Can't Talk

I am back on the East Coast for a brief visit. This past weekend, SK and I dropped ESK off with her grandparents and went to the Big Apple for a wedding. It was busy between the wedding events (SK was a groomsman) and trying to squeeze in visits with friends.

I felt a little naked at first without a baby in tow. But I quickly got used to it and then it was like I never left NY. Except for the fact that everything in NY changes so fast! Old restaurants gone, new stores, new buildings, construction everywhere!

The wedding itself was beautiful at the Central Park Boathouse. A New York Times reporter and photographer were there, so it may be the featured wedding in the Style section next Sunday. The only hiccup: one of the ringbearers tossed his cookies toward the end of the ceremony. Poor kid.

I must have worn myself down however because I have completely lost my voice.
What started out as a little frog in my throat, developed into a pubescent 12-year-old's cracking voice, and finally degenerated into mere whistles and screeching noises. It's been frustrating not being able to properly communicate.

ESK on the other hand is being spoiled and having too much fun exploring new places and things. She's been sucking down watermelon and spaghetti noodles like a champ. Unfortunately, like her cousin GMK, she hates grass and cried when her grandparents tried to make her walk through it. She's definitely a little city girl. SK and I are going to have to do some more stuff in nature, or at least grass, when we get back to Portland.

Little Miss Mess

ESK is having a tough week. She's had an upper respiratory infection (a.k.a. snotty runny nose) for the past few days. I'm always chasing her with a snot rag to wipe her nose and now she knows to run away if I have a tissue or aspirator in hand. The little booger is getting smart.

Of course, with her clogged up pipe, she's lost her appetite and sadly, her cherubic cheeks are a little less round these days. And her sleeping has been totally off. And that means my sleep is off as well.

On top of that, I inadvertently tripped her while she was walking around with her SnackTrap. And now she has a red imprint of her SnackTrap on her forehead. The poor girl looks a mess.

Communicating

ESK just made some big leaps in communicating today at lunch. I was so excited I had to share. First, she made the sign for milk (squeezing her fists). Then she said she wanted more applesauce, clearly making the sign (fingertips together) instead of her previous clapping. Then she actually said, "All done", or something very close to it, when I started clearing off her tray and taking her bib off! I'm sure the last one was just a fluke, but it still made me giddy to hear it.

Of course, all this is after months of trying to get her to sign. I think we started at 10 months, but not consistently. Finally, 4 months later....

Fake Outs
I'm not sure why I'm sharing this, but ESK has been totally faking us out lately. She'll smell like she has a dirty diaper, but when we open up her diaper, there's nothing there. Just gas. What's amazing is that sometimes we can smell her from across a room. Quite a set of pipes she has. Phew!

Politically Disengaging
People here in Portland are pretty politically engaged. And just so I could tell my Portland friends and neighbors that I voted, I checked yesterday to make sure I was registered. Voting in Oregon is also different because it's all done by mail-in ballot. I think I'll miss going to the voting booth, pulling that old lever and having the curtain shut behind me, but I can see why this mail-in system works better.

Anyway, despite being in the midst of a pretty exciting presidential primary race, I'm feeling pretty removed from the political process. This is not for want of trying. SK and I went to a U.S. Senate candidate's fundraiser (capable and sensible choice, but blahs-ville personality) and I'm volunteering to do the publicity for a family-focused mayoral forum. But everything I hear about politics these days just goes in one jaded ear and out the other.

As for the presidential race, I've been long tired of the jabs traded between Hils and Obama. Their stances on things are really only *this* far apart, and it makes me sick to my stomach to see so much energy and fund-raising power being wasted in a primary race. (Will there be enough left over for the Republicans?) Both candidates are very qualified, with one a bit more seasoned than the other. I get that Obama is charismatic (Yes we can!), but it bugs me that his speechwriter is practically a decade younger than me. And while I don't necessarily love Hils, it irks me to no end how people blindly bash her, sometimes largely for being a woman! For the record, I am as of yet, undecided.

Anyway, that's my not-clearly-thought-out rant for the day.

ESK in the Emerald City

ESK and I took a weekend trip to Seattle while SK was at a conference in Chicago. I was reunited with an old college friend I hadn't seen in six or seven years. She also happens to have a 13-month-old son, so it was great for them to "play" together and for the two of us to catch up.

It wasn't fun driving up there however. We started out right after lunch on Friday, but with traffic and a lengthy pit stop to stretch ESK's legs, we got into Seattle at 4:30. Not terrible, but it was stressful to think at at any moment, ESK could have a meltdown in the backseat. We got through with just one 20 minute cry session. Whew...

Anyway, the other fun thing about the weekend was getting Elise doggy-trained. We have a ton of dogs in our apartment building and while she's curious and points, she doesn't like it when they start to sniff her or lick her. But there was no avoiding the canine curiosity this weekend because my girlfriend has two dogs. By Sunday, she was giggling when they stopped to give her "kisses".

No, Seriously
As I look back on my previous posts, I realize I write only the good, fun stories. Y'all must think I live some kind of charmed life. Skiing, Seattle, hanging out at home with the little one....

I do have thoughts that go deeper than "is ESK's diaper dirty?"... But I usually forget to write about them. Will have to do a better job of being more serious/interesting/important.