Our Little Turkey: May 2013

5.29.13 ~ It's My Birthday and I'll Fly to Seattle if I Want To

Every mother needs a break sometimes. So, after a particularly hard week a few months ago, I was on the phone with Jill who immediately began planning a trip to Seattle for Labor Day weekend. Pia lives there and Jill flew up from Austin and so was born the first annual Jill, Pia, and Nina Bestie Vacation.

We spent two nights in Seattle to hang out with these guys and this little Angel of a child...

Then just Jill, Pia, and I hopped into the car and did some quick site seeing in Seattle before setting off for Portland.

This is the most disgusting tourist attraction ever. The Gum Wall.

The Pike Place Market

Inside the Market.

The first Starbucks ever.

And off to Portland.

Portland is pristine and orderly and a little bit Utopian. As a New Yorker, it was a refreshing change of pace - though, the composting, stopping for pedestrians, legit bike lanes, and goats grazing on an empty lot with absolutely zero garbage dumped on it right in the middle of the city do threaten to get a little old after a while. But we weren't there long enough for that to happen. Instead we were blissfully happy as Jill, a very pregnant Pia, and I ate and drank our way through that clean city. At this point in the trip I also put away my big camera and relied mostly on my new iphone. But as obsessed as I am with that thing, there is still really no comparison to my Canon.

Jill found us a charming little house near (in?) an "up and coming neighborhood" in the city. I swear, the only five and a half blocks of diversity and grit in the whole damn city and of course we find ourselves there. For better or for worse.

Can you see the rainbow?

The best wings ever. Ever. EVER. We all agreed, even the pregnant one who doesn't like wings.

The house really was charming.

Who decides these things?

Portland Saturday Market.

More Market and also the belly.

Seriously, Jill and Pia picked some outstanding restaurants.

We rode the street car!

A little time away and a little space between home and me was very restorative. I missed my husband and kids a lot. But totally in a good way. It was wonderful to come home and really cherish them. And because today is my 32nd birthday I also used the extra head space to do a little reflecting on where I am in life (long flights with no children are particularly good for that). This 33rd year brings with it many crossroads and challenges but also many blessings and opportunities. And with some effort to help the pieces fall into place the right way, it also brings the potential to be one of the most important and ultimately best years so far.

5.21.13 ~ Water on Her Head

Nora was baptized this past weekend. She never looked more beautiful and never behaved more adorably. I cannot get enough of that sweet baby. She is walking all over now and just loves it. Her favorite thing to do is walk from room to room in any house - preferably holding something in her little hands. She kind of waddles and still doesn't have great balance. And sometimes her little head goes faster than her legs and she goes crashing to the floor. But she just gets back up and keeps waddling. She likes to carry around my cell phone, or a stuffed toy, or Liam's backpack. Which, when in Baltimore and full of toys, weighs more than she does. She sort of drags it behind her from one room to the next. And after her baptism, we went to Carol and Tim's for a little family party for Nora and Ryan (who also got water on his head - as Liam would say). There Nora walked up and down the sidewalk in front of the house. We had to take her shoes off because they were slowing her down. She was so pleased with herself.

She is also talking a little more now. She still likes to say hi a lot. But also says Dada, Mama (only when she’s mad or crying), down, all done, keys, bye bye, Liam (although it sounds nothing like his real name) and what’s that (but often not really in the right context). Usually no one can understand her. She babbles so much that the actual words are often hidden to the untrained ear.

But even when she isn’t talking – she is always communicating. She has impeccable body language and great use of intonation. And she imitates a lot of things which makes you feel like you’ve just had a whole conversation when nothing was actually said. For example, she’ll pick up a baby doll and hand it to me. I’ll pretend to shush it and rock it and hand it back. And then she’ll do the exact same thing. Or if you blow on hot food she will too. And if you say the word hot she goes “haaahaahaahaa” as if she has something hot in mouth she is trying to cool off. She even started doing that recently when I asked Liam if he wanted a hot dog.

And she adores Liam. He is usually a pretty sweet big brother – but has a slight abusive streak. Nora she doesn't care. She hugs him and loves him and can’t wait to see him when she wakes up in the morning. It’s really amazing watching their relationship develop. It has been evolving rapidly lately since she started walking.

Vera and Josh were here this weekend to share in all of this adorableness. Those two are the lucky little girl’s God parents. I can’t imagine better role models for her. And, as she grows up, when her parents are sucking, hopefully she can turn to Josh and Vera. She’s always had a special bond with each of them.

Remember this?

And this?

Nora doesn't get the spotlight often - so, it was nice to spend the weekend celebrating our little Bear.

5.16.13 ~ These Two

I sure do love them.

5.16.13 ~ DUMBO

Corinne told me that DUMBO stands for Down Under the Manhattan Bridge. We weren't sure, but we thought maybe the O was just so it didn't sound like "Dumb". Apparently the O really stands for Overpass. Thanks Google. Anyway, we went to there. We rode the carousel, we ate lunch, we threw rocks in the river, and we managed to (mostly) dodge the rain and busloads of school children.