And I thought my last lag was bad... Who knew it was possible to break my own sorry record? Consider it a super-extended holiday break (Thanksgiving-President's Day). A new year, 6 blizzards and one historic regime change later (b'bye Mubarak), a few things to note:
1. My vocabulary has quintupled, landing me at around 25 words, including thank you ('hink yeeewwww'), cheesestick ('shiztik') and moo (moo). And that's only English. It occurs to me I've yet to introduce my caretaker extraordinarie, Ira, otherwise known as the Israeli Mary Poppins (with tattoos), who has taught me loads of Hebrew as well. I understand a ridiculous amount more than I can speak - in both languages - and pretty soon my mom's gonna have to stop dropping the F-bomb. (Immediately below: sledding with mom during blizzard #2, saying "shiztik")
2. Despite the chilly temps, I had a fabulous time in Marco Island over the Christmas break, where I got to see my cousins Hannah and Max and had meatballs every night for dinner. I also got to reunite with Chana, my first babysitter, who, at age 26, took an early retirement to Florida. Most importantly, though, we learned the value of blackout shades. I slept a whole hour later every morning thanks to the thick Marriott hotel curtains that made my little sleeping alcove a cozy, cavernous nest. In desperate attempts to replicate these extended sleeping habits at home, my mom ordered custom-cut blackout shades for my bedroom. 3 times. The third (and final?) shades just arrived, and with our luck, they just might fit this time. $214 and 3 shipments later, we're all keeping our fingers crossed that this investment translates into additional hours of sleep.
3. Since my last post, I went through a terrible shrieking phase which got me exiled from a couple of our favorite restaurants in the neighborhood. For five long weeks, my parents were housebound, virtual pariahs. But within this same blogging lapse, I've had time to mature, and I'm proud to say I returned last week to Bar Toto without incident. (pictured below with my new Crackberry. Thanks, Auntie Roosie!)
4. Speaking of growing pains, I hit a kid named Oliver at Tot Shabbat recently, where I was on center stage with 120 eyes on me right next to our guitar singer/songleader. Apparently there was collective wincing and a whole lot of "Oooohhhs" from parents (which, in English means, "Thank gawd that wasn't my kid.") But it wasn't really like that. And since this is my soapbox, let me explain. Truth is, I was (over-)excited to be there - great music, haimish community sing-along - what could be better? In my ebullience, instead of running up to hug Oliver as I'd intended, it came out a push and hit. Simple as that. Luckily, my mom wasn't there, so she (feels she's) free from responsibility. The good news is, Oliver's as crazy as I am, and his parents were delighted that for once he didn't do the hitting. I've since returned to Tot Shabbat, and endeared myself to Oliver and his parents once again.
5. I got waitlisted from Beansprouts 2's program, like all 10 of my fellow 'June baby' comrades (so I don't take it personally - or maybe we all do). The place is appealing not just because it's oversubscribed, somewhat affordable and known for its quality instructors, but because it's in spitting distance from my bedroom. In response to the growing demand, Beansprouts was gracious (stupid?) enough to create a new program for us soon-to-be two year-olds - from 12:30-2:30, otherwise universally known as a two-year old's naptime. Thanks for that. As Isla's mom said, they can suck my beansprout.
6. My parents have spiraled into some sort of delayed reaction guilt cycle and have recently decided to enroll me in all the classes they should have months ago, So I'm now taking gynmastics/tumbling, music, and soon, swimming and arts and crafts. They're all pretty cool, and each experience reinforces what we all already know: I have trouble sitting still and really don't see the point of circle time.
7. I realize I've yet to tell you in detail about my new babysitter Ira. She's fabulous and deserves a post all her own. One day, when I've got an accompanying visual, I'll make a point of that. In the meantime though, rest assured that I'm in amazing, outsourced hands from 8 AM-6 PM Mondays-Fridays, she takes me everywhere, and prepares super healthy yet savory meals for me that include things like barley, spelt and tofu.
