Four. A Long Time Coming: Too Sleepy to Title

Hello blog loyalists...

Thanks for your patience as I write my fourth entry. And yes, I mean “as” since it has taken me the past week to write this blog. I have been somewhat distracted watching/listening to anything and everything re: McCain vs. Obama and Palin vs. Biden. I can’t help it…I’m addicted. As I wrote the first bit I was listening to the VP debate. Unfortunately there were moments I could not get much beyond Palin’s (mis)pronunciation of “new-kyoo-lur” – at least four times. I apologize if I write or say anything so incorrectly (as I’m sure we all do), but this is a big one for me…along with the aforementioned “as.” Alright, I know you aren’t reading this blog to learn my grammar pet peeves, so I will change topics.

We have just finished (as of Monday, minus a few odds and ends) the process of settling in after a couple months in flux. We have moved into our first flat in Greenwich Millennium Village, which means we also have a London address (I will gladly provide via email rather than releasing it to the public). Our borough (pronounced “bur-uh” – though not by me) is a brightly colored, up-and-coming residential area with not much nearby other than the Thames, the Odeon Cinema, the O2 arena (concert venue), a David Beckham soccer (I don't think I can call it football) facility and a Holiday Inn Express. Directly across the street from our flat is a wide open grassy field (locally referred to as a heath), which is visited by Liv and me quite often. Watching from our living room window, or looking from our balcony, we can see the red double-decker buses through the trees lining our front sidewalk. Although it isn't a high rise city view, I enjoy the view of green (arguably my favorite color).

Last weekend we had our first international visitor, my longest time friend, Aubrey, who is currently living in Amsterdam. The weekend consisted of lots of girl talk time and a bit of sightseeing accompanied with some rain. To take a break from the rain in Piccadilly we stopped at a corner pub for some traditional English grease food (yum) and beer (yum). We were approached by a nineteen-year-old Irish man (or boy) who insisted I had the stronger American accent and was baffled when Aubrey informed him of our "old married lady" status. I can't believe I am four+ years out of college - yikes!

This week Liv and I attended two toddler-parent play groups. Tuesday we joined a group of local Brits in the Greenwich Village area. The highlight for me was observing Olivia as she sat at the toddler table with the other kids in a toddler-sized red chair – which she loved – to share a snack of toast and sliced bananas. The other kids were older, most of them two or three, but there was one boy only six days older than, whose mother was one of two mothers to initiate conversation with me. The other was a Kenyan mom (who mentioned that her husband is Scottish). I realize that Brits, as a culture, tend to be reserved, and I admit that I am a bit reserved myself, but I was disappointed that the majority of the moms there didn’t care to welcome us. It was a good experience, though, to watch Olivia explore the toys and interact with the other kids. She likes to have a toy in each hand at all times and wants to pick up additional items without giving up what she already has. The session ended with a series of songs, some of which were familiar, though slightly altered. For one, the wheels on the bus in the UK go round and round “all day long”…instead of “all through the town.”

The second group we attended Thursday morning was a bit more culturally varied and also a bit more welcoming. While Olivia went from toy to toy I spent most of the time chatting with a dad from Syria and a mom from Germany who each had a two-year-old child present at the play group. The dad’s son, unlike most kids his age, was eager to share with Olivia, though Olivia is less interested in sharing than she has been up until recently. Yesterday was the first time I noticed her snatching toys from other kids and quickly running the other direction as another child tried to take a toy from her. It’s fascinating to watch as her self-awareness and independence grow. Toward the end of the morning the play group moderator handed Olivia a full cup of juice, which she had down in less than a minute. She’s a speedy bee...as her dad lovingly calls her.

Over the last few weeks Olivia has learned a bit about kicking a soccer ball, with several afternoons spent across the way from home. Our first trip across the street had her approaching a father and son duo attempting to join in their game. They seemed to enjoy the attention.

