Beyond

Holidays, the Extended Remix

2012-02-07T21:58:00.000-05:00

After we returned from our southern New England Christmas trip, we still had more celebrating to do: we had a visit with Dan and Arlene, got around to exchanging our own gifts and opening packages that had come in the mail, and observed the turning of the new year with Grandma. New Year's Eve was ruled by Murphy's Law, but on January 1 we did our traditional spirit house-building (if two years counts as a tradition) and bonfire, and then the parents went out for a rare dinner alone at a new local restaurant that turned out to be delightful. Here are the last of the photos from last year, showing some of the special people, favorite gifts, and fun of holiday 2011-2012.

While I started to write this, Zain was playing his ukelele in bed. As I finish his room is quiet :).

A February "Vacation"

2012-02-06T17:00:00.000-05:00

OK, before I continue catching up on holiday photos, I need to take a "summer break". I found these photos, which I intended to post in August, in a neglected digital album, and was so happy to see some green that I thought I'd share them. We are probably not taking a vacation to warmer climes this month, so this may have to do it for sunshine, flowers, garden-fresh vegetables (and their outsized insect predators), lounging on our finally finished front porch, and avoiding the paparazzi on the beach...

Southern New England Holiday Highlights

2012-02-03T11:45:00.001-05:00

Here are some photos of our visits in CT, RI and MA for Christmas:

Holiday Video

2012-01-09T09:08:00.001-05:00

This holiday season we had five days of travel in southern New England, and no fewer than 6 different celebrations/visits/gift exchanges. Zain slept reasonably well on the road, was a superstar in the car, and loved seeing his friends and relatives (opening presents too, but that was not the most important thing this year, hooray!). Photos are next, but first here's a really fun, if a little long, video of Zain's extended remix Christmas. Hope you all had a good one too.

2 1/2

2011-12-02T21:57:00.000-05:00

(more musings coming soon but no reason to delay the video)

Happy Post-Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T21:11:00.001-05:00

We had a kind of a triple-header holiday this year. First was an Abadi family gathering the weekend before, complete with turkey and all:

Then we had a surprise snow day the day before Thanksgiving, with over a foot of heavy snow, that inspired us to break out the winter gear to build a snowman and eat maple syrup on snow:

Our Thanksgiving proper was small, low-key and mellow, which was just what the doctor ordered, since several of us had come down with a nasty cold since the previous turkey dinner...

Our own squash and Vermont cranberry centerpiece

Of course we had an abundance of delicious food and leftovers for all (we're still enjoying ours)

Zain enjoyed spending time with Grammy and Grandma, and even took a late nap, after which he woke up so groggy and sweet I tried in vain to capture it:

Hey, Mr. Space Man

2011-11-20T21:13:00.001-05:00

Leading up to Halloween this year, we kept asking Zain what costume he wanted to wear. Every time we got a different answer (often an animal), but whenever he was faced with actual costumes to try on he said (and I quote) "No, thank you". Inspired by current favorite songs ("Hey, Mr. Space Man" by the Byrds and some Ziggy Stardust) and book (Roaring Rockets), I devised an ingenious use of a certain powder blue snowsuit as an astronaut costume. A little silver spray paint and some NASA logos from Google Images, and the only question was whether Zain would wear it when the time came:

At the crucial hour, after slowly waking up from his nap, Zain caught the Halloween spirit.

Moon gardening

We ran into our friend Henry, the little stinker! and his parents

He was a quick study for the whole trick-or-treating game, and has been working his way through his "Moon Rock Bag" ever since

Well-kept secret: underneath it all, the little space man was wearing a jagular costume... just in case.

Also in October

2011-11-18T21:51:00.000-05:00

We had a delightful visit from cousins John, Sarah, Lily-Camille, Oisin, and Ulysses. We all enjoyed a brisk fall hike along the storm-damaged road and brook, a picnic that included wild apples, finding woolly bear caterpillars and colorful leaves, checking out a spooky old cemetery, and of course feasting together. Zain's cousins were awesome with him and it was a great opportunity to practice sharing his toys. Sarah also noted that between us all we have a veritable rainbow of hair colors.

Indian Summer on the Coast

2011-11-07T21:05:00.000-05:00

Mere days after the previous one, we made a second trip to southern New England in October, for the occasion of celebrating Lou and Kim's wedding (which we were sad to miss last spring in Hawaii) at his folks' house on the Cape. On the way we caught up with some family and enjoyed the warm weekend too. Fortunately the "travel sleep training" we had done at Grandma's house paid off, and possibly for the first time ever we all got some decent rest on the road!

Pumpkin Pickin' Fools

2011-10-31T11:21:00.001-04:00

Earlier in the month Zain and I went down to Connecticut to visit friends and family and do some archetypal autumnal activities: picking apples and pumpkins and eating treats at Lyman Orchards.

We spent the day with Joel and Maia, visiting from Oregon-- hooray!

(The blue speck is Zain)

Pumpkin-mobile, baby

A severe case of chocolate face

And of course no trip to CT would be complete without some grandparent time:

Summer Video

2011-10-22T21:42:00.001-04:00

Mostly singing and dancing, from June through August... This makes it dated already, of course, but it still has its charms!

The Tunbridge Fair

2011-10-20T21:23:00.001-04:00

At long last I am posting photos from mid-September, one of the first chilly days of fall, when we met friends Emily and Noah at the fair. Lucky Grandma was visiting and came along on the adventure, making a very favorable ratio of adults to children :). We all had a good time seeing the animals (especially the baby ones), indulging in delicious fair food, and riding the carousel. Zain won a toy trumpet, which was a big hit with the boys, as was the feed corn sandbox-- not nearly as exciting for the adults, though. And, as you will see, they both enjoyed their first ever pony ride (and I hope the ponies got a hefty cut of the per-minute rate!)!

Fall at Home

2011-10-17T22:09:00.001-04:00

This is a collection of photos of sweet, everyday moments with Zain during the past couple months.

He got his first barbershop haircut and was a superstar client:

Looking very pleased and a little less shaggy!

Playing in the sandbox and the leaves

Loving play-doh a little too much (he can't resist tasting his creations every so often)

"Sledding" in the hat basket

Trying on winter gear after his bath

Counting the squash harvest

Enjoying the sunny play area of the front porch

And this... ahem.

Summer Flashback

2011-10-07T11:22:00.002-04:00

As we start to feel the nip of fall in the air, I can convince myself that it's nice to see some images from the warmer days of summer. Otherwise, it simply looks like I got way behind on posting photos, which, considering the events of late summer, could probably be forgiven. Except that it might be a trend-- I've seen it happen to friends, who share photos more and more infrequently as their babies grow up, until they stop altogether, too busy with what has become normal life. I'll do my best to keep this up though, because it's a record for me too, and for Zain, as well as for those of you who visit from time to time. Check back soon for video from this summer, and photos from the Tunbridge Fair, fall fun at home, our recent visit to CT, and our upcoming trip to MA and RI!

These photos are from Grammy's 75th birthday celebration in RI in early August. It was a breezy, wet weekend but we had a good time visiting the beaches in Barrington and Newport and seeing relatives.

Zain didn't get in the water, but he was prepared

It was a great day for kites in Newport

Some of the family did a little window shopping...

while others examined the sprinkler system. It passed the test!

Grampy 2/9/22 - 9/4/11

2011-09-19T21:51:00.002-04:00

Zain's Grampy, also known as Dr. Abadi, Ardeshir, Ardie, and Dad, passed away on Sunday, September 4. A family memorial was held the following Saturday, which was a fitting tribute to a good, long life. We put together a photo display, some of which you can see in this Flickr set by clicking here: Grampy. (If you have any trouble viewing it, please leave a comment at the end of this post so I can try to fix it.) Zain had an uncharacteristically hard time during the service-- 2-year-old grieving looked a lot like ADHD-- but he enjoyed spending time with family he doesn't see every day, especially his cousins.

Here are a few photos from before and after the memorial (unfortunately, but understandably, I was too distracted to take any in between and missed some relatives who had already left):

Welcome, September

2011-09-02T21:56:00.000-04:00

We'd had quite enough of August!! Our local paper, the Herald, has put together a slideshow of flood photos that features quite a few from our own Thayer Brook Road and adjoining Riford Brook Road-- click here for the link. Fortunately our property did not make the cut for the home horror show!

Poor Zain has been rolling with the punches pretty well, though he does show some signs of stress. He's getting extra TLC, don't worry. Interestingly, he's taken a sudden interest in building, busily surrounding himself with lego towers. We could use an engineer right about now...

We had a welcome change of scenery this week when we went to the Montshire Museum of Science with friends Emily and Noah. It's a favorite outing of both boys, but I think we set a new record for time spent-- if we'd stayed another hour we would have closed the place down! My camera batteries died before the outdoor water fun and the spontaneous two-year-old hugs, but here are a few pics of exploring boys.

P.S. Zain is sometimes insisting on choosing his own clothing these days, and the fleece overalls on a warm August day at a water science park are an example...

