getting her to sleep in the afternoon. She’ll basically jump around in her crib for an hour (or more) and resolutely refuse to sleep or even rest a little. The days without naps are torture for me. I really need the downtime these days. My energy levels have been inversely proportionate to Anna’s. Six weeks to go until the Garbanza is due, and between her constant kicking and Anna, I have no energy to spare. My days are now spent thinking of ways to tire Anna out. Her new favorite activity is “cliping” (i.e., to clipe), otherwise knowing as climbing. She is talking a ton lately, but I worry that I’m the only one who understands what she’s saying. We started gymnastics two weeks ago, and she adores the class. She gets to jump on a trampoline and play around in a big pit filled with foam blocks.

Happy Christmas!

Merry Christmas everyone! We're having a lovely Christmas with my family. Anna has been enjoying all the attention that Amma, Afi and Uncle Kiddi have been lavishing on her. Plus, she got a lot of loot.

Once I get the pictures uploaded, I'll post them. Hope everyone is happy and joyous today!

TWO YEARS OLD!

I am now the proud owner of my very own two year old girl. I never thought that a twenty-four month period of my life could be so eventful, exhilarating, hilarious, exhausting and delightful.

We had a little birthday party for Anna this morning with a few of her little friends. The kids all played really well together. I thought that there may be some fighting over toys, but alas peace reigned superior today. The highlight of the day was Anna singing happy birthday to herself. She has decided that whenever a candle is lit it is time to sing happy birthday in her own version of the song which goes: “Happy birthday to you Anna happy birthday; happy birthday to you Anna happy birthday; happy birthday to you Anna happy birthday” etc. etc. She’s got the tune right, but I guess she’s decided that she’d like better lyrics.

We had cupcakes today instead of a cake, and they were a big hit with the kids. I’m not so sure how the parents felt about them because chocolate frosting got everywhere.

In other news, we went to a Christmas party yesterday where Santa Claus made a little visit. Boy, that did not go over well with Anna. She was absolutely terrified of Santa and wouldn’t go anywhere near him.

The garbanza has taken up kick-boxing in utero. It seems that she wants to be ready for anything once she makes her arrival. She moves around a ton, and lately it feels like she’s been using my bladder as a trampoline.

Pillow Talk

One of the highlights of my day is when I put Anna to bed, especially for her afternoon nap. Now, I don’t mean for this to sound as bad as it does. The reason I love it is that I get to listen to the conversations she has with her stuffed animals before she finally gets tired and falls asleep. In the afternoons it usually takes Anna longer to settle down and fall asleep so I am treated to an extra long monologue. Lately, there seems to be some friction between the stuffed hippo and zebra. The other day I heard, “Hippo, no pushing zebra, no pushing.” And also, “be nice, be nice.” I guess the laws of the jungle apply among the stuff animals of Anna’s crib.

Going Native

Anna has gone native. Lately, when I don’t respond immediately to her calls of “Mamma”, she starts calling “mum-may, mum-may, MUM-MAAAAY”. This continues until she gets an answer. I have to say I much prefer being called mamma to being call mummay. She also tells me when she needs to have her diaper changed by saying “change nappy”. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that she says these things. My biggest issue is remembering to use the right word consistently so she doesn’t get confused. I end up confusing our babysitter, Angelika, all the time. I always forget to say jumper instead of sweater.

Anna and I went to a Halloween party last Friday, but we didn’t do much for Halloween here. Trick or treating isn’t that common here, and I live on a dead-end so there isn’t much foot traffic passing by. We had one group of trick or treaters. Hmmmm, what to do with all that leftover candy? I have pretty good idea of what will happen to it, and what has already happened to it. Let’s just say that it feels like the Garbanza is doing the Mexican hat dance in my belly from the massive increase of sugar in my bloodstream.

Yesterday, I discovered a new activity for Anna to tire her out and entertain her at the same time – chasing squirrels. It provides loads of entertainment for both of us.

On our way to a Halloween party!

Puss in Boots

Garbanza

Anna is going to have a little sister, and come March, Carlos will be seriously outnumbered. The ultrasound today was great. The little Garbanza looks healthy, and at one point, it even looked like she was waving at us.

Back In Action

Boy oh boy, a lot has happened since I last posted. Yikes.

