Practicing our words

Here is a little snippet of what Elisa has been up to recently--repeating everything. Enjoy!

Back from the edge

We pulled back into Sunnyside around 3pm today after a wonderful trip out to the edge of the island. Apart from our little trip to DC recently, this was the first time we've gone away as a family and stayed in a hotel and done, well, touristy things with Elisa. She still likes to nap twice a day and it's sometimes hard to envision doing a big trip knowing her stamina is not up for all day outings. But it felt like she could enjoy some of the things we had planned, and hopefully she would go with the flow or maybe even nap on the fly (I know, who are we kidding?) if I was really lucky. And to be honest, she did great. Yes, she got tired and beastly a few times, but she did take some catnaps and really seemed to enjoy the ergo carrier we borrowed. She fell asleep hiking both days that we used it and I was more than happy to keep walking just to prolong that nap a bit more.

Here she is passed out on our walk along the dunes, missing out on the great morning.
The views from the top of the dunes were beautiful and it felt so peaceful to be up there walking with no other people in sight.
Elisa awake in the afternoon and enjoying the tour of Montauk Point with the lighthouse behind her (still closed for the season--boo!)

We didn't have a big plan of what we wanted to do, but somehow we got to see the highlights that I'd read about. The walking dunes in Hither Hills State Park were amazing and very different. Basically, the sand has covered entire groves of pine trees and the winds keep shifting the dunes making them drift from year to year. It is tick season right now and I have to admit I was a bit paranoid about getting a bite. But we've been checking ourselves (and Elisa) every day and I think we're in the clear. Well, except for Nacho coming down with a crazy red rash but we think that might be from the softshell crab he ate. Hmmmm...I guess more than anything, I felt like we got to enjoy a place we'd been talking about for a long time and we did it the way we've always traveled--with an outline but no plan. Having Elisa along for the ride made it more challenging no doubt, but we've also tried to incorporate her into our plans without sacrificing too much. Yes, we would have walked further and maybe enjoyed a more leisurely dinner, but it was nice to be there as a family. She won't remember dipping my pancakes in ketchup or dancing around the hotel in her diaper and tennis shoes, but we will. And that's why we took lots of pictures.

Hittin' the road...

Today we are heading out of town for a little roadtrip to the end of Long Island. For the past few years, Nacho and I have been wanting to see Montauk, the sleepy fishing hamlet that's become as popular as the Hamptons. Even though high season makes it too pricey for our budget, we're hittin' it before all that begins. Our hotel was under $100 a night and I have some great recommendations for places to eat and there are tons of parks and beaches lining the route. Now we just need Elisa to perk up after her week of sniffles and coughs and hopefully we won't be turning that into a full blown cold. Here she is after our run to Target yesterday looking pretty sleepy and wiped out. Since we're leaving tonight and driving out around her bedtime, I'm hoping she'll relax and be ready for a day of exploring tomorrow and Tuesday.

More after the trip!

Ups and Downs

This week was a perfect example of how day to day can be a mix of highs and lows. After spending last weekend in DC, we have been laying low at home trying to get into a comfortable groove before we run off again. Elisa has been running a lowgrade fever on and off for a couple of days and this morning it turned to a slight cough which I'm hoping goes away as fast as it came on. Nacho has 4 days off starting tomorrow (Saturday through Tuesday) so we're planning a weekend full of family time and a brief trip out to Montauk in eastern Long Island. For several years we've heard great things about the sleepy fishing town turned hot spot, but never made it out there. In fact, I don't think I've been much further than the IKEA in Hicksville so this will be a real treat. I love the idea of exploring close to home and being able to see a place when it's not clogged with summertime tourists. The weather doesn't look like it will be too warm, but if the sun promises to shine, I think we'll be okay. We've had a couple of gorgeous days this week with lots of sun including yesterday. We were at the park all morning long with some of our friends from playgroup and I am looking forward to more of those as May brings even warmer temps.

The rain and cold this afternoon and evening was enough to keep us inside and inspire me to bake and cook. Nothing like having the oven on to spread some warmth and make the house smell good. Here we are before bedtime reading some books after dancing around like fools. Hopefully Elisa's fever will stay away tonight and give us a good start to the weekend. Let's hope anyway.