After the Storm

2011-08-29T22:32:00.002-04:00

The end of August has been rough around here... Grampy (Mike's dad) has been hospitalized following a stroke 10 days ago, and then Tropical Storm Irene came on the scene. The good news is that Grampy and our property are still standing strong, albeit not quite the same as they were. We had to evacuate our home on Sunday afternoon, but the silver lining was that Grammy took us in and we were able to visit with Grampy again. He was sitting up today, eating a little, and looking good after a shave. Another silver lining: the start of school (and Mike's return to work) have been postponed until next week, so we will have a chance to regroup. We lost power for about 6 hours yesterday, and heard rumors it might go on for days, so it was a pleasant surprise when it came back on at nightfall. There are communities around us that are stranded due to roadway erosion (so many Vermont roads parallel and cross brooks and rivers, which is where the destruction came from) and people from further down our own road, which becomes impassable, hiking into town with backpacks, as well as homes and businesses that were inundated... so overall we feel pretty fortunate.

The strange thing about this storm was that to look out the window, it seemed like just a steady rain, not especially hard or windy, and the water wasn't even running off the road into our yard like it sometimes does. But the brook was something else-- our little babbler turned into a raging monster clunking boulders together and ripping out trees by the roots. Without those sounds, and the powerful smell of churning earth outside, it's hard to appreciate how surreal it was, but these photos will give you some idea.

For reference, here's the brook, with the "island" where we got married, in August 2008, as seen from the bridge just before our house.

This was 12:17PM yesterday, with the bridge on the right; already the island is submerged.

At 2:07PM I was no longer willing to stand on the bridge.

This view from what remained of the stone steps leading down to the brook was taken at 2:30PM, just before we were ordered to evacuate due to concerns that the bridge might get washed out (and that two mobile homes up the road might be borne downstream by the overflowing water).

This is the totally different landscape we returned home to today. The bridge held up and the mobile homes stayed put, but note the orange cones where the side of the road caved in.

At 1:37 yesterday the brook jumped its banks and started to flow into our lower yard, inundating the fire pit and tent.

The brown pipe on the far right is the vent for our septic leach field, which is buried beneath the grassy raised area in the bottom of the photo. Miraculously (or by ingenious design), though the water flowed right from the brook, through our lower yard and the neighbor's forest, and into the neighbor's pond, the leach field remained intact.

This is Mike today, digging a new fire pit in the deposited silt.

The new view of our yard from the bridge. Here you can see the cliff that was carved by the water-- we lost a lot of earth and trees, and will have to shore up to be sure that more of our yard doesn't fall into the brook. But the cement blocks on the right are what protected our leach field, and for that we feel very lucky.

Compare this to the first picture from 2008-- wow!

And though we feel like we avoided the worst-case scenario, this landslide and fallen trees across the road on the other side of the bridge remind us that the land is still settling, and there's a lot of cleaning up to be done by people and nature.

Images of Late Summer

2011-08-18T21:22:00.000-04:00

I feel like we've enjoyed it fully, but it still feels like summer always goes by too fast. Here are more photos of summer fun in Vermont.

Sweet sticky sleep at naptime:

One of several carousel rides, this one at the Shelburne Museum:

Joe's Pond:

Grandma at Joe's Pond, helping with house projects and reading books "again and again and again":

The Grand Point North Festival, where we were thrilled to see Uncle Smitty play with the Taj Mahal Trio (and Taj's lookalike daughter with an equally amazing voice):

July 4 Weekend Birthday Party

2011-08-05T19:56:00.002-04:00

Since I was going to be down in CT for the wedding anyway, I decided to celebrate my 40th birthday there too, with my parents and a few close friends within traveling distance. My dad and stepmother hosted a lovely party, and most of us got in the pool despite intermittent sprinkles. Here are a few highlights:

"Baby 'Omi"! Zain gave her a bag of infant toys he had picked out from his collection, and actually followed through on the gift! He carried it himself out to the gazebo, handed it to Enid without a word, and walked away.

Maeve and Zain, still adorable after all these years

Pool fun, plus Harald terrorizing people with threats to throw them in

Visiting and chatting

Cake and gifts-- mostly for me (see the sweet bag and Adidas sandals above) but there were kids, nearby b-days and party favors to bestow too

We wrapped up the evening with drinks at our new favorite bar in the area, "Nonnie and Opa's Patio", and tried out the party favors ("safer" nail polish, as Andrea models with gray and red racing stripes).

I haven't waxed overly philosophical about turning 40 so far, but that party was a fine start to a new decade for sure.

July 4 Weekend Wedding

2011-08-04T21:33:00.000-04:00

My second cousin Knikka got married at her family farm in CT, and not only was it a beautiful ceremony on a gorgeous summer day, but it was really fun to see our Butcher/Davega relatives (including 8 second cousins). All my "little cousins" are, of course, adults now, and all doing interesting and diverse things with their lives, including getting hitched and having babies (Chris and Knikka, you will see below, did it the other way around ;).

Dan and Casey (sons of Greg, along with Sam) and Levi (son of Tina, along with Luke)

Fun with iPhone

The happy family

Sue and Casey in front, photographer Tina, Dan and his fiancee Gail in the background

Here we are, toasting to the successful clean-up of Zain's explosive diarrhea (lucky for Mike the bride and groom were giving out t-shirts!)

We made good use of the fine band and enormous tent-- hey, someone's gotta do it, and Zain loves to dance!

Summertime!

2011-08-03T21:59:00.000-04:00

Back in early July we took a long weekend trip to southern New England for a family wedding, my birthday, and general summer fun. Here are some photos from the playground (in Providence), the beach (in Galilee, RI), and the pool (Nonnie and Opa's):

Random bonus pics:

The little drummer boy

We stumbled upon Meriden, CT's fireworks display in the Target parking lot on my birthday... weird and super loud!

The dust settles: 2 years and 1 month

2011-07-07T20:57:00.003-04:00

After a big milestone like turning two years old, the parents might wish to pause and reflect a moment. The toddler, however, has other ideas-- like enjoying all his birthday gifts, as you can see the first 8 of these photos, and enjoying summer by the brook and outside with friends, as in the next few. I can say that so far two isn't all terrible-- it's more of a roller coaster from a delightful, helpful communicative little person to a screaming, kicking unreasonable one who doesn't even know what he wants (but sure knows what he doesn't want!). The highs still outweigh the drops, but there are moments... We're just going to relish this stage anyway, since the cliche is true that "they grow up so fast..." Zain is still not growing as fast [physically] as many of his peers, which continues to cause us some worries but has its pluses too-- he's easy to carry (at under 22 lbs. last check) and doesn't outgrow clothes at a ridiculous pace. In other ways, like verbal skills, he's developing at breakneck speed-- he's been clocked stringing words together in nearly double-digit numbers (and making sense): "What Blankie and Pooh Bear doing over there with you?" and "How Zain make a funny noise with that [thing]?" He refers to himself by name at times, sometimes says "Mama pick you up" when he wants a lift, but also says "I like these olives", so he's figuring out pronouns. He can and will repeat anything he hears or overhears-- a charming and dangerous phase. He's started some fascinating conversations about gender already, and is as yet undecided whether "Zain's Pooh Bear" is a woman, man or child. He does plenty of imaginative play, often involving pretending some other object is a vacuum cleaner or machine, and pretends to laugh, cry and sleep. Some of his other favorite things at this moment in time include looking at and listening to books, exploring outdoors, making and listening to music (still the Pogues and the Kinks, but also Otis Redding, Buddy Holly, and more). He sings "Peggy Sue", "Sunny Afternoon", and "La Bamba" as well as "Happy Birthday" and the alphabet song. He counts to 12 and understands the concept of at least the number 2. Oh, and he has used his potty once! Best of all, he remembers and cares about his family and friends and is excited about visiting with them. All in all he's a sweet and constant presence in our lives, helping us find our reserves of patience and compassion in addition to joy and energy.

And summer breathed new life into the yard and the house too:

This lovely columbine, planted by Nonnie last year, bloomed for the first time

Our poor beleaguered maple leaf viburnum bounced back from its severe pruning with more snowball blossoms than ever and no sign (knock on wood) of the dreaded viburnum leaf beetle

We finally got the railing put on our porch with the help of neighboring carpenter Tom K.

Zain's Birthday Party

2011-07-05T15:08:00.000-04:00

Only a month (+) late... better get the party pics posted! I didn't manage to take many, but fortunately my Mom and Erica shared theirs. Zain's birthday fell on a Thursday, on which we took him to the doctor to be diagnosed with his first-ever ear infection :(. He was feeling much better by the weekend, when we had grandparents visiting, another 2-year-old's party, and an art opening to attend before Zain's shindig on Memorial Day weekend. We had never had a proper house-warming party when we moved to Randolph, but 6 years later we felt ready. We called it a Spring Open House and invited all our local friends-- and they came, 35 in all, including 2 other toddlers and for the first time the wonderful person who sold us the house. It was a lovely day to be out in the yard with Zain's new sandbox and to enjoy the brook. Thank you everyone for a great party!

