We recently wrapped up a two week trip to California to visit my family. Life is so easy when visiting them, mostly because everything is prepared for us - we have a car at our disposal, the grandparents and aunts are more than happy to babysit at our whim, meals are mostly prepared for us, etc. In addition to all that, it seems like Oliver blooms more in the environment where he can swim in a blow-up pool, run around the yard, dig in the dirt, eat unripened tomatoes off of the tomato plant, etc. Here in NY, he is mostly confined to the indoors, venturing outdoors only to visit the park or for mom and dad to take care of their errands or be social with our friends. Is he being hindered in this environment, or does this concrete jungle also provide intellectually stimulating activities? Maybe I see things differently since I grew up in the suburban life and remember all of the fun things I used to do that he won't be able to experience. But, he will of course experience things in this environment that I never did. Despite some of the benefits to being here, I really don't want him experiencing the positives and negatives of city living while growing up.
Some days are hard, though I can't really put my finger on why sometimes. Socializing with our friends just really seems to be a disservice to Oliver because it interrupts his pattern of life and we already have enough challenges with getting him to eat at a normal time. Spending the day out confines him to eating snacks that are not a meal and by the time we get home sometimes, it's very difficult to come up with something that he decides to eat. If we spend time preparing something for him and he decides it's not what he wants, what can we do? I worry sometimes about malnutrition and maybe we need to create a schedule of meals so that we at least we know what to prepare for when we're not home during the day. Or maybe we shouldn't socialize too much with friends without kids!
Monday, September 3, 2012
Monday, July 16, 2012
Playground Etiquette
Among the many new things that we are experiencing, one of the most interesting are the situations at the playground. It's pretty much as one would expect - there's a bully, or someone who doesn't want to share his toys, someone who pushes my little boy (who at this point is walking, but still easy to knock off balance). Do you scold the other child when his parents are there? Do you tell the parent? Do you just accept that the child is a child and there's not much the parent can do at that point? I am not really sure of the answer at this point, but there was a unique situation/confrontation that happened this weekend.
We spent the day at a new park in Jackson Heights, where we wanted to visit a park that had water (it was hot out) and was near Pio Pio, where we would celebrate the obviously marketing ploy of Pollo a la Brasa Day. Oliver wasn't so into the spraying fountains of water, he's more of a fan of the puddles at this point, but I'm sure he'll get there once he spends more time with them and gets a little bigger. After lunch, we went to the little kids playground at the same facility. Having just been woken up, he was a little sluggish to get into the whole playing thing and instead kind of observed everything around him. Up came a kid a little bigger then him, who went ahead and blatantly pushed Oliver over and kept on going. Another older kid told Erika that he was teaching his little brother self-defense because this kid was pushing a lot of kids over and his parents were no where to be seen. I told the little bully not to push Oliver over and I would push him over if he tried it again.
Anyway, the playing went on and a little later we noticed the bully's mom sitting near our stroller on the benches. We were clear across the playground and just commented that that must be his mom and that was about it. We go on playing, fun fun fun, Oliver is getting so big and starting to climb bars which is fun. About thirty minutes later, the MOM comes over to me and says, "Excuse me, you have an (sounded like "iPod" - me thinking: does she mean iPhone? Is it ringing in the stroller? No, it's in my pocket) eye problem (smart ass response that first came to my mind: Well, I do wear glasses ;-) ? I see you staring at me and want to know what the problem is? My son didn't push him over, maybe he bumped him on accident." She was like yelling at me about this. I was so stunned, I didn't know how to respond. We weren't staring at her, maybe looking in that direction at our parked stroller that had Erika's purse, but how would she know what happened with her son? Did the older kid tell her something? In any case, I told her that her son did push Oliver over and I was standing there. She said she's watching her son and I said thank you, I know you can't control what little kids do, but she was still pissed. I couldn't believe how aggressive and angry she was. And how did she know about the situation??
Whatever, I can't get over that and have a million responses for next time that happens. You live, you learn!
We spent the day at a new park in Jackson Heights, where we wanted to visit a park that had water (it was hot out) and was near Pio Pio, where we would celebrate the obviously marketing ploy of Pollo a la Brasa Day. Oliver wasn't so into the spraying fountains of water, he's more of a fan of the puddles at this point, but I'm sure he'll get there once he spends more time with them and gets a little bigger. After lunch, we went to the little kids playground at the same facility. Having just been woken up, he was a little sluggish to get into the whole playing thing and instead kind of observed everything around him. Up came a kid a little bigger then him, who went ahead and blatantly pushed Oliver over and kept on going. Another older kid told Erika that he was teaching his little brother self-defense because this kid was pushing a lot of kids over and his parents were no where to be seen. I told the little bully not to push Oliver over and I would push him over if he tried it again.
