Thursday, August 27, 2009

New York, New York

My husband and I went to my best friend from Kindergarten's wedding last Saturday in Brooklyn. It was in an old church with no A/C, vaulted ceilings, and stained glass windows. My friend and her husband, looking very much in love, wrote their own vows, and wore white. Her youngest brother is my mother's godchild, and I cried when he walked down the aisle as a groomsman. I haven't seen him since he was a boy! Immediately after the service I ran into my friend and had a chance to meet her husband, who is a gentleman! I had a chance to reunite with her mom, dad, and older brother and sister. It was an enjoyable afternoon, complete with roti, The Dollar Wine, and The Electric Slide.

Tallu had fun, too, though not at the church. She stayed in Long Island City with her godparents- her dad's best friends from high school and their ladies. Tallu swam in the pool, ate lots of food (including chicken nuggets and fries), and had the constant doting of her four godparents, and a Jack Russell terrier who let her stay in his house.

We expected Tallu to be asleep when we picked her up around 9:30, but when I arrived at the apartment, she was chomping on some nuggets. I chatted with the adults for a while, then decided to take her to my grandparents' home (my mom lives there with my grandma and aunt), so she'd fall asleep. She fell asleep in the car, but woke up when Daddy tried to lay her down. Luckily for us, our six year old nephew was there with my mom. Tallu was delighted to have someone else to play with, and Daddy and Moddy tiptoed out while the cousins played (at 10:30 pm!)

Our evening of child-free fun continued in LIC, hanging on the balcony, looking towards Midtown, listening to a story of our friends' three week cross-country honeymoon, breathing the air, and not hearing so much as a whimper from a baby. We concluded the evening with a run to White Castle, returning to my grandmother's at 3 am! My mom said Tallu finally gave in to sleep at 12:30, with my nephew close behind.

Tim and I were so glad to have the afternoon together, glad to have Tallu bond with her godparents. They, in turn, loved having her to themselves. My mom, aunt, and grandma were thrilled to see Tallu walking, and my husband and I enjoyed seeing our nephew and his mohawk!
For a moment I really missed New York. I wish we lived closer to those ties, for ourselves and for Tallu. We have established ourselves elsewhere, however, and we will have to make new ties, form new alliances, so that we can have that same safety net where we are now, which we are doing, it's just that i don't feel guilty asking my mom and Tallu's godparents to care for her in our stead.

Thursday, August 20, 2009

About last night

I gave Tallu a bath last night with no problem. She wouldn't let me put her diaper on for a half an hour. She's yelling, screaming, turning, shuffling her naked booty across the bed, laughing at me the whole time. I'm exhausted, she's exhausted (had a 15 minute nap), the fight continues. I'm reasoning with her, but all the while my blood pressure is rising. She was dangerously close to the edge of the bed, and I told her more than once that I was going to let her fall. The problem here is that we're house-sitting and the bed we're sleeping in is a good three feet off the ground. I let her fall, I'm going to jail. Thank God she moved herself away from the edge every time, because in those moments I really don't know that I would've tried to stop her from falling.

I did call for help, but my husband, exhausted from a long's day at a hot work site, was asleep downstairs. I stopped fighting, and let her crawl around, to give myself time to calm down. Her lower back was red and she kept scratching it, which may be why she wouldn't lay down for the diaper change. I slapped some anti-itch balm on her, put the diaper on standing up, and we came downstairs, like nothing ever happened.

When I get that frustrated with my child I try to remind myself that she's a baby, and she's not old enough to piss me off on purpose. I chose to have her, and even if I have no patience left for her, I'd damn well better find some. It would've been great to have been given a break at that moment, but there are millions of parents who don't get a break in that moment, yet still they keep their wits about them. I thank God every day that I've been able to do what's best for her in those moments of distress, and I pray that I never take my frustration out on any of my children, 0r anyone else's.

Monday, August 17, 2009

She walks alone



This video was taken around 7 am, before we went to church Sunday morning.




This clip is after church, at Tallulah's grandparents' home. I tried to catch her hitting herself in the head with the plastic bottle, but caught something equally amusing.

Friday, August 7, 2009

What's New with Tallu


Here's a list of what Tallu's doing these days:


Walking- she'll hold your hand to walk, she doesn't trust herself yet (even though her uncle caught her walking by herself on camera while the family was hanging out at the pool at our Hilton Head vacation home. We think she was so distracted she had no clue that she was walking.)


Talking- she says no, thank you, please, water, pah (that means "up"), daddy, daggy (that means "doggy"), moddy (that means "mommy"), down, cup, juice, hi train, bye train (the regional rail passes our house), hi, bye, wow, plus the usual baby gibberish (in which we grown-ups with children are supposed to be fluent).


Eating- still nursing, but also doing better with eating solid foods. She likes guacamole, waffles, pancakes, beans, rice, blueberries, bananas, hummus, french fries, chicken nuggets, and whatever is on daddy and maddy's plates.


Pool time- she enjoys being in the water and is not afraid, which is a good thing.


Comprehending and responding to English- i am amazed at how much she understands me. If I tell her to go to Mommy and Daddy's room, she goes. If I ask her to give her Daddy a goodnight kiss, he gets one. If I ask: "Did you make poopies?" she grunts.


Teething- the saga continues...working on teeth numbers 8 and 9.


Dog Familiarity/Similarity-she is much less afraid of dogs. She is still very frightened of the vacuum cleaner, to the point where she starts whining if she even sees it.


Body Familiarity- she knows where her eyes, nose, and mouth are. She blinks her eyes when she says eye. We are working on the ears next.


That's all I can think of for now... ah...the pic is from our time in Richmond, VA at the Capt. John Smith Park. It was our break from the 12+hr drive from Hilton Head, SC home. Great park- if you find yourself in Richmond, take a trip to the waterfront, and cross that ghastly footbridge, which runs beneath an interstate overpass.