Birthday pie and tiara on the actual day he turned 2

Helping Daddy build the new sandbox

Testing it out-- yep, it works

Noah and Henry give it their stamp of approval on party day

Zain is temporarily distracted by other new toys (the Sit'n'Spin is a big hit)

"Cousin Avery" handed down his cool workshop, another fave

After leading several rounds of the "Happy Birthday"song, Zain blew out his candle

Licking the icing off his cupcake

He is still enjoying this musical Tigger birthday card

Trying out his sidewalk chalk from Henry's birthday party

More honored guests: Avery and his grandma Jeanne

Hillary, Andy, Adam and Kira (the first three of whom were previous residents of our home)

Carrie, Emily, and Revell

The Abadis of Rhode Island drove up just for the day-- wow!

Visiting with Grammy and Grampy (neighbors Sue and Tessie in the background)

Opa and the Birthday Boy

Zain is 2!

2011-06-05T10:04:00.001-04:00

There are a bounty of birthday party photos coming, and hopefully some reflections on the second year, but first here is the video from May. You will see Zain talking, singing, vacuuming, getting ready for a haircut, and loving his bedraggled Pooh Bear among other joys.

Early May Celebrations

2011-06-04T09:58:00.000-04:00

Here are some long overdue photos from Mike's birthday and Mother's Day weekend.

Helping Daddy make a wish with the special party hat on

Blowing out the candles on the birthday breakfast coffee cake

Opening presents after dinner at Sarducci's

Sporting Daddy's baseball cap

A visit with Grammy, Grampy and Auntie Arlene-- big fun with the blood pressure cuff!

Happy Mother's Day with Grammy and Grampy

I had a nice day at home with the man and the boy who made me a mama :)

Easter in California

2011-06-02T08:07:00.000-04:00

OK, I'm way behind again on posting. May is such an event-filled month for us-- Mike's birthday, Mother's Day, our anniversary, Zain's birthday-- plus Zain was sick with one virus or another for most of the month. Now he's on antibiotics for his first-ever ear infection and Mike and I are fighting the cold. But there are lots of sweet photos to share, so let me get started... Made possible by Zain's new trend of sleeping late (it's 8 AM as I type this; yesterday he went til 8:45!-- and yes, it probably comes at the expense of naps...):

Easter brunch with Susan

The SF Zoo with Jamie and River (above and below)

A quick stop at Ocean Beach (yes, Zain got wet [below])

Then back to the airport for a redeye flight, an experience which Zain mostly slept through (hooray!)

Trip to California: Places

2011-05-14T13:44:00.001-04:00

We visited some of our favorite places in the San Francisco Bay Area when we were there. For perhaps the first time since we moved back east almost six years ago (!), I felt like a tourist, like I saw things with the fresh eye of a visitor. This inspired to me to take a series of short 5-10 second videos as we traveled around, up the mountain to the Becker ranch, and to the edge of the continent at Ocean Beach. Here they are with a soundtrack from my friend Chris-- hope they give you a sense of where we were.

Plus, some photos of a couple of other important stops.
Zain's first baseball game, the A's vs the Red Sox at the Oakland Coliseum:

The Ranch:

Trip to California: People

2011-05-10T21:20:00.001-04:00

Here are some of the friends and family we visited on our whirlwind tour of the Bay Area a few weeks ago. Just today I finished unpacking and put my suitcase away, if that tells you anything about the time since then...

At last a photo with cousin Jake!

Wish our grandparents could see this one... Malia, Zain, Will, and Ingrid

The new generation of Becker descendants and their tired parents ;)

Uncle Jeff and his cool equipment

Smitty, whose wonderful hospitality we all enjoyed

Earl and Kassie, with photo of Great Grandpa Bill

Zain and Annaliese playing piano at our "California house" (as Zain dubbed the Poremba residence)

Coloring with big brother Nate

Playing with John at Joaquin Miller Park

Visiting with Camille (also a Fred Finch alum) at the park

Ladeez Night Out!

More still to come...

23 Months Last Week

2011-05-02T19:17:00.001-04:00

Happy May Day-- spring is finally here (even here) and for what it's worth ObL is apparently no more. Before I get to pictures and video of our California trip, and to take your mind off heavier topics, here's a quick, fun romp with an almost-two-year-old:

Tax Day Update

2011-04-18T22:20:00.001-04:00

What a difference a week makes...

April 4

April 12

More snow has fallen since then-- nothing to add up, just to demoralize us and the early flowers:

Nonnie and Opa came to visit and we took a field trip to the King Arthur Flour Bakery Store and the Montshire Museum:

Having dessert on Daddy:

Enjoying the outdoors in all its Mud Season variety:

Group snooze:

And a visit with Grandma:

...Out Like a Lion; & 22 Months

2011-03-31T17:32:00.003-04:00

This was last week, another snowstorm after a false start to Mud Season:

We're supposed to get 10-14 inches more by Friday night! As someone who would be perfectly happy in a year-round hot, humid tropical climate (like some all-too-short summers here), I do have to ask myself sometimes... why do we live in Vermont, with 6 or 7 months touched by snow??

Well, for many reasons, and here's just a small one: maple syrup! We're big fans, of course, but last weekend for the first time we saw sugaring in action. It was actually the day that Zain turned 22 months old, but I forgot to bring a camera of any kind to our friend Ian's birthday party. The sugar house was filled with sweet billowing steam, and we got to sample the slightly sugary thin sap that flows in from the taps, and the warm thick syrup that results from a long hot process of removing water. Served in a dixie cup with donuts and pickles, how can you go wrong?

Zain didn't eat any of it, nor even the birthday cake. I offered him a bite of my "yummy polenta", and he responded: "No-lenta!" He was too distracted and excited by exploring new places and toys and people. Which could also explain why he's all but given up napping in his crib; we've had to resort to walks in the stroller or, on days when we travel, rides in the car. Maybe we need a toddler-size infant swing? It's been a source of much frustration, in any case, and totally changes my job description: getting screamed at by your boss for half an hour without being told what you're doing wrong is not much of a break! And he still seems to need the sleep, just to be unwilling or unable to let it happen without a crutch, so a day with not enough nap is one where we're all pretty cranky by the end.

However, as you will see in the video and photos to follow, there is also a lot to celebrate about Zain at almost 2. Some of his favorite things are listening and shoulder-dancing to music (currently the Pogues are most-requested); animals (real, stuffed, and imaginary); friends and family; books; appliances and tools; and wires, plugs, hoses, pipes, and cables of all kinds. He has had an explosion of language and uses complete (if not grammatically correct) sentences as well as an ever-expanding vocabulary. He blows kisses and gives "big hugs", with a wee bit of prompting says "Love you", and tonight patted my cheek and said, "Love mama face." Some other recent quotes:

"Mama help you fixin' book."

"This thing broked off, find new one."

To Lucky on the window sill: "Careful, kitty up there!"

He quotes people often (including himself, who he now refers to by name), as in "Pogues said 'whiskey'." [ahem]

Hear his voice for yourself...

Here's the sun-dappled guitar player at Grandma's house back in February:

Building at home, before and after a haircut (his fourth):

Playing with his adorable blond pals Henry and Noah (again with and without a mop top):

Reading:

"Where Zain go?"

In the toy chest!

Reunited; Another Snow Day; A New Cousin

2011-03-09T20:07:00.000-05:00

This past weekend was my first solo overnight since Zain was born. Had to try to see my pal E-Fresh before the birth of her second child in April, and might as well make it for the big birthday party... It went well for all of us, phew! Mike and Zain visited Grammy and Grampy and went to the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center. I arrived in time to enjoy a six foot sandwich and the delicious cake you see below, and then had some QT with the whole family before embarking on my 4 1/2 hour drive home on Sunday... just ahead of a big storm that dumped around a foot of snow on us in VT and closed school on Monday. And, as we were shoveling snow on March 7, our cousins Will and Tricia in CA were welcoming their daughter Ingrid Mary Becker, Zain's first [second] cousin on that side-- hooray!

Sean cuts the cake for Maeve and friends

Mama's got a lot of sandwich to eat... ;)

Back at home, Zain lounges by the woodstove with some buddies

The snow banks are higher than the windowsills!

Zain helps shovel, for real

Buried again

After a warm weekend, the ice on the brook broke up

Mike's sled came to an early stop in the fresh powder

Well, it was 60 degrees and rainy 250 miles southwest, and flower bulbs are coming up in formerly snowy Connecticut... so I guess there's hope for us too.

In Like a Lion

2011-03-04T22:43:00.000-05:00

Here's the "nowcast" for early March: coping with fluctuating weather, appetites bouncing back after stomach flu, more fun with language learning. Zain is putting phrases together, maybe verging on official sentences-- "my daddy", "mama eat it", "cool off", "heat on", "reading again". He says "thank you" and "bless you" liberally. In addition to possessives, prepositions, and politeness, he's using progressive verbs a lot to describe what he is doing, most often walking, dancing, reading and eating. He is, fortunately, eating well again, after a weight loss scare during his illness. We have found something he loves: chocolate, and especially M&M's. This may be the first food we've had to limit, but maybe one day we'll let him go to town on a bag and see where his limit is. Or not...

More recent pictures!

We went to the Montshire Museum of Science a few weeks ago with friends:

There is a Blue Man Group exhibit about sound which also features a lot of crazy lights, as in this tunnel:

Zain tripping out on the Blue Man Group video:

Next let him take you on a tour of the snowy outdoors...

