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Working Together

Sunday 04 January 2009 | 2 Comments

The last two weeks, I've been on Christmas break -- one of the great advantages of being a teacher. Teaching a new course (English I Honors), I wasn't planning on having much time to myself as I was planning to, well, plan. Starting Monday, I'll be leading the class through Romeo and Juliet, and I've never taught that particular selection. I did Macbeth when I was student teaching, but "Double, double toil and trouble; / Fire burn, and caldron bubble." with twelfth graders is a far cry from "What, art thou drawn among these heartless hinds?" with gifted eighth graders.

I had high hopes for a productive time, especially during the second week, with Christmas behind us. And then L got sick: a moist, lingering cough that kept her out of day care for a week. But one thing you learn having a two year old is that she can imitate anything, including Tata working.

1/5, f/4, 18 mm, slow-sync flash off ceiling

Jack

Friday 02 January 2009 | 0 Comments

Very quickly, it became a favorite, though I'm not sure how. The name's origin was simple enough: unable to say "jacket," L turned it into a shorter "jack." The rest, though, is mystery.

Jack came to be for L what blankets and teddies are for other toddlers: her grounding. She had to have it with her, and when she was not wearing it (which was rare, if she had her way, even in summer), she was carrying it. Getting to her to agree to hang it in the closet was a Herculean task, and we simply decided that there was no reason why it should hang in the closet if it caused much turmoil in her life.

One parting was inevitable, though, and it happened soon enough. She outgrew it, and we introduced a new jack. She liked the new jack just as much as the old one, and quickly developed the same bond. Red jack was stowed away and quickly forgotten.

Until K decided to do some rearranging and repacking. And then, this morning, L discovered red jack. The original jack, the mother of all jacks.

Fast as her little increasingly nimble fingers could manage, she unzipped the plastic storage back that held jack, pulled it out, and held it close and tight, crying, "Jack!" as if she'd encountered a friend she hadn't seen since school days.

"Oh, no, sweetie," I said. "This jack is entirely too small."

The prospect of losing jack a second time -- "I've been looking everywhere for you" her babbling seemed to say -- was too much for her. L fell in the floor, distraught and screaming.

"But you have another jack," I reminded her. "Do you want to get it?"

The fussing quickly subsided and she meekly answered, "Tak."

That jack was held close for the rest of the morning.

I do this on a daily basis: in my teaching, with my interpersonal skills, in my parenting. The old seems to be so comfortable that, even when something new is working better, the old slips up and takes hold before I know it.

Perhaps L's rediscovery of the original jack suggests a goal for the year: to be more conscious about slipping into old, comfortable habits.

Photo Session

Wednesday 31 December 2008 | 0 Comments

She’s Got a Bike

Tuesday 30 December 2008 | 2 Comments

She can ride it if she likes. It's got a basket, a bell that rings, and things to make it look good. (Who can name the source?)

Yet she was vastly more interested in putting things in said basket (though I suppose it's techically not a basket...).

Christmas 2008

Thursday 25 December 2008 | 2 Comments

Busy and calm -- a typical Christmas for us, I suppose. Days of preparation and cleaning, and finally, the table is set, the barszcz is ready, and the guests are all making themselves comfortable.

Barszcz, mushroom soup, cabbage and mushroom pierogis -- the courses tumble onto the table, one after the other, and I'm thinking the same thing I always do: so much time spent preparing this food, and yet it's just disappearing. No matter how slowly we serve, it never seems to be slow enough truly to savor the food and the conversation. It's like eating one's favorite cookies as a kid, with the conflicting urges: devour them yet save them.

After dinner, we head to the living room for gifts and a Belgian ale sampling. First up, the king of Belgian ales: Chimay.

Gifts for everyone, but K and I are waiting for a couple.

L, having had a birthday less than weeks ago, has few surprises in an effort to keep from "spoiling" her. The truth is, she already has so many toys that we can hide many and she doesn't notice. But she was thrilled with her DVD: Horton Hears a Who. We've been reading it before bed for weeks now, and she adores the story. Any time the Wickersham brothers appear, she starts yelling, "No! Not nice!" She might attack the TV when we show her the film.

Nana and Papa get our new obsession: hardcover photo books from Blurb. One was a book of pictures of the Girl throughout the last year; the second was a photo book about Nana and Papa's trip to Central Europe for our 2004 wedding.

Christmas Day begins with some swinging and time with our guests' dogs, who have been relaxing in the basement. Throughout the week, whenever we would ask L who's coming, she would squeal, "Doggies!" Four friendly dogs and she was absolutely in heaven.