Anyway, the playing went on and a little later we noticed the bully's mom sitting near our stroller on the benches. We were clear across the playground and just commented that that must be his mom and that was about it. We go on playing, fun fun fun, Oliver is getting so big and starting to climb bars which is fun. About thirty minutes later, the MOM comes over to me and says, "Excuse me, you have an (sounded like "iPod" - me thinking: does she mean iPhone? Is it ringing in the stroller? No, it's in my pocket) eye problem (smart ass response that first came to my mind: Well, I do wear glasses ;-) ? I see you staring at me and want to know what the problem is? My son didn't push him over, maybe he bumped him on accident." She was like yelling at me about this. I was so stunned, I didn't know how to respond. We weren't staring at her, maybe looking in that direction at our parked stroller that had Erika's purse, but how would she know what happened with her son? Did the older kid tell her something? In any case, I told her that her son did push Oliver over and I was standing there. She said she's watching her son and I said thank you, I know you can't control what little kids do, but she was still pissed. I couldn't believe how aggressive and angry she was. And how did she know about the situation??
Whatever, I can't get over that and have a million responses for next time that happens. You live, you learn!
Monday, July 9, 2012
Summer Heat
Yesterday we had our first triple-digit day of the summer of 2012. After spending the Fourth of July locked up on the apartment due to the heat, I was desperate to find respite somewhere outside of the five boroughs and successfully got invited to a pool party at Andrea and Alan's house in Jersey.
Oliver got the chance to play with kids age with more toys than he knew what to do with and also enjoyed the pool for the first time since Aruba. As much as he enjoys his baths, we figured he would and it was great relief to be out of the heat and enjoy their good company. Andrea served up some libations that included raspberry vodka spiked lemonade, beer, white wine, etc. along with vegan cookies stuffed with cookie dough.
Today wasn't supposed to be as hot and we headed out for brunch with Susannah to celebrate her recent engagement and upcoming wedding. While Erika and she shopped for wedding dresses in SoHo, Oli and I took a walk and stumbled upon Minetta Park in the West Village, complete with a brand new high quality playground, padded ground, and a water fountain that sprayed water for the kids to cool off in. What a great find! A great way for the kids to cool off without having to trek too far away. Googling around, I found a website listing the best fountains and sprinklers in all of NYC and I plan on hitting most of those this summer to beat the heat!
Oliver got the chance to play with kids age with more toys than he knew what to do with and also enjoyed the pool for the first time since Aruba. As much as he enjoys his baths, we figured he would and it was great relief to be out of the heat and enjoy their good company. Andrea served up some libations that included raspberry vodka spiked lemonade, beer, white wine, etc. along with vegan cookies stuffed with cookie dough.
Today wasn't supposed to be as hot and we headed out for brunch with Susannah to celebrate her recent engagement and upcoming wedding. While Erika and she shopped for wedding dresses in SoHo, Oli and I took a walk and stumbled upon Minetta Park in the West Village, complete with a brand new high quality playground, padded ground, and a water fountain that sprayed water for the kids to cool off in. What a great find! A great way for the kids to cool off without having to trek too far away. Googling around, I found a website listing the best fountains and sprinklers in all of NYC and I plan on hitting most of those this summer to beat the heat!
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Oliver no quiere comer
Mi pequeño hombrecito a sus casi 17 meses de edad no quiere comer. Son dos semanas que dejo de lado su comida favorita, arroz y pasta con queso parmesano y orégano.
Ayer hablando con mi tía Doris me comento que podía hacerle un puré de todo tipo de frutas con verduras, se le agrega leche y miel de abeja y listo!!!! Y que creen?? No le gusta plop!! En fin, hoy por ejemplo no quiso su desayuno y eso que el amaba su yogurt con cereal pero no, hoy Oliver decidió no comer. Con el afán de insistir en que coma algo le pele una manzana y siiii si lo come yeeee. Al menos fruta si le gusta. Sus favoritos sandia, fresas, plátano y manzana. Ojalá que sea por el tema que están saliéndole sus dientes y no porque tiene algo.
Lo que si no perdió fue las ganas de jugar y desordenar 😃 las energías las tiene siempre al tope. Y lo que le gusta es dar besos, muchos besos. Si es así como será de grande!!!
Ayer hablando con mi tía Doris me comento que podía hacerle un puré de todo tipo de frutas con verduras, se le agrega leche y miel de abeja y listo!!!! Y que creen?? No le gusta plop!! En fin, hoy por ejemplo no quiso su desayuno y eso que el amaba su yogurt con cereal pero no, hoy Oliver decidió no comer. Con el afán de insistir en que coma algo le pele una manzana y siiii si lo come yeeee. Al menos fruta si le gusta. Sus favoritos sandia, fresas, plátano y manzana. Ojalá que sea por el tema que están saliéndole sus dientes y no porque tiene algo.
Lo que si no perdió fue las ganas de jugar y desordenar 😃 las energías las tiene siempre al tope. Y lo que le gusta es dar besos, muchos besos. Si es así como será de grande!!!