The backyard sledding hill:

The frozen brook, a great place for snow-shoeing:

Then there's more hangin' at home, reading in an appropriate t-shirt:

Dancing with Daddy and the CCR album cover:

Zain's first ever painting with my leftover acrylics:

And February's artwork, incorporating collage and mixed media:

Come on, you knew it would happen that I would foist Zain's artwork on you-- you just didn't know it would happen so soon!

Happy Birthdays and Visits Too

2011-03-02T13:36:00.000-05:00

Catching up on some special events...

Emily, George and Noah came over for dinner at the end of January-- this action shot captures well the energy of dining with two toddlers:

Emily reading one of our blog books to Noah and Zain-- they're riveted :)

In early February we celebrated Grampy's 89th birthday (balloons, candles, and cake are always a big hit with Zain):

In mid-February we visited family in MA, including cousins Eamon and Bronwyn:

We stopped over in RI to see cousins, Neelia, Jack, and Ella, who was in a school play that weekend:

And kicked off an early birthday season for Grandma in CT (who surprised Zain with his own "'tar"):

Before dropping in at Opa's 70th birthday bash:

Where we met Zain's newest cousin, Mason:

Then we came home to recover and prepare for our trip to CA over February vacation. Instead, Zain and I came down with a dreadful stomach virus and had to cancel all plans. Our one and only family outing during Mike's week off was to have dinner with Emily, George and Noah in Montpelier the last Sunday of the break. It seemed at first like incredibly bad timing-- we haven't been seriously sick since July, why now??-- but I guess it was actually pretty fortunate that we had a week to just rest. Now we're all back to normal, sad we missed our Bay Area sunshine (hey, it could happen!), but happy just to eat and sleep, and making a concerted effort to enjoy the last of winter.

New Video Right on Time

2011-02-26T10:37:00.000-05:00

Today is the end of Zain's 21st month (I'll be glad when he's 2 and we can stop fooling around with months) and we have three minutes of highlights from the past month or so. To be sure, I still have to post photos of the real excitement of February-- visits and celebrations-- but if you like dancing, singing, sledding and other shenanigans, this is the video for you.

Winter Wonderland

2011-02-16T21:20:00.001-05:00

Here are some photos from earlier this month of various ways to stay amused in the heart of a Vermont winter... Also of note this February: the first winter thunderstorm either of us has ever experienced, and the spectacle of lightning illuminating a snowy landscape-- not captured in a picture but forever in our memories for sure!

Sledding:

Making snow angels

and snow men

Watching the snow

pile up

Playing broom guitar and

head-banging!

Being sweet:

Drawing and

making rockin' Valentines!

"Amin"

2011-02-07T16:07:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago now, we went down to New York City to witness and participate in the marriage of our friends Andrea and Harald (who Zain dubbed collectively "Amin" during their December visit). Zain missed out on the fun (instead enjoying some QT with Grandma and friends), but I actually have a couple pictures this time that prove that I was there! The ceremony was at the Marriage Bureau in lower Manhattan, in the hallowed tradition that includes my grandparents and many others. Then the "wedding party" walked in the rain across the Brooklyn Bridge, with stops at an ice cream shop and then a gastropub with food, drinks, and wedding cake with lego figurines. A fittingly unique, memorable and fun occasion!

Finally, the Christmas Video

2011-02-01T13:24:00.000-05:00

This is 5 minutes of just some of Zain's holiday celebrations, lightly edited and with no titles whatsoever (you've been warned). But at least it's here before Groundhog Day! And before the big snowstorm that's said to be headed our way...

20 Months Today

2011-01-26T19:43:00.004-05:00

In the past month, Zain has achieved some genuine developmental milestones: first singalong (Twinkle Twinkle Little Star), first spontaneous "thank you", first spontaneous raspberry on mama's tummy (giggles all around), first skankin' to ska music on his own two feet, first broom guitar solo... He's trying out new words all the time, with some current multisyllabic favorites being elevator, alligator, Darth Vader (are you seeing the theme here?), icicle and popsicle (both in the same season), careful (sounds like "awful"), statue, zebra, and of course vacuum (sounds like "macman").

Less fun has been the recovery from our recent trip to New York City with Grandma for the occasion of Andrea and Harald's business at the Marriage Bureau. It was great to have a change of scenery and see some folks, and of course I would not have missed the wedding. Pictures of those lively events coming soon, but first, all the other friends we were able to visit in the area:

Ian and Inga were kind enough to take us into their Brooklyn apartment for night #1

Zain and Sylvester, stuffing their shirts with play food in order to "poop" it out= hilarity

Ring Around the Rosie

Night #2 Zain and I stayed with Christina and Bruce and met baby Severn for the first time. What a ~~little~~ big bundle of joy!

We all had an indoor Thai food picnic with Amanda and the girls on MLK Day, but my camera had literally fallen apart so this is all I got

Zain and Grandma had dinner with Cladd (and her giant Pooh bear) on Tuesday

We also had a short and always sweet visit with Miriam, who went to college with my grandparents and remains sharp as a tack

When we drove back to Connecticut we experienced the aftermath of a serious ice storm, with downed trees and power outages along our route but no problems for us fortunately. The sparkling coating of ice was pretty, though...

The Umpteenth Day of Christmas

2011-01-23T18:20:00.000-05:00

OK, the holiday season did finally come to an end. Opa and Nonnie brought a veritable sleigh full of gifts on their visit the weekend of January 8, and sometime after that we put away the ornaments and Christmas albums (though DJ Zain has continued to pull them off the shelf, so they may remain part of the year-round mix). Here are some sweet photos from that visit:

Currently we are recovering from a trip to NYC, hoping our overall remarkably good health holds out, and bracing ourselves for potentially record-breaking cold temperatures (that's in the double digits below zero, for you warmer-weather folks [which is nearly everyone!]). Many pictures to post soon... provided Zain can get back on a schedule that includes a decent nap!!!

Last of the Old & A New Year Begins

2011-01-11T21:24:00.001-05:00

Before the next round, better squeeze in the last of the first round. After Grandma left, in the midst of an anticlimactic snow storm on Monday, December 27, Andrea and Harald drove up for a quick ski vacation. They also brought the magic of poffertjes, puffy little Dutch pancakes that we gobbled up like, uh, hotcakes. Great to see A&H before we go down to NYC for a little event they are cooking up this month!

Then, inevitably New Year's Eve came. Since my brother died 5 years ago on January 1 I find it hard to strike the right balance for this holiday. This year, the Eve was a bust; we didn't even stay awake til midnight. But New Year's Day turned out to be awesome! There was a Green Mountain Creative Collective event, the brainchild of Comrade Barry-- basically everyone was invited to come and share anything creative: art, music, writing, storytelling, an activity, etc. There was some of all of the above, and some of my best friends and favorite folks were there. Something very cool happened related to Sean's memory too. One of the local musicians who played that day, Spencer Lewis, is the same whose CD we used as the soundtrack to the video we made of Sean's home movies. The music, which had been a gift from the lovely person we bought our house from, fit perfectly in mood and rhythm, and to hear him play on the five year anniversary of Sean's death was just wonderful synchronicity.

The activity I brought to Creativity 1/1/11 was making candy sculptures/graham cracker houses. I made a spirit house for Sean, which I completed at home on Sunday, January 2. Mike built a bonfire and we set it free.

To start the new year off right, I will finish with some images to remind us of the beauty of winter:

Is the holiday season over?

2011-01-05T16:16:00.002-05:00

Not really, for us. We have one more visit with relatives this weekend, plus a birthday party to extend the celebrating. However, the photos are piling up, and it's time to share the fun of Zain's second Christmas, the first one he was really aware of and a full participant in.

Grandma came to stay with us for a week, so we started the good food and family time early. Here are a couple pics from 12/22:

We opened a few gifts on Christmas Eve, including Zain's new custom-made pajamas, as seen in later shots:

This picture of Zain blowing out the candle from dinner convinced us to give him an emergency haircut in the bathtub that night...

Christmas at our house: the BEFORE picture

Christmas morning, after Zain has gotten the hang of this unwrapping thing

Above: some favorite gifts

Very incriminating!?!

Christmas breakfast: chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream, turkey bacon, and seltzer "mimosas"

Then we were off to Grammy and Grampy's house in the afternoon

The BEFORE picture in South Burlington... and then the fun began:

Reading with Grampy

Opening yet more presents

Dancing!

Amusing the adults with toddler calisthenics--climbing up and down chairs and running laps around the house

Andrew got good news from the DMV-- wow!

Looking at pictures of his other cousins

Refusing to give Dan high five

Dan and Joelle open their Jesus toaster, made right in Danville, VT

Trying on other people's watches and bracelets

And best of all, meeting cousin Andrew, all the way from California, for the first time!

Happy Boxing Day

2010-12-26T22:25:00.000-05:00

Yes, today is the day that Brits and Canadians, uh, give presents to the servants? Little fuzzy on that one, even though I just read up on it. It's also the first day of Kwanzaa, one of my favorite holidays that I don't celebrate, and Zain turned 19 months old on this quiet Sunday too. Before I get to pick over the many, many pictures of Zain opening gifts and posing with family for a Christmas post, let me catch up a little.