At the end of August and beginning of September, we all went to Spain for a two week vacation. To be brief, it didn’t turn out quite as we expected. We first went to Ibiza for what we thought was going to be a lazy beach vacation. Not exactly. First, Carlos and I discovered that we should have done more homework before we booked a package vacation. Second, we all got sick. First Carlos and Anna got a 24-hour stomach virus and spent a day and some vomiting up a storm. Then I got sick and spent the rest of the vacation in bed. I don’t recall ever being so sick. Poor Carlos – I don’t think it was much of a vacation for him to look after a vomiting, pregnant wife. After a miserable week at the beach, we went to Barcelona to see the abuelos. I was still in an invalid-like state until our last day there, but I think Anna and Carlos had fun. The good news is that the Garbanzo survived this nightmare well. And, as of tomorrow afternoon, we’ll know whether we’re expecting a Garbanzo or a Garbanza – stay tuned!

After our less than ideal vacation, we made it back to London. Things have been quite busy. We’ve had a number of house-guests visiting which has been a ton of fun. We always love visitors (hint hint).

Anna has been talking a ton lately. Suddenly, she’s started forming sentences like “Let’s go home.” And “See you later.” It is really wild to hear her language development. We’re working on the colors right now. She always gravitates toward her orange crayon, but also likes “peeple” (aka purple). Anna’s hair has also started to really grow and get a bit thicker, finally. So, I’ve posted a recent picture of her with a new hairdo.

Stay tuned for Garbanzo(a) news tomorrow!

Introducing the Garbanzo!

Ladies and Gentlemen – meet the “Garbanzo” – who will be arriving the first week of March. Anna is going to have company! Why “Garbanzo” you may ask? When I first told Carlos that I was pregnant, I said that the baby was about the size of a garbanzo bean, and the name just stuck. Right now, the baby is a bit bigger than a garbanzo bean – 66 mm to be exact. We got confirmation from today’s ultrasound that everything looks good – hurray! Now we just have to wait until I reach 20 weeks to find out whether it is a boy or girl.

So, Garbanzo makes four.

Gliding in the English Countryside

On Sunday we all went for a drive in the English countryside – to Essex (northeast of London) to be exact. It was a gorgeous day for a drive, and we had fun until we got off the main motorways and onto the country roads. Boy, the lack of signage makes finding your way around rather difficult. Carlos and I have had a number of experiences of the crazy road signs here – we can’t get over the signs on the motorways that just say “The North” or “The West” as an indicator of which way to go. To me, that isn’t really helpful. Anyway, after making our way through a number of windy roads, we made it to our destination – Ridgewell Airfield. We each went for a glider ride. Pretty cool, huh? Carlos had gotten a gift certificate that he could redeem for the glider ride, and I got to tag along. We each did what is called a wire launch rather than being pulled into the air by another plane. The glider is attached to a wire winch (I think that’s the right term), and it pulls the glider up into the air at about a 70 degree angle really fast. Let’s just say that I’ve had moments in my life where I’ve felt less queasy. Once you reach about 1000 feet, the wire is released, and you just glide around. The gliding bit was fun, and it was a beautiful, cloudless day – a great way to see the surrounding countryside. Overall, though, I wouldn’t do it again. I think Carlos came to the same conclusion. We both thought it was a cool experience, but we definitely don’t feel a burning desire to do it again.

Anna had a grand old time. She got to see lots of gliders up close which she thought was very exciting. Plus, she got to have a little picnic lunch at the airfield. Here’s a picture of her eating her latest favorite – grapes.

Good books

I've read a few fantastic books recently. If anyone is looking for a good book to read, I highly recommend the following:

The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami. EXCELLENT EXCELLENT EXCELLENT

Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell.

Saturday by Ian McEwan. I just started this book, but it is already so good, so well written that I know I can recommend it.

Confession of an Ugly Stepsister by Gregory Maguire. A very fun read (fictionalized account of where the fairy tale Cinderella may have come from).

The Other Boleyn Girl Philippa Gregory. Great historical fiction.

Got milk? . . . or sushi? . . . or olives?

