Jim’s Dandy

Our friend Jim came to visit us over the weekend to indulge in some hometown and homegrown fun. Olivia’s always been at ease around Jim (remarkable because of her general anxiety toward men with low voices), and she wasted no time sharing her elaborate stories and asking for his assistance with her artwork.

On this last day of his stay, we walked to campus and downtown to see all that had changed since Jim and I were in school. We were able to sweet-talk Olivia into joining us on our trip down memory lane with some sweets talk – we promised her that we’d stop at the candy store along the way.

From the Horse’s Mouth

Beni, congratulations on your new job! Congrats also for inheriting the kitschiest lawn ornament around. Our friend Jeff salvaged the equine piece from the yard of an evicted neighbor and brought it to gambol in our front lawn. We were worried that this display would be a deterrent to home selling – the neighbors on our left have had their house up for about a month now – but it must have been a lucky charm. We recently noticed a “SOLD” sign hanging from their yard.

We haven’t met the new NEIGHbor(s) yet, but it’s obvious that he/she/they must be extremely tolerant. Welcome to our crazy NEIGHborhood, folks!

To Get One’s Goat

I suppose “to pet one’s goat” is more apt: Olivia and I brushed down a billy goat at a petting zoo.

Giving Us Her Doo-Doos

Of all the joys of parenthood, I’d have to place the opportunity to observe and experience a child’s imagination toward the top of the list. Even when she insists that the pieces of Playfoam she’s placed atop her leg are poo-poo.

War and Pees

Now that Olivia’s sleep issues don’t keep us up at night (as much), we’re moving on to potty training. Given the lack of progress on this front, we’re resolved to the possibility of sending Olivia off to college in Huggies.

There is a bit – a tinkle, perhaps – of good news to report. This evening, with the promises of rewards piling up, Olivia did make water in her little potty before we headed out for our nighttime family stroll. For her effort, she received a bag of tropical Skittles, as well as an extended turn pushing around her stroller.

We Finally Got a Life

Life cereal, that is. More specifically, a larger-than-life box of Life cereal. It should take us into next year, but on this day, it was Olivia who was taking it around – to the bus stop, into Ann Taylor Loft, and to our car.

50 Sentimental

On Wednesday afternoon, we arrived in idyllic Warwick, New York – hometown of my aunt, uncle, and cousins – after Stage 4 of our Tour de Frantic. We’d said good-bye to Rhode Island in the morning, stopped by Port Chester, NY at lunchtime to see Beni’s godmother and her kids, and then headed farther west to visit my family and serve as a ruse for my Uncle Ken’s surprise 50^th birthday party. The top two pictures – the ones of Olivia pretending that the weights of the party balloons were paddles of a defibrillator and of her licking birthday cake off the fork – were taken on site of the surprise celebration. For the occasion, my Aunt Kris made retrospective posterboards, as well as CDs for the guests featuring a compilation of Ken-related songs. It was such a lovely event – we were delighted to be in attendance.

This evening – a Friday the 13th, no less – we marked Ken’s half-century of life at their home. Olivia has stayed by my cousin Ingrid’s side for most of our visit, and today was no exception. About the only time we can pry her from Ingrid – or her best friend ever, as Olivia affectionately calls her – is during dessert time. The pics above are from the day of family fun.

Using Their Noodle

Olivia brought the world’s largest churro to the neighborhood pool party.

Jersey You Again Soon

We made a day trip down to New Jersey to visit Anton – a friend of mine from college – and his family. Anton and his wife Rosalind have an adorable 19-month-old son named Nicholas. We enjoyed catching up with our friends and Olivia enjoyed Nicholas’s readiness to share his toys and books.

Beach Nut

Child Chases Birds on Public Beach

NEWPORT, Rhode Island, July 10 – In what can only be described as a Hitchcockian turn on a Hitchcockian film, three-year-old Olivia Maren launched a one-person assault on the shorebirds of Newport’s Easton’s Beach. Witnesses said that the attack lasted for fifteen minutes. Her parents concurred, noting “that [the attack] quickly devolved from comical to irksome.”