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Ya sabe decir aagua
Oliver siempre dice wawa en vez de decir agua, es asi que desde ayer cuando estaba cambiando su ropa le dije, no hijo se dice; agua, y el me respondia de la misma forma que le estaba diciendo, lentamente. Fue tan curioso escuchar a mi hijo decir lo mismo que dice tu mama.
Ahora estamos en entrenamiento de ojos, nariz y boca. cada vez que le digo ojo, el cierra los ojos y me hace ojito ojito jajaja.
Otra de las cosas que esta semana que Oli empezo hacer es, cuando me ve sentada en el mueble el viene a lado mio y me da un beso en la boca...es tan tierno y obviamente mi corazon se derrite y me lo quiero comer a besos.
Te amo hijito y se que alguen dia leeras estas lineas y capaz con verguenza diras, "yo hize esas cosas??" pero eres un bebe ahora y doy gracias que me quieres mucho y ruego que sea asi siempre. Nos ames de la misma forma que lo hacemos tus papitos. Que no fue facil tenerte aca con nosotros y que tu significas el mas hermoso de los milagros.
Te amo hijito y se que alguen dia leeras estas lineas y capaz con verguenza diras, "yo hize esas cosas??" pero eres un bebe ahora y doy gracias que me quieres mucho y ruego que sea asi siempre. Nos ames de la misma forma que lo hacemos tus papitos. Que no fue facil tenerte aca con nosotros y que tu significas el mas hermoso de los milagros.
Friday, June 15, 2012
Subways
It's funny to think that Oliver is growing up traveling in subways and hardly even knows what traveling in a car is really like other than the occasional trips to California or getting his stingy dad to splurge on a taxi ride. God forbid he grows up in New York, but using mass transit will just be normal to him. I wonder how he would feel about mass transit if we moved to a place where it is limited? Would he think back to when he was younger and was riding the subway, feel nostalgic, and prefer to take the slow bus? Or when we get a car someday, will he just shred those cells that contained memories of mass transit and just enjoy the creature comforts of driving from parking lot to parking lot without getting on a bus or taking a walk to the subway?
Oliver's latest obsession is if fans. He can't resist saying "ahhhhhhh" to any fans that he hears, whether he was just crying or not, and whether they are in his bedroom or on the subway platform. It's quite cute!
Oliver's latest obsession is if fans. He can't resist saying "ahhhhhhh" to any fans that he hears, whether he was just crying or not, and whether they are in his bedroom or on the subway platform. It's quite cute!
Saturday, June 9, 2012
Logic-Defying Sleeping
Everyone knows that women don't use logic ;-) but I'm beginning to think that babies don't use it for sleeping as well - at least mine.
Exhibit A: we went to visit Melissa and Jonathan in the BX recently and has dinner at their place. As usual, we didn't get home until after midnight and Oliver missed the 10:00pm cutoff time for sleeping, even if he slept in the stroller on the way home. Logic says that a baby going to bed late will thus sleep in later, much to mom and dads delight. Oliver, however, actually wakes up earlier when he goes to sleep so late. that's just what we want!
Exhibit B: today was a busy day with the second day of the Ukraine/Poland European Cup in action and two big games on TV. Susanna was coming over and we had a lot to get done, so Oliver skipped his normal 1-2 hour morning nap. On the early afternoon he had a short 30 minute nap and then was awake the rest of the afternoon. Logic says that the baby must be exhausted and will go to bed early, but tonight we actually couldn't get get him to sleep despite using all of the tools in our bag of tricks until an hour later the stroller walking in a pitch black apartment finally did it.
Maybe all babies (toddlers?) are like this, but Oli defies logic when it comes to sleeping. Excuse me as I pass out due to exhaustion and someone smoking a joint outside our window here in the ghetto :-/
Exhibit A: we went to visit Melissa and Jonathan in the BX recently and has dinner at their place. As usual, we didn't get home until after midnight and Oliver missed the 10:00pm cutoff time for sleeping, even if he slept in the stroller on the way home. Logic says that a baby going to bed late will thus sleep in later, much to mom and dads delight. Oliver, however, actually wakes up earlier when he goes to sleep so late. that's just what we want!
Exhibit B: today was a busy day with the second day of the Ukraine/Poland European Cup in action and two big games on TV. Susanna was coming over and we had a lot to get done, so Oliver skipped his normal 1-2 hour morning nap. On the early afternoon he had a short 30 minute nap and then was awake the rest of the afternoon. Logic says that the baby must be exhausted and will go to bed early, but tonight we actually couldn't get get him to sleep despite using all of the tools in our bag of tricks until an hour later the stroller walking in a pitch black apartment finally did it.
Maybe all babies (toddlers?) are like this, but Oli defies logic when it comes to sleeping. Excuse me as I pass out due to exhaustion and someone smoking a joint outside our window here in the ghetto :-/
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