Anna’s tastebuds continue to surprise me. Thankfully, she has finally started drinking milk. It has been a long time coming. After she was weaned, she would not drink formula or milk unless it was poured over cereal. That was it, nothing else. I tried a number of different types of formula and milk (soy milk, flavored milk, etc.). Nada. She just didn’t want any of it. Then, when we were in Iceland last month, she started to ask for milk and then actually drinking it when I gave it to her. Ever since we came back to London, she’s been drinking milk constantly!! At last!

I think Anna’s tastebuds are taking more after Carlos than me. She is constantly surprising me by the things she wants to eat. For instance, she eats sushi – the vegetable or shrimp variety. I haven’t given her the raw fish ones yet, but if she is anything like Carlos, she’ll eat those up lickety split once she gets a taste of them. Anna also loves olives. She would eat an entire jar if I’d let her. As soon as she sees the jar in the fridge, she starts asking for “Oleees Oleeeees” very insistently. Anna has also started eating the Spanish cured meats like jamon and fuet (a salami-like cured sausage that is delicious). She can’t get enough of it. I’m just glad that Anna doesn’t seem to have inherited my huge sweet-tooth.

Snip Snip

Anna had her first haircut on Saturday (that is, if you don’t count my minor trim of her bangs over Easter). Carlos and I decided to make an outing of the event, and we took Anna to Harrods to have her hair cut. I know, I know, it sounds ridiculous to take your child to Harrods to have her hair cut, but it is the only place I know of in London that has a children’s hair salon. I thought it would be fun for her first haircut to go there. So, Anna’s mullet is now gone. I kind of miss it because it was a rather cute mullet with curls, but a mullet no less.

New words:
mooksick = music
eebah = zebra
doubleshoe = double u (the letter)

Posing before going for a splash in the hot tub.

Feeding the ducks in downtown Reykjavik with Amma.

Talking to a horse with my uncle Kiddi.

Coloring at the cottage with my favorite hat.

I'm a big dork

I just realized that I posted almost the same post twice. I thought I had lost the first version of “it’s been a long time”, so I tried to recreate it, and I didn’t think to actually check the blog to see if the first post had been published. I’m a big goof.

It's been a long time

It’s been a long time since I’ve posted. I don’t know why that is. I kept trying to write something after the July 7th bombings, but I couldn’t come up with anything sufficiently eloquent or appropriate. Just a knot in my stomach – which got a bit tighter today when I heard the news that there had been more bombings. So, now, here I am posting (finally) because I have terrible insomnia, and I cannot get to sleep.

Anna and I just got back from Iceland. We spent a bit over a week at the cottage with my parents and brother. Anna had the time of her life. I planned this trip so that it would coincide with a mini family reunion that my mom and uncles planned to commemorate what would have been my grandmother’s 100th birthday. The reunion was wonderful – I got to see a lot of cousins that I haven’t seen in ages. Also, I found out that my grandmother had written stories about her life and poetry. Who knew??? (It turns out that a lot of people knew, just not me) My mom read one of her stories, and it was amazing. For me, it shed a new light on my grandmother’s perspective on life and her personality. I’m hoping to get photocopies of the stories and poetry that she left behind. I can’t wait to read it.

I think it is going to be tough for Anna to return to reality after this trip. She got way too much attention while we were in Iceland. Her grandparents, uncle, great-uncles, friends all played lots of games with her and let her be the center of their attention. She’s going to think life in London is really boring after all that. Even more so after we start back with our regular bedtime routine tomorrow (that all went out the window while we were away).

It's been a long time

Wow, I really haven't posted anything in a long long time. I don't really have any good reason why. I wanted to write something really eloquent and moving after the July 7th bombings, but I could think of anything to say. I just had a big bit in my stomach (which got bigger today when I heard about another round of bombings).

It is now almost 1:30 AM, and I have terrible insomnia. Anna and I got back from Iceland today. We had a really great time at the cottage, visiting with Amma, Afi, Kiddi and a host of other relatives. I had planned this trip so that we could be in Iceland when my mom's family celebrated my grandmother's 100th birthday. She would have been 100 this past May, and my mom and her brothers decided to have a sort of mini-reunion in her honor. It was fantastic to see my extended family. There were a lot of cousins at the reunion that I hadn't seen in ages. The other fun thing that came out of this reunion is that I found out that my grandmother wrote some stories and poetry -- wow, I had no idea! My mom read one of her stories (more like memoir-like stories) at the reunion, and it was amazing to gain a whole new insight into my grandmother's life and personality. My mom said she'd photocopy the stories and poetry for me -- I can't wait to read it.