We're supposed to get the first major snow of the season tonight, though not as much as parts south of here. (Is this part of global warming-- Maryland will get more snow than Vermont??) Up til now this winter we've had a lot of snow showers amounting to a few inches on the ground-- just enough to call it a white Christmas. There was one week of very cold weather, and overall it hasn't been particularly fun or pretty.

Zain is pretty lukewarm about winter so far, though he has learned to say "snow" and "ice". Going outside is a lot of bundling up, and then he doesn't usually want to stay out too long-- though he does enjoy being pulled on the sled (until he falls off and gets a face full of snow).

I've been taking him to free local playgroups, to friends' houses, and to the library so he can run around indoors. We both get to socialize a little too. He continues to find a nice middle ground between being friendly and adventurous and being a little cautious and taking in the scene before jumping in. Some of the sweetest moments, which may never be captured by a camera, happen when he's playing with other toddlers. Suddenly, starting with our Thanksgiving trip, he got much more interested in people and their names, especially children. He still talks about his cousins, and once we got back he started identifying friends by name and both remembering and looking forward to visits with them.

Another favorite moment of mine is any time is Zain dancing, even better when it's after a bath and he's drying off by the woodstove. He has this kids' cassette player and we made him a tape of the Kinks, which he plays and spins around in circles until he gets dizzy.

OK, lastly, two magical holiday moments. A couple weeks ago, Zain refused to take a nap on a Sunday and we were all cranky. In the late afternoon, when it was getting dark already, I decided to take Zain for a walk in the stroller and check out a free concert by the local community chorus. He fell asleep just as we got to the music hall, and stayed angelically asleep while I tucked the stroller into the back row and sat down to enjoy the most peaceful hour of the day. And last week a friend had a solstice candle-lighting in her yard, with hundreds of votives glowing along an old stone fence. Really beautiful. Now the days are getting longer!

New Video, 18 Months & Thanksgiving Weekend

2010-12-16T22:08:00.000-05:00

We brought the video camera on our travels and I finally gave up on editing beyond 4 1/2 minutes of footage. You'll have to self-edit; just stop watching when you've seen enough :). Will tell more tales of Zain at a year and a half in a future post, but now it's time for bed. Hope you enjoy!

Thanksgiving Tour

2010-12-06T20:57:00.000-05:00

We survived Three States in Five Days and it was, of course, great to see everyone. We visited Aunt Renee and cousins before heading to RI for Thanksgiving with the Abadis, then continued on for another feast and visiting with friends and family in CT. Zain slept well for the first half of the trip, so we had some rest in the bank for the last leg, when teething seemed to be rearing its ugly head. Here are some highlights in order of appearance. Obviously there are some gaps, and as usual no pictures of the mama, sigh. The last photo is what we returned to: the kale bravely soldiering on with a dusting of snow.

Let the Holidays Begin

2010-11-21T21:27:00.002-05:00

Mike dusted off the old Buck Owens Christmas album today, so it's official. (The shopping malls, of course, beat us to it, who knows how many weeks ago.) We are off soon for our Southern New England Thanksgiving tour, which promises lots of food, family, friends, photos, and fond memories (not so much sleep perhaps). A few pre-holiday season items first:

1. If anyone is in town between Thanksgiving and Presidents' Day, you really must check out this art exhibit:

I have an illustration and a photograph in the show, the first group exhibit of the Green Mountain Creative Collective, of which I have been a part since its inception in January. I designed the poster too.

2. Anyone have any hot tips for next year about child-friendly Halloween-y music? The Cramps and the Misfits just didn't seem right for Zain's tender ears, so we dug a little deeper and came up with David Bowie, Howlin' Wolf, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins-- but I bet there's something even better. Leave a comment people!

3. Please tell me this is not real. If it is I'm so glad we don't get any television, so I will never accidentally stumble across it.

Wishing you a happy Thanksgiving anyway!

Language & Pictures

2010-11-11T13:17:00.003-05:00

I think many would agree that experiencing your child developing language skills is one of the most delightful and fascinating parts of early parenthood. Zain is learning new words all the time, and it's not just his increased ability to communicate, but the window into who he is and how his brain works that makes it so much fun. He's long had an affinity for Winnie the Pooh, and now he is old enough to watch the old 1960's cartoons based on the books in 10-minute clips on YouTube. In the dramatic conclusion of "Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree", two of his favorite words are pivotal to the plot: after first trying to reach the honey tree by going up with a balloon, Pooh gets stuck in Rabbit's door, then he goes flying up in the air only to get stuck again in the honey tree. This is Zain's first movie review: at every mention of bees, honey, or Pooh Bear, he gets all excited and says "Up! Uck!" He also likes to play with his stuffed Pooh Bear, or his stuffed kitty, and get them stuck somewhere. I think "Uck! Meow!" in reference to the stuffed cat he just put under the chair is pretty much a sentence. His meows are so realistic that I sometimes wonder if he distinguishes Lucky's language from ours. He does recognize written language and reading though (which Lucky doesn't do)-- he knows that letters have sounds and meanings and he will look at them and pretend to read aloud. I've been curious, too, whether children learning other languages or in other cultures have such a romance with the word "no" at this age. Is it more that it's easy to say, or that it's so powerful, or both? In any case it's amusing to watch the toddlers we know say no when they don't mean it, just to practice making the sound and/or exercising their right of refusal. Zain makes a joke in which he puts any random object on his head and calls it a hat ("at")-- which is a lot cuter when he doesn't do it with food I've just told him to eat or give to me. And he is starting to use words, or maybe they're phrases, that we can't yet figure out.

But really, you just want to see some photos! So, here are the latest, along with some from the archives:

This is one of the seemingly endless small projects we are still trying to jam into any available time before it's officially winter, putting trim over some unsightly gaps below the porch roof.

Zain comes from a long line of cat-snugglers, including his uncle Sean (above)

and a short line of step-stool sitters, namely me (above).

And here he is entertaining himself (and me, and perhaps you too) in the kitchen last week, wearing a fabulous sweater he has recently grown into (knitted by cousin Tricia-- thanks again!)

Happy Halloween/Dia de los Muertos/Election Day

2010-11-02T14:40:00.002-04:00

(Those three holidays seem a little too close in spirit for my comfort this year...) Zain was more aware of the Halloween celebration this year, as we carved green jack-o-lanterns and bundled up for the downtown festivities. It was chilly and actual snow was falling, so we didn't belabor the point, especially since Zain doesn't yet eat candy. He did seem mesmerized by the costumes and decorations though, perhaps not realizing that he was part of the scenery, our sweet little skeleton ;)...

Crossing my fingers about the election results tonight (but not holding my breath). If anyone has local cable TV, Mike will be co-hosting live commentary at ORCA Media starting at 7PM!

17 Months, New Roof, Etc.

2010-10-31T20:37:00.001-04:00

We've been pretty busy this fall making as much progress on house projects as we can while the weather allows (at home and at camp too). So, no video for Zain's 17th month, but we do have some photos (some taken by Grandma during her visit a few weeks ago). Zain is so active and entertaining these days it's hard to capture it all. He's running, dancing, working on the alphabet and on the verge of singing, drawing, throwing a ball, reading and looking at photos of his own initiative quite a lot, listening to and making music, making excellent animal sounds, and enjoying short clips from Sesame Street, Yo Gabba Gabba!, and of animals on YouTube. Right now he is lying in his crib talking himself cheerfully to sleep by saying "Uh-oh!" over and over again. Some other new favorite words are Up, On and Off, Hot, Hat and Eye, plus all the words derived from Ock or Uck: Truck (refers to other vehicles too), Lucky, Rock, Clock, Block, Duck, Stuck, Fox... context is key. He also has some new words that consist mainly of the consonant instead: Moon, Ball, Balloon, maybe Book. He says Mama and Dada, Hi, and Night-Night, and waves bye-bye (sometimes at the appropriate times!). Eating and sleeping are going well these days and we've given up worrying about his weight, in part because we've made the acquaintance of some babies his age who are of similar size. Zain and I try to get to the local play groups and story times and visit baby friends a few times a week. It's a good time and he enjoys meeting people-- his favorite ice-breaker is to offer someone a toy (whether a child or an adult). Seems to work nicely! OK on to the photos; here are some of the things he likes to do:

Climb on (but not yet over) the baby gates

Hide and play peekaboo (if he can't see you, you can't see him!)

Look at books and make his WTF gesture

Snuggle Lucky

Play outside

And here are some shots of the new roofing project-- we hired professionals for this one:

Before, busted shingles

After, a smooth standing seam metal roof, just in time for the first dusting of snow

Mike using the snow for writing fun and Zain supervising the roofers

Next up: Halloween!

Quick Rainy Day Post

2010-10-15T12:32:00.000-04:00

Zain sitting on the same stepstool I did at his age (will scan photo someday)

He'll give you the harvest tour: first, the pumpkins (still green)

Next, the cucumbers

And here's the whole cornucopia, with potatoes for the first time

Enjoying the fall sunshine on the porch...

Zain is [usually] gentler than this looks!

The other tropical storm remnants that came through a couple weeks ago did this to our yard

The lake was gone by mid-morning.