Beach officials noted that neither Olivia Maren nor her parents were booked under Newport’s Statute 5.12 – Animals shall remain unprovoked; failure to do so may result in a fine and/or a time out for the offending party – citing the child’s young age and her willingness to share cookies.

Hit or Mystic

We’ve been done in by some poor planning on this vacation. Our full day in Boston turned into a four-hour sprint (we missed the earlier trains in from the suburbs) sans stroller (I forgot it at home). Our day with Grandma and Grandpa Moose in Mystic, Connecticut was to include a stop at its renowned aquarium until we discovered at the gate that we’d have to take out a second mortgage to cover the ticket costs. I guess we didn’t realize that we’d be financing a beluga whale for the opportunity to see one.

And so, as has been the case often this week, we were on to Plan B. On this day, we made up for our lack of foresight by making a beeline – a Plan B-line, if you will – for Mystic Pizza, the inspiration for and namesake of an ‘80s coming-of-age film featuring Julia Roberts. Olivia gave us her Hollywood look while waiting for her spaghetti.

Family Vacations Down to a Science…

...to a science center, that is, specifically the Sciencenter, as the word-merging folks in Ithaca call their science-themed children’s museum. We popped in for some knowledge and fun after lunch at Moosewood.

The center's Scream Booth – an insulated space that measures the loudness of one’s lungs and vocal cords – confirmed for us what we’d known to be true based on the persistent ringing in our ears: Olivia’s screams measure at a decibel level at which sustained exposure may result in hearing loss.

Rest Stop and Go

We’d been planning a whirlwind family road trip for some time now. Originally, we were to depart on this day for a mind-numbingly long drive out to Boston. Beni foresaw the bumps we’d likely encounter on and along the road – exhaustion, a restless preschooler, and an exhausted and restless preschooler – and therefore suggested that we break up the drive.

Aiming for Ithaca, New York, a two-thirds point of our journey and home of Cornell University and Moosewood, a famous mostly-vegetarian restaurant, we left at 10 p.m. the night before. Olivia drifted off to dreamland before we got to the highway and stayed sound asleep until the sun started its ascent up the day’s sky. True to form, our daughter demanded some food upon awakening, demands that we were able to meet à la powdered sugar goodness at a NY rest stop.

StairMaster of Near Disaster

A minute or two is enough time for a three-year-old to find trouble. Case in point: this morning, as we were making breakfast, Olivia slipped out of the kitchen and headed toward the front room, where we keep a lot of her toys and books. Unbeknownst to us, she quickly grew tired of her usual diversions, and instead headed for the stairs.

We knew something was amiss when one of our calls checking on her went unmet in response. At that point, both Beni and I set aside our culinary duties to see what Olivia was up to, discovering that what she was up to was the last step before the landing, and what she was in was the stair basket that she had grabbed on her way upstairs.

Seventh Heaven

Much is being made of this Saturday’s date – 7/7/07 – with newlyweds-to-be and gamblers leading the charge of those looking for numerological inspiration. For us, our brush with lucky sevens came the night before, when Olivia slept through the night for the seventh straight night. No need to adjust your screen – you’re reading that correctly.

The week of rest has done wonders for both child and her parents. I told Beni that this was the first time I’d felt like a human being in three years. Here’s to this stretch of humanness continuing into the near and far future.

Stirring Quartet

Early candidate for quote of the month:

“When I was a little girl, I loved carrots. And I loved crackers. And Mommy. And Grandma Randi.”

Cotton Candy Mouthed

Another beautiful summer night, another trip out to the drive-in movie theater. We went to see the Pixar film Ratatouille, which we were able to more fully enjoy by keeping our rambunctious child distracted with Twizzlers, popcorn, and a bale of cotton candy.

Bright Future

Our daughter’s got it made in her shades.