In Anna news, she spent her time in Iceland charming all her relatives. Boy, that little lady got way too much attention while we were there. But, she had a fabulous time -- imagine, being the center of attention all the time, not having to have a bath every day (because the cottage only has a shower, and she hated the shower), and getting to stay up late every night!! It is going to be really tough to get her back into her normal routine.

Shiny, not so happy person

It is hot. Really hot. Hot weather makes me very shiny. As Carlos puts it (while the Spaniard looks cool and non-shiny), “In the summer, you are from a family of shiny people.” It’s true – I think my entire family is not genetically engineered to deal with hot weather. We all take on a rather red, shiny appearance as soon as the mercury rises above 75 F.

We’re experiencing a bit of a heat wave in London right now, and we don’t have A/C. Frankly, it would seem a little wasteful to have air conditioning here since it is this hot for such a short period of the year. Still, this heat is killing me. I’ve been trying to work from home all day today, and I can’t seem to get anything done other than sweat profusely.

It remains to be seen if Anna will join the shiny people or if the Spanish side will win out. For her sake, I hope she’ll be a non-shiny person in the summer. It is already clear that she won’t have her mother’s freckly, sunburn prone skin – lucky girl. But, she doesn’t seem to be dealing well with this heat.

A Day, A Decade -- No big diff

Yesterday Anna and I met up with some friends from McGill – Tiff and Ben and their daughter Clara (who is two months older than Anna). It was fantastic to see them and to finally meet little Clara in the flesh (you can follow her exploits at http://littlemissc.blogspot.com). Before I met them at the train station, I was thinking about the fact that I hadn’t seen Tiff and Ben for about 10 years. Who knew that 10 years could go by so quickly! Unfortunately, the weather didn’t cooperate with us yesterday, and we ended up exploring my neck of the woods in the rain. The good thing about miserable, rainy days is that they are ideal for sitting in cozy English pubs and catching up with old friends.

When did I reach a point in my life where not seeing friends for a decade is (a) possible, and (b) not such a big deal. I guess with friends living all over the world, it is hard to meet up with everyone on a regular basis. The funny thing is that when I saw Tiff and Ben, I didn’t feel like much time had passed since I saw them last.

Anna continues to chat away. New words are:
Tingka = toothbrush, I want to brush my teeth
Opsuh = octopus

I love my boots.

This smells lovely.

Slick Baby

I think I need to have Anna eat wearing a showercap. She has become increasingly fond of rubbing her hands in her hair when they are covered with food. This morning was especially bad because she decided to rub her buttered toast (and buttery hands) all over hair. So, out Anna went this morning with Angelika looking like she just stepped off the set for West Side Story. I was half expecting her to launch into "When you're a Jet . . . ".

Cahlohs

Carlos had a bit of a surprise yesterday when we were playing with Anna. She started looking at him and saying: “Cahlohs, Cahlohs”. What????? Poor Carlos looked at her and said, “No no no, Papa Papa” (pointing emphatically at himself). Wow, where did this come from? I don’t think she understands that she’s saying Papa’s name, but it really threw us for a loop.

We went to the Royal Botanical Gardens at Kew today and saw the most fantastic glass art exhibition. Kew Gardens are one of the most extensive botanical gardens in the UK and are close to where we live. We bought season passes to the gardens and go there a lot. Generally, we go just to amble around (not paying much attention to all the plants) and to let Anna run around (the gardens also have a great play area for kids). Now, the gardens are exhibiting glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly in the most amazing way. If anyone has been to the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas, he is the artist who made those incredible glass flowers on the ceiling of the hotel’s lobby. His glass sculptures are placed throughout the gardens, amongst the plants. It is really incredible. I’m going to try and go back this coming week and take some pictures to post here. I was totally blown away. I haven’t figured out yet if the sculptures that are in the gardens existed prior to this exhibit or if there were created solely for exhibiting in the gardens. I think it is the latter. It is very difficult to describe without pictures, but his work has been placed in such a way that it looks almost like it is part of the plantscape. Very amazing.