16 month video

2010-09-30T12:21:00.000-04:00

This video is from a week or two ago, in our own backyard. What you see here is a taste of the fun part of life with a toddler-- playing, exploring and learning. Not, for example, waking up at 3 in the morning, or being a crank from teething pain, or throwing food on the floor while looking you straight in the eye, or putting dirt from a potted plant onto Lucky the cat as he tries to sleep in a comfy chair... But there are also sweet quiet moments: reading a book he has brought to you; seeing him feed, comb, and give Tylenol to his new favorite stuffed kitty; dancing with him on a shoulder (though he can dance himself now he still asks for this); and many more that we hope to remember always even though they don't get immortalized in pixels.

P.S. The update on Zain's "slow growth": We visited a pediatric endocrinologist, who felt that there was nothing wrong with Zain that was in his jurisdiction, but did refer us to a GI specialist to rule out food intolerance or absorption issues. So the wild moose chase continues... and the baby continues to grow, maybe even a little less slowly.

Fall Fun

2010-09-29T20:21:00.000-04:00

I'm working on a new video, but in the meantime here are some photos from this past month. These are some of the autumnal activities we've been enjoying:

The Tunbridge World's Fair! For Zain's first visit, we met friends Emily and Noah and also Daddy, who was on a school field trip. Highlights: petting the animals and riding on the carousel (thanks Emily for the pics)!

Running around outside in all kinds of weather

Taking foliage tours with Zain in his new bike seat

And, of course, the timeless classic, putting underwear on your head while folding laundry.

Labor Day Weekend in Brooklyn

2010-09-18T21:54:00.003-04:00

My olde friend J.P. got hitched to his lovely bride Sarah-- can you imagine these elegant characters are the same ones who were painting our house in August?? It was great to see them so happy and to see some faces from long ago. Zain was totally overstimulated and underslept and fortunately was rescued by Grandma before the dinner and dancing commenced.

We stayed with even older friend Amanda and her family in Bay Ridge. It was tons of fun for the children and the adults! Here are some photos of us gussied up in our wedding garb again:

Grandma gamely came along for some Z.Q.T. / Mike tries to distract Zain during the ceremony

More enjoyable for the toddlers was visiting the many playgrounds in the neighborhood...

eating Baba George's delicious dinners (here all inspired to wear Zain's bibs)...

and innocently snacking on strawberries in matching booster seats after thoroughly trashing the apartment!

Since Zain was the first person awake in the house, Mike and I took turns touring him around the neighborhood in the dawn light. Owl's Head Park was a cool destination where we saw fishermen and the Statue of Liberty on the pier and then ran around at the playground.

Us and our gracious hosts kickin' it on the stoop of course!

We had a great time and recovered within a week ;). No more trips planned for the near future.

Is August over?

2010-09-07T16:07:00.000-04:00

Not as far as this post is concerned! Gotta clear the decks...

Our first (only?) sweet pepper from the garden / Zain's second haircut on 8/16-- it had to happen!

Spending time with Grammy and Grampy at Joe's Pond on 8/21

In CT we visited with Opa, Nonnie, and a lot of cousins; and with Grandma and "Uncle" Jim, 8/25-8/27/2010

Can you believe Zain is 15 months old already?

2010-09-02T09:59:00.001-04:00

After some uploading trouble with YouTube, here is the latest video. Zain was unusually untalkative while being recorded last week, so you won't hear his ever-expanding vocabulary: truck, rock, duck, art, light, eye, off, out, kitty... (As any parent knows, these are words that we believe he means and is trying to imitate the sound of, not ones you would necessarily recognize out of context.) You also won't see some of the most fun things a young toddler starts to do: dancing, making animal sounds, playing chase games (preferably naked), and other silliness. He's also taking steps toward potty-training readiness, letting us know when he needs a diaper change and possibly before.

Nevertheless the wild goose chase continues to try and find out why he is growing more slowly than expected (his height is still on the growth chart at the 15th percentile; his weight is below the scale, but seems to have stabilized for the moment, possibly due to our superhuman efforts to get food into him without getting into a losing battle). We will see a specialist later this month and see what he can come up with-- most likely seems not enough calories eaten compared to burned, and/or a delayed growth pattern that runs in families. But the horse is out of the barn so now we have to rule out the scarier possibilities. Just looking at Zain literally running around reassures us plenty-- he's a sweet tiny dynamo!

Putting Things in Their Place

2010-08-20T21:59:00.005-04:00

We've had a lot of things to put away, after traveling and work on the house, and things to put in perspective. Zain is also in a phase of [sometimes] putting things where they belong, as well as wreaking havoc of course.

J.P. and Sarah came for an annual work-study visit mere weeks before their wedding

They helped us make progress on the scraping and painting of the front and back porches (more visible here on the back, before and after), the last exterior sources of lead paint concern. By winter they should both be done!

Then Christina and Bruce paid us a visit on their return from a Quebec honeymoon-- next time we see them there will be 3! Can't wait to meet their daughter.

And... can't you see here how Mike's striking coloring and impish smile + Malia's shape face and features=

one beautiful baby Zain?

What we've had to put in perspective over the past week is Zain's diagnosis with "failure to thrive"-- an unfortunate misnomer in his case for "slower than expected growth". His weight is not even on the growth chart anymore, and the doctor we saw (not his regular pediatrician, who has been aware of his downward growth curve since 2 months of age) started a flurry of testing. Two bags of urine, 5 mL of painfully obtained blood, and a wrist x-ray later, we don't really have an explanation about his growth, other than the obvious: he does not consume enough calories relative to how many he burns. We did, however, discover that he has a bit of a vitamin D deficiency-- not too surprising, since he refuses to drink cow's milk. Probably if he would just drink milk his weight and D levels would both improve. But no. This news coincides with a period of Zain needing to explore his autonomy when it comes to eating-- trying to self-feed with utensils, wanting to try what we're eating and capriciously refusing other things, showing little patience for the high chair. The end result is what should someday seem like a comical dance of us trying to get food in his mouth by any means necessary. And I mean any.

Last Weekend on the Upper West Side

2010-08-13T20:44:00.001-04:00

My dear friend Christina got married to a man whom I had never met before, but as far as I can tell is smart, funny, interesting and completely worthy of her hand in marriage. Which is a good thing, since she is also 7 or so months pregnant. Long and Strong! (As luck would have it, those are their surnames. They will not be hyphenating.)

The whole thing was made possible by a grant from Grandma, who came into the city and stayed with an old college pal of hers so that she could help out with baby duties. She whisked Zain off at opportune times and allowed us to be part of adult conversations. Mil gracias!

So now we are

Oh, Man

2010-08-10T16:20:00.002-04:00

I've officially fallen off the blog-wagon: I haven't posted for weeks and Zain turned 14 months old with no video to commemorate the occasion. It was bound to happen eventually, and this very busy spider-- I mean, summer-- was just the time. It seems like we've been packing or unpacking forever, but in reality it's only been two trips in a month.

We first made an epic and somewhat star-crossed journey to visit Enid, Sean and Maeve in Newburgh, NY and Alisha in Philadelphia. The first night of the "vacation" Zain came down with a nasty cold and didn't sleep; then, due to sleep deprivation and constant nursing, I got sick too. Maeve, 2 1/2, and Zain, just over a year, had a clash of developmentally appropriate challenging behaviors (her "mine!" and "no!" vs. his chewing on everything and lack of social graces or language) which was tiring for everyone. There was a dead car battery and a rainstorm that caused a power outage to boot, though that did relieve the heat and humidity somewhat. Nevertheless, it was great to see our friends and there was literally a double rainbow in their backyard-- magic.

In Philadelphia, despite ongoing steamy weather, illness and various bad luck, we managed to get to the Jersey Shore (a first for the Timmerman & Abadi family), the Rodin Museum, a lovely dinner party where we met some of Alisha's wonderful friends, and many playgrounds and restaurants in her West Philly neighborhood. We were long overdue to visit her home, which she bought with friends and converted from the top floor and attic. What a great situation and again, we're so glad we made it!

We arrived home exhausted at 1AM on a Friday, and then on Monday I started a 2 week class at St. Michael's College (for professional development and for fun). It was an hour+ commute and plenty of work outside of class, but thanks to some nights at Grammy and Grampy's in Burlington (15 minutes away), Mike's support, and Zain's flexibility, we all survived. And when the class ended on a Friday afternoon, we got in the car for our next adventure later that evening... but that's another post!

Rainbow over the Hudson, Newburgh, NY/ Zain ready for the Ocean City boardwalk

Enjoying the water and sand (coated in it like a powdered donut!)

Zain was the only one of us who did not get a sunburn at the Jersey Shore

Zain at the Rodin Museum and on Auntie Alisha's front porch in Philadelphia

Better Late Than Never?

2010-07-24T21:00:00.001-04:00

At long last, I have summoned some reflections on my first year of being a parent:

1. Reflections? There's a lot less time to reflect when you have a baby in your life. Your whole concept of time changes. "Free time" is a thing of the past, and fifteen minutes to yourself seems like a luxury. Though I am lucky to regularly be able to go back to sleep while someone else takes care of Zain (usually Mike), every single day since he was born I have woken up when he did (lately at the not too uncivilized hour of around 6:30 AM) to nurse him. This is, shall we say, different for someone who has always liked to sleep as late as possible.