20 Words at 20 Months

Somewhere along the way, I remember hearing about this language milestone as a good indication that a toddler was on track. Twenty words doesn't seem like much, but when you hear constant babble all day, every day, you begin to realize how precious a single intelligible word can be. Elisa will repeat things from time to time without really getting its meaning and we all know she loves to list people and go through photo albums pointing away. But slowly, surely she has started using more words and I'm thinking that we're up to about 20, so let's see how many I can remember:

1. bubble
2. eye
3. mouth
4. car
5. bear
6. shoe
7. sock
8. bye
9. hi
10. agua
11. ball
12. bottle
13. baby
14. hair
15. teeth
16. up
17. on
18. thank you
19. hot
20. cheese
21. goal (or more accurately with a Spanish accent--GOOOOOOOOOOOL!!)
22. no--how could I forget the first word she really learned???

Okay, so I think I might have a few missing but I cannot for the life of me remember them. Now that's not to say that these are the only words Elisa has ever spoken, but these are the ones she seems to actually know. And the cool thing about watching her language skills develop is how well she understands me when I ask her to do something or when Nacho speaks to her in Spanish and she follows commands. She can point to all the (main) parts of her face and body in both English and Spanish. She loves to repeat those words over and over again, especially when she is tired. She loves naming her stuffed toys from Yo Gabba Gabba and if one is missing from the room, you can ask her to go find it. I think she seems on target for what most kids at this point are doing linguistically, but she has definitely not come close to using two words together which some of the books say is normal for this age. I realize that all things happen in time, but for me, hearing her talk and getting more meaning out of her babble is so exciting. I was thinking the other day that 2 years is a long time to wait to be able to talk to someone and yet, we give babies that much and more before they make sense. But really, could you be in a relationship with someone you couldn't talk to? I guess that's why babies are so damn cute.

Washington Weekend

We're home tonight after our weekend jaunt to Washington, DC and I wish I could say it was worth it. On one hand, we had a great time seeing Stacey, Mia and Jordan while checking out a bit of Old Town in Alexandria, VA. But on the other hand, I wasn't prepared for another setback of tummy troubles that plagued me all weekend and zapped my energy and stamina for keeping up with the gang (and Elisa's antics). We had a good enough flight down on Friday afternoon and met up with Stace and the kids at the airport before heading out for a bite to eat at Eamonn's Dublin chipper in Old Town. The lure of fried cod and thick cut fries with a side of curry sauce was too much for me to pass up. But I realized hours later that this tempting of fate was far worse than Elisa's screaming at bedtime--she finally passed out, but I would be up most of the night with nausea and more.

Here I am eagerly anticipating the delicious fried fish dinner with Elisa who has decided to give up all fish--something she used to eat with gusto. I should have listened to her.
The next morning at the Washington Monument as we passed through the city on the way to the Spy Museum.
Elisa checking out the harbor at the end of Kings Street before our Thai dinner.
The "Spring-Breakers" posing for a minute before heading off to eat...

By Saturday morning, I was feeling halfway better but had zero energy. I don't think I realize how much it takes to just maintain a baseline of normalcy with a toddler. It's a lot of friggin' work even when you're home so being on the road and having to improvise and keep things going was a bit more challenging than I was up for. Nacho flew in and joined us on our city walk which was a good thing since I caved about mid-way through the day. Elisa decided to resist sleeping in her stroller (go figure) so when we got to the Spy Museum and there were no strollers permitted, I knew she wasn't going to last. I took her and Mia over to the National Portrait Gallery for a little while before deciding that the day wasn't heading in a good direction. I just couldn't keep up the pace and Elisa was NOT going to snooze riding around. I had a perfect scenario for what I wanted to do--go back to the hotel and take a long nap with Elisa--but I had no idea if it would work out that way. Fortunately, by the time we took a little break and headed back, we were able to check-in to our hotel and Elisa had no choice but to cave in all that quiet darkness. An hour and a half of pure golden sleep. Ahhhh. And that was the fuel for the rest of the night.

We ventured back to Kings Street for a Thai dinner and Elisa was peacefully tired by 9 p.m. when we left her with Papa and hit the hotel pool with the kids. I had hoped she would make it swimming, but there was no way. Not this trip. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous about the hotel sleeping situation with Elisa, but overall she really did as good as I could have expected. The first night with Stacey and the kids, she just didn't want to calm down and sleep. But she was worn out and screamed until she could no longer fight. The next night in the front room of our suite, she seemed to be more relaxed and went down easy. We've been talking about going somewhere during the 4 days Nacho has off next weekend, and this was our trial run of sorts. Now we just need to recover and figure out how much energy we have for the next go round.

