Pre-School!

Bye Bye Bottle

For two years, my parents have turned a blind eye to my oral fix, ignoring my dependence on the bottle. Now, with preschool right around the corner, suddenly they're consumed with migrating to all things big boy. I'm not too keen on the adjustment, but sometimes I oblige with other people, including baby sitters, just to mess with them...

Bye Bye Summer

Remembering 10 Years Ago

It's a rather odd header, I suppose, considering I wasn't even a glint in my parents' eyes back on 9/11. But the connection is certainly there, as my mom and dad had met just weeks before and were instant messaging each other across the world when the planes hit the twin towers, my mom narrating the grizzly scene to my dad from her office window 'til she had to evacuate. My dad, not having a clue where she was for 48 hours, was freaked and realized in that time, 'crap, I must really like this woman.' Their relationship blossomed under the heavy canopy of 9/11. Every email, phone call and IM thread those first several months was against that backdrop. The smells, the sounds, the national psyche and even the sentiment of carpe diem that permeated the city then were part of the fabric of every exchange.

***

My parents passed the promenade on their run this morning, and the eerieness was palpable. (So was the timing. By sheer happenstance, my mom took the photo above at exactly 10:28, when the north tower fell.) And for a New York minute, the compassionate and caring aura that filled the city ten years ago was back. Across the Brooklyn Bridge, bikers and runners tossed their normally contentious exchanges for a rare moment of cooperation, each yielding to the other in the bridge's narrow lanes while they made room for a band of firefighters from Anaheim, CA playing their bagpipes. Runners, including my normally aggro mom, paused their stopwatches to make way for others and took a break from elbowing clueless, ambling tourists. And by the time my mom made it to Chambers Street in Manhattan, the re-valorization of the people in uniform was in full gear... from diners offering free donuts and coffee to NYC's finest to runners stopping mid-way along the park to thank police officers for their heroism.

Chocolate Chocolate Chunk

Block Part-ay

Can you hear me now?

Waiting out Irene

Bye bye bed head...

I've now got this haircut thing down — third time's a charm. Bubbles, Blues Clues and lollies... what more does one need? By the end of it, I liked what I saw. And I'm digging my new leave-in conditioner.

before - note wisps and mad scientist-hair fuzz

after: slick and styled and ready to roll

I'll Raise You Five

Today was a banner day. Cohen and I reunited - as in, on purpose, since the hairpulling incidents of this past Spring. He seemed not just fine but dare I say delighted to see me. Perhaps it was because I was sitting beyond touchable range.

I Heart the MTA

I've been talking an awful lot about choo-choo trains (as in, every fourth word), so my parents took me to one of the finest cultural institutions I'll ever know: the New York City Transit Museum. Also known as Seventh Heaven. It was a fascinating experience on a number of levels: it offered a glimpse into history, a look into the city's urban development, and chronicled a tale of pop-culture (with less than subtle advertising that would've made Don Draper wince). Best of all though, I got to run around, slam doors and press a whole lot of buttons.

Weekend with Daddy

My mom was a bit suspect when my dad not only agreed to but encouraged her to accept an invitation to a blissful girl's getaway in Amagansett. Eventually, she got him to fess up: Should Collingwood win the playoffs to compete in the Grand Final (touch wood), my dad will be cashing in all his miles to fly across the world to Melbourne to cheer on the Pies for an estimated five days. However the negotiations net out, I had a grand time with dad while my mom was off finding herself in the Hamptons. And it turns out I've effectively set my mom's body clock to wake at 6:58 AM-- kid or no kid, with or without dirty martinis.

Cousin Max!

The more I age, the more I appreciate family, in particular my Cousin Max, quite possibly the coolest 13-year old I've ever met. Also, I loved hanging with my Auntie Wawa and Uncle Alex. Their visit was (too) short and sweet.

Heat Wave

104 and game face on (that's 37 Celsius for my Aussie kin). Enough said.

Montauk!

In the world of Park Slope, Brooklyn nannydom, the industry standard is 2-weeks paid vacation. Realizing that it would actually cost my parents more to pay for additional child care on one of Ira's week's off than it would for them to actually take a vacation, they decided we'd head to Montauk. How very free-spirited. Of course, my dad had work obligations on a Monday and a Friday, killing any chances of extending our vacation into the weekend. And so off we went for our awkwardly timed mid-week holiday.

Despite the uninspired context, the vacation itself turned out to be surprisingly pleasant and relaxing. We all had a blast in Montauk. I mastered my breast stroke, connected with the ocean in ways I never had before, and ate, lounged and slept heartily. My mom only forgot to pack a few things, including:

• diapers (seriously?)
• swim diapers (again, seriously?)
• a back-up sippy cup - which only became an issue when my favorite sippy cup landed on the side of the road somewhere in East Hampton. (Tip: tossing things out an open window is a great way to pass time on a 3+ hour car-ride.)

She did, however, remember her bike helmet, even though my parents didn't bring their bikes.

I will confess, there was an element of schaudenfreude to the whole experience knowing that it was 10-degrees hotter back in NYC.

Happy 4th!

Clean shave

I'm Two!

Well for the love of Elmo. Looks like I blew right past my pledge for quarterly updates — but we're back on track to kick off Q3. I can't believe how much time has passed since my last post, when I was decked in winter gear. And now, here we are, prepping to greet the Summer solstice as we celebrate Father's Day.

And so much has happened... First, as you can see above, I've moved beyond mere dictation and am now actually blogging myself. Other milestones, in no particular order: Meredith Vieria left the Today Show, my (ex)Congressman's weiner became a national spectacle, we caught (and crushed) Osama Bin Laden, Britain's royal family had a renaissance.... oh, and I turned 2! Special thanks to my Auntie Donna, Bube and Zede for the fabulous birthday balloons all the way from Melbourne - via the internets.

To celebrate the occasion, my Bob-pie and Pop-pie came to town. They witnessed the many dimensions of my character: from cute-as-a-button to total pill. I got plenty of love — and scoldings — from my Bob-pie. My Grandpa (Pop-pie) is a whole other story. Note to self: If I want anything — ever — go to him. Hello, pushover. I also got to hang out with my cousin Finn on the Kriegel side (photos forthcoming).

Also worth noting: I've learned how to gargle water and spit it out all over everything.

Editor's note: To keep things digestible, I've broken out highlights over the past three months into various sections below.