New words

Teekuhl = Mr. Tickle (thank you Maya Key); this generally means please read the book Mr. Tickle for me
Cumpee = crab (not as out of this world as it seems because she has a book called Clumsy Crab that she loves; seems to have combined the two words)
Mango = just emerged yesterday; I don’t know where she learned this word because I don’t think either Carlos or I have taught it to her, but it does in fact seem to refer to the fruit
Laybuh = ladybug

I'm happier looking in this picture

18 Months -- wannna make something of it??

Ohlee! 18 Months Today

Today Anna is 18 months. What a milestone. As I’m sure I’ve already written, time moves super fast these days.

I’m at the computer writing while listening to the most lovely rendition of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Anna is in bed for her nap, and we’ve read a number of books already. I put her in her crib with Piglet and her doll and a few books for her to read to them. She done reading and is now singing (in a tiny, very high pitched voice) “Kinkull kinkull lil tar” – the words fade out a bit after that first line, but amazingly she’s got the tune spot on.

It was been so much fun watching her recently. She’s really turning into a funny little person. The crazy thing is to see her traits that she gets from Carlos and her traits that she gets from me, but the craziest thing is to see her traits that are all her own. One thing that is a little disturbing is her temper. The majority of the time Anna is a very good natured and happy child. But, when she’s tired and something frustrates her, look out! When she gets mad, she makes me think of the Incredible Hulk. Remember on the TV show when someone made the scientist mad (I can’t remember his name), he would look at them and say through clenched teeth: “You don’t want to make me angry.” Well, Anna gets look and then turns into the Hulk – except for she doesn’t turn green, she doesn't triple in size and she doesn’t turn into Lou Ferrigno. Yesterday she got mad at her play stroller (a toddler-sized stroller for dolls, etc. that she just got yesterday – it seems to be a de rigeur toy here and Anna loves it) because it wouldn’t cooperate with her plans to place three teddy bears in at the same time. So she clenched her fists, yelled and bit the stroller. Yikes. Hopefully, this temper will ease up once her coordination develops more and her stroller plans don’t get thwarted quite so often.

We went to Barcelona last weekend, for an extra long weekend (it was a Bank Holiday weekend here). It was great to see the abuelos (español for grandparents for you gringos out there), and they went nuts for Anna. The weather was wonderful, lots of sun and the perfect temperature. We flew with Swiss International Airlines (I think it replaced Swiss Air), and they get a huge thumbs up in my book. Wow, they were really great. Excellent customer service (not something that is a defining characteristic of Iberia Airlines), and the best thing was on the way back we flew through Zurich and the Zurich Airport has a gorgeous playroom/nursery for kids. Anna was on cloud nine! During our layover, there was a huge room filled with toys for her to play in. Just a service that the airport offers. Wow.

On the job front, I’ve got training scheduled for Thursday next week. I think the scope of my work will become clearer after this. For now, I think I’ll be adding information to the organization’s website about cases in the US involving the Alien Tort Claims Act (a law that has been used to sue for human rights violations in US courts). Oh, in case I haven’t mentioned, the organization is a small non-profit that acts as a resource center for information on human rights and business. In particular, they monitor activities (both positive and negative) of companies as they relate to international human rights. It should be really interesting.

New words:
Ohlee = hola
Tannkoo = thank you
Gassjass = gracias
Umblela = umbrella

This Boot Was Made For Walking

Anna’s obsession with her wellies continues. This morning she insisted on getting her boots and putting them on. However, after managing to get one boot on, she decided that the other was unnecessary. So she spent a good portion of the next hour or two stumping around in just one boot.

I had a job interview today for a volunteer position. Finally, I’ve found an organization that will take me up on my offer for free legal help! Who would have thunk it would be so difficult to give one’s services away. The interview was in a crazy ‘60s or ‘70s era building. It was one of those buildings which, when it was built, I’m sure was heralded as very futuristic. Now it just looks kitschy and retro. The funniest thing about the building was the elevator lobby area. Instead of placing the buttons to call the elevator on the wall next to the elevator, the call buttons were on a large cylinder in the middle of the lobby with a really bright spotlight shining straight down on the cylinder. It looked a little Star Trek-ish to be (of the William Shatner TV show vintage).

