New York Stories

Hung out in DUMBO, drank my new favourite coffee, goggled at the Manhattan bridge.

 

Rode the coolest carousel...

With an unbeatable view...

Ran around...

 

Admired the Brooklyn Bridge...

 

Experienced America's favourite sport...

And loved every minute of it.

 

I may be typing this in my sleep.

 

G'night from Brooklyn!

 

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Baby of Mine

I have been trying to compose this post for weeks but every time I tried, a cliché machine took over.  Like I was writing greeting cards.

So I give up.  All my words could never express the depth of love I have for you, precious girl. So let's trot out the old chestnuts and embrace the schmaltz.  Baby of mine.

This is you, a year ago today.  Not your best look.  As, um, challenging as your birth was for me, it must have been just as tough for you.  Hence the blood vessel freckles and bruised eyes.  Your calm disposition shone through immediately, though.  And the cuddles, oh! Definitely your thing from the get-go.

Meeting Liliane, your all-time favourite person.

Those weeks after we brought you home were bliss.  

Sure you had gas, sure we had some breastfeeding issues, but it was all good because you were so easygoing.  

And now you are a one-year old, sturdy, blonde-haired, blue-eyed bombshell. 

Who loves books.

And shopping carts.

And family.

Like I said, I can't begin to express how much we love you and how much better our whole world is now that we are a family of four.

 My sweet baby.  My snuggly, still-breastfeeding, social butterfly. My gappy-smiled, about-to-walk, eating-machine, water-loving jokester.

As much as I don't ever want this time to end, it thrills me to think of all the great stuff Miss Alice Ruth Piercy Arbour still has to share with us.  And I kinda can't wait to be there for that.

I love you so much!  Happy Birthday.

Maman

No Sleep 'Til Brooklyn

We're packin' up, we're hittin' the road, fugghedaboudit.  

Heading down to NYC for a few days to hang out with a few very special people.*

Cousin Asher!  Mah birthday buddy!

Uncle Matthew (ticklemaster, all-around baby whisperer)

Auntie Bari!  Wait, no.  Boo.  She will be away working :(  

BONUS! Auntie Jaime will be there!  Pictured here along with my Auntie Jean doing the actions to Asher's rendition of the Dinosaur Song.  Too bad she's such a stick in the mud.

Hopefully we'll get to have more sisterly good times like we did last month in Vancouver.

We're on our way Asher!  Looking forward to celebrating your birthday in goofball fashion tomorrow!

*disclaimer: if you or anyone you know is planning to break into our house, I urge you to pause and reflect.  We have good locks and an excellent alarm system, we don't have anything worth stealing, our neighbours are incredibly vigilant not to mention that I will PERSONALLY HUNT YOU DOWN AND MAKE YOU REGRET THE DAY YOU WERE BORN if my family nest is disturbed.  

-Signed, Mama Bear

To everybody else, hope you are having a great weekend!  Next post from the Big Apple!

The Julie Factor

You remember how I told you about how I have a thing about best friends named Julie? 

I featured the original Julie earlier this month (est. 1977):

You've seen Montréal Julie here before (est. 2003):

And now I would like to introduce you to... Halifax Julie (est. 1983)!  

She actually asked me to please NOT post this photo (one of MANY attempts, we grudgingly agreed that this was the best) but Carpe Diem my friend!  Hey, you've known for me for almost 30 years, you knew I wouldn't listen, right?

Julie was in town with her son Bade and I think it's safe to say that he and Liliane, um, hit it off?

 

Julie overheard Liliane suggest that they get married.  Bade thoughtfully replied that perhaps they would, if that's what they decide when they are older.

Wow, a budding diplomat.  And he's only 7!

So great to see my dear friend and her ridiculously adorable, polite and overall delightful son.  REALLY cool to witness a new friendship being formed.  The next generation, blah, blah.  Guess this means we're old.

Love you, Joob. xo

Two Minutes

Liliane, at 4 going on 5 years old, has trouble falling asleep.  I remember the very day when bedtime changed.  It was November of 2009, she was a little over 2 years old.  We had been blessed with a long stretch of good sleep so it kind of caught us by surprise.  We did our usual bedtime routine (which used to involve singing - awwww) and closed the door as per usual.  

The screams were heard 'round the world.  

Once we figured out that all she wanted was to leave the door open, she was fine.  Until the next thing came along.  

Anyway, long story short, our Energizer Bunny really has trouble turning her brain off.  

At the moment she prefers to sleep on the pull-out bed in the living room.  This is fine, except that it means that all kitchen activities are seriously restricted once she is in bed.  That kid has bionic ears so finely tuned to all adult movement that she would spend most of the evening standing up in bed, watching us clean up.  Or catching us trying to snack but mostly calling to us for random, ridiculous reasons.  Completely annoying.

So we have a new ritual in our house.  It's called "doing the deux minutes."  

It started when Stéphane agreed to lie down with her one night once stories and prayers were done.  At first it was just him and it really was for two minutes.  It seemed to help quiet her down.  It made for a peaceful evening.  I tried not to get involved but I have been sucked into doing the two minutes, which has evolved into anywhere from 15-45 minutes, depending on how long she holds out on sleep.

I have to be honest readers,  I really, really resisted.  I resented being one of those pansy parents who clearly failed to teach their kid how to sleep properly.  Will she ever fall asleep on her own?  Where did we go wrong here?  I would lay down with her, mind racing with everything I'd rather be doing. 

Then I got over it.  I pushed away my restlessness and focused on soaking up these rare quiet moments with my fidgety firstborn.  I opened my ears because bedtime is primetime for serious thoughts and confessions. (I grabbed the livre from Alice tantôt Maman).  I eventually realized that I have been given an opportunity to repair any damage I've done by being impatient (sigh) or dismissive or rushed.  Not to mention the privilege of snuggling my already big girl.  

In a way, it's an extension of what we used to do when she was a baby. 

We talk a little, I scratch her back, she asks questions (everything from are there sharks in the forest? to where is Jesus and why does he listen to us?) I understand this time is precious and soon enough she won't need me for anything as simple as helping her fall asleep.  

She is a tall, slender, blonde and more determined version of this baby now, but this is still what I see:

She'll figure it out.  In the meantime, I'm just enjoying it.