2. Speaking of time and sleep, everyone tells new parents to "sleep when the baby sleeps". It's an admirable goal, probably not a very realistic one. You'll have a million other things you need or want to do with those precious hours, but in truth none of them are actually more important than sleeping. You never do get caught up (at least not in the first year) but you have to fill in the deepest canyons of sleep debt or the whole thing will come crashing down.

3. Some other things that everyone says are kind of true, like "it goes by so fast!" Sometimes minutes can be an eternity, but then all of a sudden your baby is walking and talking, and if what I'm told is correct, the next thing you know he's going off to college. Certainly you should savor every moment.

4. A baby goes through a ridiculous amount of change and growth in his first year of life. Just when you, or he, get the hang of something, it's likely to change. Luckily this is also true for challenges; they seem like a permanent state but will have been replaced by some other hurdle before you know it.

5. We have a cultural bias for big, plump babies. Even if you are not a "baby person"; had a prior idea that slender babies are cuter; and are repeatedly told by your pediatrician and everyone else that you have nothing to worry about, having a petite child is difficult. You can see yourself becoming one of those mothers that's always trying to feed people beyond reason. You think of far-fetched reasons why your baby is not packing on the pounds, and dread doctor's visits when you will be told what percentiles your child's height and weight fall into. This, despite the fact that there is an obesity epidemic among all Americans older than babies.

6. Babies are soft and sweet and cute and cuddly by design, but they are also superhumanly strong for their size, and don't understand the causing of pain. Don't be surprised if you are kicked, scratched, knocked on the head with a rock, bitten, pulled and pinched by your unwitting little bundle. Or even if he sticks his finger inside your nostril and gives you a bloody nose, which I have both experienced and witnessed-- who knew that was one of the occupational hazards?

7. If you don't have children, that's perfectly fine-- you will literally never know what you are missing, because you just can't really imagine what it will be like. If you do have kid(s), it's true that you have never known a love so powerful. And that better be the case, since it is basically a 24/7 job for the rest of your life. Some kind of shift takes place, whether hormonal or psychological, but your whole world view changes. Things that never bothered you before-- horror movies, the news-- affect you deeply now, because you are responsible for this little life.

And, on that light note, some bonus photos from earlier this month:

Zain helping sweep the patio at Joe's Pond

Cooling off after the hard labor

Auntie Jessica came to visit and brought a pint of black raspberries-- yum!

Taking a nap with some friends on a hot summer day.

Rewind

2010-07-12T20:50:00.001-04:00

OK, back to the end of June and our visit to CT, which began my birthday celebration season :).

Hanging out with old friends, meeting the next generation

Zain's favorite objects, Grandma's old glasses and cell phone

Nonnie and Opa hosted us all for a pre-birthday cookout on a hot summer day, Zain's second introduction to birthday cake! It was delicious. In that last picture, can't you hear him shouting about it?

13 Month Video

2010-07-10T14:27:00.002-04:00

I've gotten way behind on posts here, so let's start with the video from a few weeks ago when Zain and I were visiting in Connecticut. Mike watched it and said, "It makes him look like a big troublemaker." To which I replied, he's a toddler. Like toddlers are supposed to be, he is constantly active, exploring, and testing the limits of his abilities and the rules of nature and society. Just since his first birthday he has really started walking a lot, often with a prize in each hand, sometimes playing the xylophone as he goes. He has at least two words, "dat" (which seems to mean, obviously, "that", as in "I want that", "look at that", "what is that?" etc.) and "gock" (which appeared to evolve from "rock" but now applies to any treasure but especially things that also sound similar like "Lucky" and "truck"). He also mimics a lot of sounds and gestures that we make, like saying "aaahhh" after a refreshing drink and blowing on hot food. He has learned to pat the cat very gently, and practices on people, pictures of cats, even inanimate objects. He loves to snuggle too, and has chosen his stuffed Pooh bear and his elephant blankie as his favorite lovies. Looking at books is something he enjoys, especially now that he can pick a book and bring it over to read. Zain has developed pretty sophisticated tastes and likes to try everything we're eating; some current menu faves include pizza, grapes, cheese, olives, raspberries, hummus, and ice cream. The only thing he still tends to shun is cow's milk, and most vegetables are a bit of a challenge. He sleeps well at night generally and after experimenting with one long nap during our travels has gone back to two naps a day. Which he is doing now, making it possible for me to finally post this: thank you baby Zain!

P.S. This video was saved in a different format to make it a smaller file, easier to upload-- please let me know if there is a noticeable drop in quality.

Strange Days Indeed

2010-06-23T14:31:00.002-04:00

First of all, as I was sitting here typing an e-mail just now, I could have sworn I felt an earthquake. Nah, I thought, you're not in California anymore-- but a quick Google search confirmed it. Weird!

We spent a hot and stormy Father's Day weekend at Joe's Pond-- and you know if it was hot there it was insufferable elsewhere. Zain was suddenly freaked out by the water (or the watercrafts) so our dreams of taking him for his first paddle in the canoe were put on hold. He adjusted to being near the pond, if not in it, and we had a nice, productive time and a lovely Father's Day lunch with Grammy and Grampy. Here are some photos of three generations of handsome men:

Last week I woke up dreaming about fire, which is not a recurring theme for me. Found out later that day that some buildings downtown, which house our friends' bookstore and our new favorite grinder shoppe among other things, had caught fire in the wee hours of the morning. Stranger still, it turned out to be arson, and during the same night someone robbed like 10 local businesses. Hearing sirens is so rare that it's a reminder how different it is to live here than in say, South Berkeley or Oakwood, Venice Beach, where helicopters and gunfire became part of the normal soundscape.

Zain is napping now (hence I am writing this), having refused his morning nap and fallen asleep during lunch. He's been having trouble with one nap or the other for the past few days, and it's starting to look like he's making the switch from two naps to one. We've been on a great schedule for months now, but we'll figure out the new one and get used to it I'm sure.

Otherwise, it's a gorgeous Vermont summer, the time of year that makes living here worthwhile (climatically anyway). Mike is teaching a college course so we're still not officially "on vacation", though it's so close I can taste it.

But boy, just when you think you know what to expect...!

Roundup

2010-06-16T14:54:00.002-04:00

Here are some pictures from the past couple busy weekends: our first overnight at Joe's Pond for the season, and Aunt Arlene's birthday celebration. I forgot my camera for the actual birthday events (late lunch on Church Street and, for some of us, music on the waterfront) but Uncle Chris, Aunt Susie and a gang of cousins stopped by on their way home so we had another photo opp. Then Zain (and Mike too it seems) came down with the spring cold that's been floating around, so we've been laying low ever since. But cold or no, this is Mike's last week of school, and that's something to rejoice about-- summertime here we come!

Zain made the most of the gorgeous weather and tried out the spiffy new dock at camp

Party in Zain's room!

And for any of you who missed this headline-- the one on the left, that is... (courtesy of my mother, who chose that name after all)

Party Video

2010-06-07T07:37:00.000-04:00

Zain's First Birthday Party

2010-05-31T20:52:00.000-04:00

All of Zain's grandparents joined us to celebrate his first trip around the sun. It was a warm and, for the few hours we needed, sunny afternoon. There was barbecue, blowing bubbles, climbing stairs, and of course presents and cake (captured on video, now being edited for your viewing pleasure).

The Birthday Boy, pondering the whole thing, and high-stepping up to the back porch

The Z Cake: "Bunny Birthday Cake" recipe from Super Baby Food with maple cream cheese frosting

Thanks to everyone for helping make a lovely day!

Happy Birthday Zain, part one

2010-05-27T21:37:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was Zain's first birthday-- a momentous occasion for the whole family, so Mike took the day off. We went to our play group and had water fun and cupcakes with some baby pals and their parents, then opened presents in the evening. We've had a request from at least one reader for some reflections on our first year as parents, so I will try to generate some soon! We did talk about Zain's birth and growth some yesterday, and one thing it's easy to say is that it's all been worth it for such a big, big love for a little, little boy.

Zain demonstrates his idea of what to do with his very own sunglasses

He had a better plan for his new xylophone, though he does love the mallet itself so much he took it to bed last night...

Heat Wave

2010-05-25T21:53:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow is Zain's birthday (#1), and yesterday was our wedding anniversary (#2, though we met 14 years ago and re-met 7 years ago). We're having record-breaking high temperatures, the kind that necessitated buying a kiddie pool. For the adults. But we'll share.

Fun with the hose

You can almost see in this photo that poor Zain is getting all 4 upper front teeth at once (after having only the two since February)

Happy anniversary-- not bad for a self-timer shot with the camera perched on the fabulous new composter!

Flying Squirrel!

2010-05-17T21:41:00.002-04:00

So maybe you thought it was outlandish, my guess that the creature in our house was a flying squirrel. Probably an ordinary mouse or a rat, you scoffed. But it turns out I am quite the rodent detective! Never met a flying squirrel before, but they're cuter, more polite (no kitchen invasions), and smarter than their more common cousins. Nevertheless, this one did finally take the bait and get caught, then released this evening at a remote forested location, where it jumped to the nearest tree trunk and disappeared. While we were in the woods by the river we took the opportunity to take a walk on a lovely day.