New words:

Golleee = broccoli
Sjaaa = see ya
Googoo = gurka (Icel. for cucumber)

Gusi - Extra Crispy

Gusi – Extra Crispy

Anna has become quite the little social butterfly. She has started waving at and saying hello to everyone we meet on the street, on the tube, on the bus, in the store, etc., etc. The funny thing is practically everyone she waves at says hello back to her. It is kind of nice to see the effect she has on people. Generally, she makes people smile.

Today, Anna was extra crispy cute. That’s the term Carlos and I use when she’s being particularly cute and funny. She was with her babysitter, Angelika, for most of the day. Anna now calls Angelika, “Leeka”, and that makes Angelika laugh. I really lucked out with Angelika; she is amazing with Anna. Come to think of it, Anna is always in an amazing mood on the days she spends with Angelika.

Wellies are not made for walking much when you’re 17 months old. Anna is obsessed with her wellies. She walks all over the house either with them or in them, says “boots boots boots boots”, over and over again. Today we discovered that it is rather hard to maneuver when wearing the boots. She insisted on wearing the boots first thing this morning, and the first obstacle was getting on to Charlie (the rocking caterpillar), then the next obstacle was getting up the stairs, and so on and so forth. I think by the end of the day it was starting to dawn on her that walking around in boots isn’t all that it was cracked up to be in her little head.

Note to self – must be careful what I say around Anna. Carlos called today to tell me that he needed to work really late tonight, and he was quite bummed about it. I said to him “that really sucks” to commiserate with his long hours (he worked until midnight last night – I can definitely relate). Anyway, Anna was next to me when I said this and instantly parroted back to me, “sucks sucks sucks”. Great.

New words:
Tuhrtuh = turtle
Bahss = butterfly
Kaneh = kanína ( Icelandic for rabbit)
Mazzah = manzana (Spanish for apple – we’ve got “apple” down pat, but now I’ve decided that we need to throw some Spanish words into the mix, especially since we’re going to Barcelona in two weeks – got to impress the abuelos)

A Hug and a Mmmog

I’ve been trying to teach Anna to blow kisses for a while now, and I’m not making very much progress. I think I’ve gotten as far as I’ll get for the time being. Anna will bring her hand to her mouth and say “mmmog”. I guess it is her version of the “mmmwaw” noise we make when we blow kisses. Anna also gives her teddies mmmogs when she says good night to them.

New words for the dictionary:

Hiss = horse
Gohss = sock (I don’t know where that came from, sock sounds almost the same in Icelandic as it does in English)
Ohdonnoh = Sing “Old McDonald had a farm” for me

Buggy Envy

Since we’ve moved to London, I’ve encountered a new feeling – Buggy Envy. I don’t drive here since generally Carlos takes the car to work and since the roads here are about as wide as a stick of gum (yes, I am a big chicken). This means that I walk everywhere, and Anna comes along in her stroller.

By way of background, to bridge that vast cultural divide between the US and UK, people don’t say “stroller” here. It is a buggy, pram or pushchair. Second of all, the selection of buggies here is astonishing. There are probably three times as many varieties available here as there are available in the US. Since a lot of people here don’t drive and walk everywhere with their infants in their buggies, the buggies take on some car-like qualities. I now understand the importance of having a big basket underneath the buggy – it is like the trunk of your car. After a big grocery shop, you can just stuff all your things in the basket and not have to carry anything. Then there are the different sizes of buggies. There is the SUV of the buggy-world, with big, air-filled wheels, a cushy seat and generally unwieldy on urban sidewalks. There is the middle-of-the road buggy that is like the family sedan. It gets you from point A to point B efficiently, but it doesn’t have a lot of style. Then, there is the Yugo of the buggy world. It is a tiny, flimsy buggy that makes you worried that if you bump the buggy into something, it may just crumple like an accordion. Now, as I walk around town, I find myself looking around at all the buggies with rather covetous eyes. Some of the buggies have become like status symbols in the same way that luxury cars are. For instance, the Bugaboo is a really cool looking buggy that a number of movie stars have been photographed using, but it is ridiculously expensive (I think they sell for about $750 or $800). Nevertheless, I find myself thinking wouldn’t it be cool to have a Bugaboo. There’s a new buggy on the market here from Stokke (cool Norwegian company that made the crib we bought –which I love) that seems to be trying to be the next Bugaboo. I’m not sure it is going to work. This is one weird looking buggy. I think it looks like an office chair with a baby sized seat on top and handles to push it around. It just looks a little silly.

