New York City, part 2

New York Pictures

Here are some of the beautiful pictures from New York.

No longer a Bobbler

A short post, because I am still waiting to get the pictures from New York.

First, we left for New York leaving behind our little bobbler in the capable hands of her Grandma Lew. But she was a bobbler; walking a little, but mostly crawling. When we got back we had a bonafide toddler on our hands. She crawls a little, but she is much more interested in walking now. Soon she'll be running. When we see her walking down the hall or acros the kitchen (she looks like frankenstein...it's adorable), we say "Hello, toddler!" I feel like Evelyn changed a lot while we were gone. From crawling to walking, but also her jaw got more square and she got a lot sassier. Her cries have new tones in them, and she screeches and yells more, too. She grew up. Our little toddler.

Second, I am really excited about the movie adaptation of Where the Wild Things Are. I know my mom told me at some point that the book was very controversial when it first came out. People tried to ban it from schools. My mom got grief for reading it to her kids. I have no idea why. Baffling. But I hope the movie lives up to my expectations. It looks beautiful. Here is an interview with director Spike Jonze.

Whirlwind

New York was fabulous. Saw friends. Ate dumplings. Saw more friends. Went to a beautiful wedding. Ate more dumplings. Savored the moments, slept in, danced with my husband, and enjoyed a baby- and dog-free weekend.

I will post more, with pictures, when we get them back from the photo processor. Jon used some crazy old film so he is really excited to see how it all turns out.

Tears

Last night I cried. And cried and cried and cried. The lights were off and I was in bed and I just broke down. Because tomorrow I am leaving my baby ALONE for FOUR days. And by "alone" I mean in her house with her dogs and books and toys and under the excellent care of her third favorite person in the world, Grandma Lew. But it felt like I was about to abandon her. Leave her to the wild dogs with nothing but the clothes on her back. It was heartbreaking thinking about the four nights I won't be there to say good night, or give her a bath, or rock her in the dark. I cried because I know how much bigger and smarter she will be when I get back. What if she is sad? What if she is afraid? What if she thinks we are gone forever? What if it scars her psyche to think she is being abandoned by her parents? And so, I cried.

(After I cried I fell asleep to dream about having a crush on a boy and kissing that boy, the very boy who would be the key to letting me enroll in the freshman year honors class, the very class that my arch nemesis Blair Waldorf is trying to get into, the very nemesis who is equally upset when the boy I have a crush on picks three russian girls to be in the class and not us.)

When I woke in the morning I felt much better about leaving my sweet daughter in the hands of her wonderful and loving grandmother. The event of the night before was not unlike the night before I returned for work after maternity leave. I cried and cried and cried that night too, and in the morning I felt much better. I can say that I am only able to cry and cry and cry and then feel much better because I have a husband who lets me cry and cry and cry and doesn't make me feel stupid for feeling sad. He tells me it will be OK, and he is usually right, and he strokes my hair until I fall asleep. And then in the morning, when everything is back to normal, and I realize he was right and that everything is OK, I love him even more.

Tonight I will hold Evelyn very, very tight and give her ten kisses before bed instead of one. And when she pulls away and squishes her face up because she hates getting kisses, I'll pull her even closer and whisper "I love you" three times instead of two. Then we will all go to bed, and in the morning it will be OK.

Pumpking Picking, year two

I think I have three posts to write. One about my impending trip of awesomeness, one about Jon's shop, and one about pumpking picking. We shall focus on the latter.

Remember one year ago...

And this past weeknd....

Create a Free Slideshow

My, how time flies.

We had a lot of fun picking pumpkins this year. Evelyn was much more engaged (obviously) and really really REALLY liked the farm animals. She almost exploded with delight at seeing the sheep (Ba!).

Car seat monitor

We've all heard about the horrible stories where children die because their parents accidentally leave them in the car. It just breaks your heart. It is hard to imagine ever leaving your child in the backseat. It's hard to imagine ever forgetting your child is in the car. But clearly, it can happen to anyone. So I've wondered if buying some sort of "child alarm" would be useful. Like a beeping that lets you know you left your lights on or your keys are in the ignition, just a little reminder that there is a child in the backseat. I don't know. What do you other parents of young children think?

http://www.carseatmonitor.com/index.php

The Cars-N-Kids Car Seat Monitor.



This is a little batter-powered sensor that affixes to the side of the car seat and senses when a car stops moving. After five seconds, a little mechnical "lullaby" starts to play, reminding you that your kid is in the back seat. Simple, easy, effective. Or so it seems.

Right now I think our chances of leaving Evelyn in the car are slim. One, she is LOUD. Very loud. Always. There is never any doubt about her being in the car. Two, she rarely falls asleep in the car anymore, so her giggling and yelling and saying "hi" to everything is everpresent. Three, as of right now, we are not taking her to daycare, where we could accidentally forget to take her and instead go to work and leave her in the car. That seems to be a recurring theme in these stories. Not exclusively, but often.

So I'm not running out to buy this thing or something like it right away, but it is an interesting idea. Would I let Evelyn sleep in a house without a smoke alarm? A carbon monoxide detector? No. Would I let her ride in a car without a seatbelt? No. Maybe this is just one of those static safety things that you hope will never be used, but you are so glad you have it if it is.