Christmas Day brought new guests and new adventures. L had a couple of playmates, one of whom having L's temperament and energy level. There was lots of climbing, chasing, and screams of laughter. It gave us a chance to see what it would be like to have more children. Someday. Right now, L is enough to keep four adults busy.

Decorating

Wednesday 17 December 2008 | 0 Comments

We got our Christmas tree last Friday, but with the party and accompanying chaos, we didn't get it decorated until Monday. For L, the empty decorations box was the most interesting.

She played for a little bit, posing as well: she's taken to saying "Cheese" whenever the camera is aimed in her direction.

Eventually, L was especially helpful. "L turn!" she cried every time K or I hung an ornament from the tree. At first, she herself needed some help.

But in true L-independent fashion, she quickly declared she must do it "Sama! Sama!"

That declaration that she must do it "Alone!" is both a blessing and a curse. It bodes well for her future, but it often results in rice spread for a square mile beneath her chair and yogurt smeared about everywhere. Then again, is it really a curse, your daughter learning to do things independently? Some cleaner and a paper towel takes care of it, so what's the big deal? Besides, what are we going to do -- discourage independence?

Happy To You!

Monday 15 December 2008 | 1 Comment

"When you wake up," I told L before her Sunday afternoon nap, "it will be time for 'Happy to you!'" She'd been waiting all week, and she was too excited to fall asleep immediately, but eventually she drifted off.

When she awoke, it was her day.

First, lunch. In two years she's gone from milk and mush to shrimp, an all-time favorite.

Papa held the Girl as Nana practiced with their new camera. "It was rated best in this level at this price by this place and that," said Papa, proudly relating the story of how he got it for a song.

The guests arrived and L became the center of attention. She's used to it, I guess: she demands it often enough, though fussing or simply asking.

"Mama, trzym," she says. "Hold" in Polish, but L-ized. She's not shy about asking for attention, though we we she'd ask for it like that more often.

Candles out and it was time for gifts. L had a little helper, F: the son of Polish friends we met here. He wanted to help with the candles, but L and I had practiced. She knew what she was doing.

F began by helping L with her presents; by the end, he was unwrapping them for her. A year ago, that might have been problematic: the Girl was more interested in the paper and boxes than the presents. This year, she knows what's inside is what counts. Hopefully, it's a lesson she'll apply universally.

The GIrl came away with quite a haul: Tinker Bell, a couple of games, a Madeline book, a Pooh phone. It was tempting to hide some of the toys and bring them out a little later, but for now they're all out -- literally.

Of course, Nana got the sweetest present of all.

Happy to you, L. Two down, one hundred and two to go. Sto lat!

Celebration I

Sunday 14 December 2008 | 2 Comments

It’s clean-up time now, but the party was a success — and so was the extinguishing of the candles.

More to come.

Party Preparation

Sunday 14 December 2008 | 2 Comments

Later today, L will celebrate her second birthday party. Her birthday is not until Tuesday, but one doesn't have parties on Tuesdays. We've been practicing: thank you, happy birthday to you (which comes out "happy to you"), dziekuje, sto lat, blowing out candles, and so on.

Last night, K baked a cake, as I did some touch-up work on our new door.

The cake, when finished, was quite a masterpiece:

Today, we tried blowing up some balloons, but L was a bit wary:

Right now, she's asleep. "When you wake up," I told her, "It'll be time for 'Happy to you!'"

I'm surprised she even managed to go to sleep.

Bilingual Breakthrough

Tuesday 09 December 2008 | 0 Comments

We’re getting ready to go to the zoo — just L and I, a newly forming bi-Sunday tradition. L is excited: she’s chattering on and on in her own way: 10% Polish, 20% English, 70% L-ese. (One of the problems with raising a bilingual baby is that you never know whether she’s trying a new Polish word, a new English word, or just making up something in her own language.)

In the midst of the babbling, L suddenly says, “Mamma, afant.”

“Afant? I don’t know what that is,” K responds, as always, in Polish.

“Afant!” declares L.

“Honey, I don’t know…” K begins, then L switches languages.

“Slonik!” translates L.

“Oh! ‘Elephant!'”

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matching tracksuits

Working Together

Jack

Photo Session

She’s Got a Bike

Christmas 2008

Decorating

Happy To You!

Celebration I

Party Preparation

Bilingual Breakthrough

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Trips to Poland

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