We celebrated Sanjay’s birthday two weeks back by visiting Pooja & Anant for a long weekend in Bromley. Pooja babhi treated us to her freshly made rice pudding (Sanjay’s favorite) after a flavorful dinner of channa (chickpeas), bread and rice. The second night I made pizza (with predictable Liz-like ingredients, including bleu cheese!) then stole Sanjay away for a quick movie at the local “cinema.” Not having heard the criticisms of the film we chose “Tropic Thunder,” which had an interesting concept and yielded laughs early on, but like many Stiller comedies it drug on a bit long and pushed the non PC limit a bit too far…and Tom Cruise is a joke to me now more than ever. Back to real life…

Sanjay has been a work horse lately, plugging away late into the evenings and he is missing Olivia (and me, of course). When he walks through the door and I tell him she is already sleeping his face drops. He listens both with excitement and disappointment as I tell him the stories of our day. If he had his way I would spend my weekdays with a video camera glued to my forehead, which is I think is fair but a bit unrealistic. I enjoy being home to witness her life as a small person. I am slowly reevaluating my professional interests, in no rush to return to life of a nine-to-five, six or ten. Ask me today and I’ll tell you I want to write, but I don’t know exactly what or how to make it happen, so in the meantime I will continue exploring my interests and indulging my daughter’s daily learning adventures.

Some of Olivia’s recent activities and accomplishments include: forfeiting crawling (this happened around the time we moved into our flat), walking backwards, walking in circles, walking with her head cocked to the side (it looks silly, but she thinks she’s cuddling and knows we like that), giving hugs on demand (occasionally), moving (by way of shoving or dragging) chairs and barstools, clinking pots and pans, opening heavy drawers, removing and replacing objects in drawers, running (trotting might be a more accurate description) and bouncing - almost jumping - on the bed (it is too cute to say know but I know I should). She also responds to direction. A common one these days is “Olivia, not in your mouth,” which is usually referencing a handful leaves, sticks or furry stuffed animals. She’ll pull the object in question away from her mouth at least momentarily when I say this, but she usually attempts again, hoping I won’t notice. My response is to repeat “not in your mouth,” followed by “you’re sneaky.” Maybe discipline accompanied by a grin isn’t so effective. Rewind to daily routine…

Olivia will cry for me to get her out of bed in the morning or after a nap, but, as of this week, she will not let me pick her up. Instead, she throws herself around, cuddles with her blankets, stands up for a moment, and just as I go to pick her up she drops herself (using the limp arm technique common among toddlers) to make it a challenge for me. The “tickle attack” strategy has worked somewhat. Once I get her up, I take her to change her “nappy”, which is another event all its own. I have determined just this week that the key to preventing Olivia from flailing about during the “nappy” change is to give her her dad’s silver camping pan she discovered earlier this week. Because of this, I no longer have to fight a war in order to get through a diaper change. I expect this fix will be temporary.


Olivia’s newest foods of interest include: broccoli, whole milk (this took awhile), plums, rice, potatoes with spinach (or just potatoes but NOT just spinach) and orange juice. New toys include our non-functional salad spinner, the aforementioned camping pan and a pink and yellow chair Kate gifted from Amazon for Olivia's first birthday - she likes bouncing in and out.

To me, the most delightful thing about this little person is that she loves people. She lights up around people and sometimes puts on a bit of a show. The popular show at the moment – for her and us – involves moving from couch to chair to floor, etc to cuddle (i.e. rest her cheek upon) each object and await a reaction. Sanjay often reacts with the words “she is melting daddy.” Olivia can be bit reserved at times and we have noticed that the less interested someone is in her, the more likely she is to run their direction, but when someone is actively engaging her she often clings to mom or runs the other way. One afternoon this week in the park, there was a boy and his mom who wouldn’t give Olivia even a slight grin yet she clung to them (not literally). Minutes later three adults on a nearby bench were smiling, inviting her to say hello and she clinched my leg instead. Liv certainly has an early start on the “hard-to-get” game.

Earlier this week we ventured to the O2 dome to check out the scene. What we found was literally a mall of trendy restaurants, most of which I am eager to try, and one of which (I got a kick out of this) was called “American Bar & Grill.” They blasted “Born in the USA” - easily one of my least favorite songs of all time, enough said.

After Olivia ate dinner this evening we went across the street to play, which was our first venture out during twilight hours. Rather than hoarding as many leaves as possible, Olivia was indulging the lights of the buildings, the moon and most of all the dozens of airplanes we saw overhead, some close and some far. It was like seeing fireflies in Iowa in August…and it was fantastic for us both.

I’m sure I could go on twice as long as this given the time that has elapsed since my last entry, but I will make only one more note – Pit is the best, and most multi-culturally friendly, game EVER.

Congratulations – you have reached the end of part four.

Liz