In Anna news, today she started asking for a song that I sing for her by name. I’ve been singing an Icelandic nursery rhyme for her called “Bí bí og blaka” and today she kept saying “bí bí” to me until I sang the song for her. Also, she’s become the resident blesser in our household. She just walks around saying “bishyou” to everyone and everything. I was trying to explain to her that she needs to wait for an achoo before saying bless you. Maybe she just thinks people need to be blessed, sneeze or no sneeze.

Anna’s “bishyou” obsession has reminded me of two recent and strange occurrences. It has now happened on two separate occasions to Carlos and me when we’ve been out walking with Anna (safely ensconced in her buggy) that an old man has stopped us and done the sign of the cross over Anna. Is it just me or is that weird? It makes me wonder if Carlos and I look like such heathens (or bad parents) to old men that they feel the need to cross Anna to give her some extra protection?!?! Has this ever happened to anyone else?

Sleepy

It is almost 8:30 on a Tuesday morning, and Anna is still sleeping. I'm actually a little nervous about writing this because I think it might jinks me. I don't know what has happened over the last week or so, but Anna has been sleeping later and later in the morning. She used to wake up consistently between 6:45 and 7:00, and lately she's been sleeping until 8:00. Dare I hope that I might get to "sleep in" this weekend?

Anna turned 17 months on the 4th. Time does fly.

Here are some new words for the dictionary:

dookee = "dukka", Icelandic for doll
ahss = eyes (I'm still not sure that she understands this word because she seems to always point to her ears when she says this).
pit = piglet
bishyou = Bless you (there been a lot of sneezing going on with all the colds being passed around)

Hurray for British (snack) Food!

What a wonderful discovery I made this weekend – salt and vinegar rice cakes! What could be better?? I can give in to my crazy salty-sour cravings without the buttishness of eating potato chips. I have to say that the snack/sweet aisle at a British supermarket is something to behold. So many choices: every flavor of chip you can imagine and the sweets are like something out of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Delish chocolates and gummie candy. It’s a PMSer’s dream.

This weekend I had to go into central London to get my laptop fixed. Yup, yet another PC of mine has crashed. That makes three. Yikes. How is it that every PC I’ve ever owned has crashed, but it hasn’t happened to any of Carlos’ PCs [he was looking pretty nervous when I was using his computer while mine was being fixed]. Now I have my trusty laptop back with a new hard drive, CD drive and twice as much memory as before. Hopefully, this upgrade will last for a while. I have to say that after this laptop bites the dust (as it inevitably will given my current track record) I’m switching teams. It is going to be all about the Apple iBook or PowerBook. No more PCs for this lady.

Observation on my way into London on the Tube: As I’m waiting to change trains at the Earl’s Court stop, I happened to glance across the platform and witness a very interesting outfit on a man on the other side. This man looked to be in his 40s, glasses, thinning hair, not the best posture, Englishman pale, and he was sporting a glorious, off-the-shoulder cowl neck mohair sweater complete with a rather large sparkly brooch on the cowl. This he decided to pair with a subdued pair of trousers and loafers. It really made me wonder. Was he cross dressing? Who knows.

I’ve decided that I need to keep track of Anna’s language development. She has all sorts of words that are like her own language. Right now she speaks a bit of a mixture of English and Icelandic. In addition, there are a bunch of words that Anna has made her own . . . so to speak. So, here’s the dictionary:

Aku = avocado
TawbEE = strawberry
Papa = (1) Carlos, (2) Pasta, or (3) Puppy
Tutu = tomato
Ho = “horfa” (Icelandic for “watch”, i.e., Anna wants to watch Baby Einstein)
Ange = orange
Ban or Bani = banana
Beed = bread
bansEE = “bangsi”, Icelandic for teddy bear
tepit = “tepið”, Icelandic for blanket (VERY important item)
MEEE = "meira", Icelandic for more
cheechee = Charlie, her rocking horse caterpillar named Charlie