Ending on a good note

I wanted to end this week's posts on a good note, but after my horrible night yesterday with vomiting and diarrhea, I'll just say we survived. The sun came out again, but we weren't in a mood to enjoy it. Instead, we stayed in today and I let Nick Jr. do all my heavy lifting. Thank God for on demand TV because Yo Gabba Gabba saved my ass. Luckily Elisa avoided whatever I ate or whatever germ I may have come in contact with because she seemed to be her usual self. But I was not. This was the first time I have had to take care of her alone while I didn't feel well, and I don't think I did too bad. To be fair, she rocked two 2-hour naps for me, so that was a nice way for me to rest up and sleep a bit. And there were a few moments when I just couldn't soothe her the way I normally would because I wasn't able to play or do the things we usually do like dancing around and reading book after book. Her meltdown here was just a blip in an otherwise pretty tolerable day. But since she's getting so big, I figured I might as well share these pics for posterity. She loves to throw a good fit sometimes, and I have to say she is quite the actress. But then what 20 month old isn't?

A fine weekend

The sun has been shining here for several days bringing the temps up into the 60s and 70s which makes life just seem more fun. No bundling up to go out or having to bring the rain gear everywhere. So we took advantage of two sun-soaked days on Saturday and Sunday to enjoy some family time with Nacho home and get outside. Sunday we took a long stroll through Manhattan starting at Union Square and ending back near Washington Square after detours through the West Village, Tribeca, and SoHo. Of course, Elisa wasn't thrilled when we didn't turn towards the neighborhood park (on our way to the subway) but we quickly subdued her with a train ride and later a bit of sidewalk meandering and a quick swing in a city park. She has her moments of refusing the stroller and really straining to get down, but still I think she enjoys seeing people and will usually patiently sit if we just keep moving. The trees and flowers around the city were popping with color and blooms of all kinds. It was one of those afternoons where you just feel charmed to be in this place right now. A nice way to end the week.

We opted for an early dinner at Bubby's in Tribeca which I had never been to before. I don't think I'd even passed it on the street, so it was kind of a surprise to round the corner and see it and think, oh, yeah, let's do this. So we had a little refueling before heading home which was definitely needed. I'm not used to walking this much, despite our love of it--we just haven't kept up our pre-baby routine of death marching around the city. It felt good and exhausting in that unplanned way which I remember and cherish. Elisa found a couple of older girls to ogle at the table next to us, and I looked on as another mom nearby struggled to quiet her young son. It really is a different life that we have now and there is no way to do everything we did before without sometimes paying a heavy price. But when our desires merge and we can all be outside for a nice stroll, some good scenery and a satisfying meal, it makes me feel like we're a pretty good little family unit. Elisa was well worn out by the end of our day and her subway sleep made stretching the evening for bath time a bit more tolerable. As I find more and more these days, it all works out in the end.

A day in the sun

Yesterday we ventured out on Long Island to Caumsett State Park about an hour away. It was a beautiful scenic drive filled with lots of gorgeous old homes and estates. The weather was in the 60s and the sun felt great with a nice cool breeze. Our friend Kristin had been there before when her daughter Juliet was just a little thing, so we asked if she would ride along and go for a walk with us. Here we are playing on the hill overlooking the coastline...

Our little family enjoying this afternoon together...
Nacho and Elisa running wild...

Finally, here is some video of Juliet and Elisa in all their running glory. These girls worked up quite an appetite out there on the trails. We stopped for a brief picnic before continuing on around the grounds. There were definitely places we'd like to see more of, so I think when it gets a bit warmer, we'll be back. It's great to have so many places to explore so close to the city.

Today we're looking forward to spending some time in the city strolling around in all this sunshine. Just love it. Hope it's a great weekend wherever you are too.

A better day

Although it started with a screaming fit at 4:45 a.m. this morning, today actually turned out to be a much better day for Elisa and I. No doubt she was starving this morning when she probably normally would have rolled over and gone back to bed. So I offered her a bottle in bed--something I never do--and I jumped back into mine. Luckily, she took it and after only a bit of crying about 20 minutes later, she passed out and slept until almost 8 a.m. A minor victory on the sleeping in front, but I'll take it. Later, we had a good amount of snacking mid-morning, followed by a two hour nap and then a fairly decent lunch. Can you say 180 degrees? Whatever. Nothing about life with a toddler is consistent so why don't I remember that in the heat of frustration? Anyway, today was better and that's what made giving Elisa her new stuffed toy from Aunt Stacey so much fun. Can you tell she's in love?