Back home, we lounged on the grass a while and Zain picked flowers and chased the cat

Yes, Mike got the vegetable garden bed ready and planted some seeds, so let the growing season begin!

And baby makes three for the double jack-in-the-pulpit that appeared on the path down to the brook the May we got married there:

Update

2010-05-15T21:46:00.002-04:00

Today I got the urge to change the template for this blog, which led of course to tinkering with all the details (waaay too many options). I had had (don't know about you) some problems viewing the embedded videos, so I think this new format should help with that. Also the title had become so cumbersome when it evolved from a wedding blog (Mike and Malia's Summer of Love) to a baby blog (Mike and Malia's Summer of Love... and Beyond!) that I just shortened it to the last word. It seems to speak to many aspects of starting a family (finally) where there are more trees than people.

What else is new? I had a wonderful first Mother's Day last weekend. Here's a haiku I thought of:

Watching from warm bed

Snow drifting past my window

Mother's Day surprise

Then a more realistic week as Zain and Lucky double-teamed me sometimes-- Lucky jumping on the counter to lick the egg whites while I was making French toast for Zain, Zain knocking down a cactus I've had since college while I was answering the phone, those kinds of moments of infamy. A tree fell on a wet windy day in our yard, but Mike cut it up and moved it before anyone could even take a picture. Right now we're listening to the mystery animal in the kneewall, for which we finally set a trap (a Hav-a-Hart live trap, don't worry), hoping it takes the bait. I'm thinking flying squirrel (medium-sized nocturnal creature) but Mike's money is on chipmunk. With a little luck we'll settle this tonight.

Happy Birthday Mike!

2010-05-07T20:41:00.000-04:00

Man, that week went by fast! Last weekend we started celebrating Mike's birthday. Opa and Nonnie were visiting and gave him (and all of us) the wonderful gift of hard labor in our front garden beds. We had let them go until getting the porch replaced, since we knew they would be trampled at best during that process. But now we have a lovely new porch and no excuses! So we found out why we hadn't reclaimed those beds already-- it was wicked hard work even with expert help (granted, it was the hottest, most humid day of the year). It was completely worthwhile, though, and we will make sure the investment of labor lasts.

Now we have plenty of room for new planting, like this gorgeous rose from Arlene.

Above: Zain spending time with some of his favorite people (and animals) and enjoying the unseasonably summery weather

After the back-breaking garden work, we met Grammy, Grampy, Arlene and Jeremy for a birthday dinner at Sarducci's. Zain did as well as any of us with a long, leisurely dinner, and everyone got a chance to entertain him.

Trying to pull Grampy's hair

Zain was fascinated by the pizza chef

Grammy brought the most delicious cake from Mirabelle's Bakery

Finally, on May 4, Mike's actual birthday, we opened more gifts and broke out the obligatory birthday tiara and blowers (as well as the bubbly). Everyone was incredibly generous and we all had a great time for Mike's 44th!

11 Month Video

2010-05-01T14:29:00.005-04:00

One month shy of his first birthday, Zain is very active (crawling, cruising, walking with support, standing briefly on his own), very vocal (mostly in one of those world languages that uses clicks, but we are getting convinced that his first intelligible English word is "light"), and determined to keep our lawn free of dandelions, rocks and twigs... by eating them (and some of the lawn too). He's lots of fun-- won't you join us for a philosophical discussion over breakfast?

Perspective

2010-04-28T10:08:00.001-04:00

April 4, 2007

April 10, 2008

April 22, 2008

Joe's Pond, April 26, 2008

The last three are from today. Looks pretty mild in comparison.

Sometimes It Snows in April

2010-04-27T14:46:00.003-04:00

You can tell by his smile that Zain is full of joy and mischief, can't you? He is, I think, starting to interact with the camera and certainly to approach it (as in #4 below). Last week, for Mike's spring break, and this past weekend, when we had grandparents visiting, the weather was better than expected. We were able to play outside in the baby corral, go for walks, do yard and garden and house work, and even barbecue. But there is snow in the forecast today, though it's been only rain and slush here so far.

Yesterday was Zain's 11-month birthday, but not his most festive day. Not sure what kind of trip he's on-- teething is a guess, since he seems to have successfully fought off developing an ear infection from this lingering congestion. He is napping now, what bliss, but has not been eating or sleeping or even bathing very well for a few days. However, in between he is so busy and sweet and delightful that it makes up for a lot.

This past weekend we also toasted to my brother's birthday (he would have been 36) and to Will and Tricia's first anniversary. Our season of celebrations has just begun-- more birthdays and anniversaries coming up!

If we really get this snow I will post photos. And laugh and/or cry.

Catching Up

2010-04-16T10:34:00.006-04:00

Oh, man, snow on the daffodils this morning. It's gone now in the rain. Mike's spring break next week (hooray!) looks like it'll be wet and chilly (boo). Zain and I are still getting over our last cold (let's say "last" as in final, not "last" as in most recent). But we have some photos of more festive days during the past few weeks, so on this rainy day I'll post those.

The first few are from Easter Sunday:

Zain, newly shorn, enjoying the lovely weather at home

These reminded me of Easter eggs

On his second-ever trip to a playground, this one in South Burlington

Walking with Grampy

With Aunt Arlene, Grammy, and the Dustbuster

Modeling his new hairstyle

The next few were taken in the lower brookside yard created by the new leachfield:

Mike dug a firepit and we burned the prunings from the raspberries and the maple leaf viburnum

These last two are incriminating evidence of Zain's first shoplifting: the small, brightly-colored baby-sized bottle of "Five Hour Energy" drink I discovered in his hand when removing him from the back carrier in the car after grocery shopping. I guess we should return it...

Zain's First Haircut!

2010-04-08T09:34:00.002-04:00

Even a reluctant mama could not deny it any longer: it was time for a trim. This video doesn't make clear that Mike did some of the cutting, and was more of the motivation and "vision" behind the event. Zain, as you will see, was extremely cooperative and has not seemed to miss his long locks one bit. As for me, I was horrified by how much he looked like a little boy instead of a baby, but I'm getting used to it and to like it and may even grow to love it. We can report a dramatic decrease in: food in the hair, hair in the snot [cold season not over :( ], difficult comb-outs, dreadlocks in the back, and "How old is she?"

10 month birthday weekend video

2010-04-07T09:30:00.001-04:00

The End of an Era

2010-04-06T15:36:00.003-04:00

Changes are afoot, y'all. Winter may revisit us, but spring has opened up shop for the time being. Yard work galore, as well as lounging on the lawn and giving Zain his first taste of bare feet in the grass. This is also teaching contract time, and we decided after months of agonizing that I am not ready to go back to work in the fall. So I'm cut free to be home with Zain at least another year. As I wrote in my official letter, "Having been home with my son for almost a year now, I have no illusions that this is the easier option, but nothing could be more important." No doubts that it's the right thing for all of us, but feels strange anyway. And, last but certainly not least, the time came for a baby's first haircut! That event will get its own post soon (after the latest video!), but in these photos of last week you can appreciate the glory and pain of his long hair's last days.

Rattling the cage

A lovely spring afternoon on the not-yet-green lawn.

Home Again

2010-03-30T21:22:00.004-04:00

Zain and I spent a long weekend in Connecticut visiting the grandparents, plus a last-minute unexpected cameo from Auntie Janae. Despite not getting much sleep, it was great to have a change of scenery and see some folks. Zain is now 10 months old, and he is more and more active, vocal, affectionate and amusing. He's also getting into everything now that he can pull himself up to stand and cruise around holding onto furniture (or people). Here are a few pictures from Grandma in lieu of the next video, still in progress. I took only black-and-white film photos for my photography class, which I will try someday to scan if any of the prints come out worthwhile!

Zain's enjoying many new treats these days, some faves among them: yogurt, graham crackers, bread and French toast, and the infamous "Baby Mum-Mums"

Tickle torture!

Zain's "yucky" face and "poof, be gone" hand gestures

Signs of Life

2010-03-15T14:33:00.003-04:00

The title refers to several things that have been going on here:

The inevitable coming of spring-- most of the snow in these photos (from the February 24-25 storm) is gone now, melted by warm (really!) sun and washed away by rain. But we have been, in recent years, clobbered by two April snowstorms, so no sense in getting ahead of ourselves.

Our recovery from Zain's illness of the past week-- yes, the whole family has to recuperate when the baby is not feeling, eating or sleeping well. He's on the mend now, though, and it looks like we've avoided antibiotics.

Our recent classic sci fi movie series, including both 2001: A Space Odyssey and 2010: The Year We Make Contact, as well as forging deeper into our complete Star Wars collection. As for 2010, there are still several months left for a mysterious alien power to create from a swarm of monoliths on Jupiter a second sun and many "new worlds" to be "used in peace". Also for the Soviet Union to re-form and enter into nuclear brinksmanship with the U.S. The most prophetic part of that movie was that there was a black man in a high government post.

Getting ready for quidditch

Still enjoying his holiday balloon from cousin Jake (with the woodstove gate up in the background).

New Video from Zain's 9 Month Birthday

2010-03-01T09:12:00.002-05:00