Wooly Baby

My friend, Josie, just started her own company, Wooly Baby (www.wooly-baby.com). She makes baby, toddler, and children's slippers from recycled wool and leather. Her slippers are gorgeous, unique and are of impeccable quality. Emmeline now has two pairs and I couldn't be happier with them. In December Josie was kind enough to grant my special request and made one pair out of a sweater that Paul and I bought when we were in Ireland before we were married. Since I never wear the sweater anymore, I am glad that we were still able to find a use for the well-made Aran Island cable-knit pattern. If you are looking for a unique gift for someone or for something to keep your little one's tootsies warm this season, please visit Josie's website. In buying her product, not only will you be supporting a small business, but you will also be recycling!

What?! 19 months old, already?!

19 months sounds a lot older than 18 months.  Doesn't it?  I can't believe how fast our little baby is growing.  I know that parents say that all the time, but I really can't.  Emmeline has always been a little ahead of the curve (or at least I like to think so) and she certainly shows no signs of slowing down.  She is now regularly speaking in simple sentences.  Among others, she says: "I do it!", "See them", "I see you!", "There she is!", "Fix it!", "I hold it!", "I love you!" and she adds "Hi" to most peoples' names (including the cats).  She sings parts of quite a few songs.  This month's favorites include "The Wheels on the Bus," "Sing a song" (from Sesame Street), "I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee," "Row row row your boat," and "Shoes" (also from Sesame Street).  She is getting quite adept at recognizing letters and can just about put her entire alphabet puzzle together by herself.  She is getting better about responding to commands like, "Can you please bring that to mommy?" and "Can you help clean up, please?".  She likes to be a little helper by cleaning up her tray when she is done eating, putting things in the garbage ("Away! Away!") and putting dirty dishes on the counter.

In addition to these very positive growing and learning experiences, she had her first major meltdown last Friday.  She screamed, whined and threw things for about an hour.  I spoke to her calmly, got down to her level and tried to get her to look me in the eyes.  This didn't really seem to work so at one point I put her in her crib to calm down while I sat in the rocker and continued to speak calmly to her.  This didn't work either.  She probably doesn't understand all of what I am saying but at least she hears that my tone is calm and even.  Hopefully she got then hint that screaming and throwing things doesn't get results.  Even if these things didn't seem to work in the moment, she hasn't had another temper tantrum yet.  Here's hoping!

Reading Elmo with Uncle Mike

Reading with Ezra; how cute are they?

Santa sent mommy a Kitchenaid in the mail;

packing popcorn is Emmeline and Rudy's favorite!

The static cling has been really bad 

at our house; see how it is sticking

to her jeans?

She has so much fun with this stuff but

it is horrendous to clean up.  I was finding

pieces of it everywhere for several days.

Mommy's Little Adventure

On Saturday, I had a little adventure of my own.  My friend Mel, and I, walked down to Wilmington's train station at nine in the morning to wait for Barack Obama to arrive. Wilmington was his first stop on his whistle stop train tour to the White House.  He was actually picking up Joe and Dr. Jill Biden, as they live in Greenville, DE (suburb of Wilmington).  They were not slated to arrive until 1pm, but we knew that we had to get to the station early.  And, oh man!  Was it coooold! In the past week we have been experiencing the coldest weather that the Mid-Atlantic has seen in several years.  And, I know this is nothing compared to the 30 below that my parents and Paul's parents are experiencing but it was still cold.

Our excitement started at Dunkin' Doughnuts on West ninth and then we headed down the six or seven blocks to the train station.  Poor Mel had to pee because of the coffee, but there was no porta-potty in sight!  When we arrived, we stood in a long line to get through security tents set up outside of Riverside Park.  Once through security, we were able to get into the park by about 9:45 and then ran to get as close to the stage as possible.  We were probably about 150 feet away.

And then...we waited.  Toes frozen, noses running, pulses rushing, and, in Mel's case, bladders filling!  Thankfully, there were all sorts of things to keep us occupied during the four-hour wait.  For one, Mel and I had not really chatted since before Christmas so we filled each other in on all the goings on.  Two, people were squeezing, nudging, and budging their ways to get closer to the stage so it sparked a few tempers. We were already packed as tight as sardines so this made everybody irritable and defensive. One lady directly behind actually us lit up a cigarette.  Are you kidding me? People had their children there and we were all so close that I could smell aftershave and egg-breath.  Lighting up in this crowd was unbelievably selfish.  So, there was a bit of an argument and in the end, she put it out.   A total of three people fainted close by us; perhaps they had a touch of claustrophobia?  Three times the medics rushed into the crowd that was already bursting at the seams.  It was all very interesting and, at times, kind of scary.  I understand why people felt compelled to bring their children but I felt scared for them.  There was a seven-year-old with his mom right next to us and every time the crowd swelled or pushed, I tried my best to hold my ground so that I wouldn't fall into them.

So, finally at about 12:3o Mayor Baker, Senator Jack Markell and others came out to say a few things.  Then Delaware's very own Joe Biden came out with his wife, Jill.  He talked about his daily commute to Washington everyday for the past 36 years and how that daily commute began right there at the Wilmington train station.  He quoted James Joyce, saying "When I die, Dublin will be written on my heart."  He then said, "In that same way, when I die, Delaware will be written on my heart."  I am sure his wife had something to do with this, as she was an English teacher, but I was so impressed and proud in that moment. For those of you who don't know, I was on the verge of becoming a Joyce scholar before I was decided on Shakespeare.  I have a great love for Joyce and this mention of him made me love Biden even more.

Then...Barack and Michelle Obama alighted the stage.  They announced him and the crowd roared, but I couldn't see him because I am so short.  There were two very tall people in front of me and I couldn't maneuver enough to get a good sight of him.  And I started to cry.  For the first time in my life, I am truly proud of my country.  I have hope in the future of our country and faith in our new administration. This is the only presidential election that has gone the way I voted.  I made this pilgrimage (though small as it was) and I was disappointed and exasperated that I couldn't get a good view of him.  I could hear his voice. Then, I caught a quick glance.  But the crowd shifted again. Then, I caught another glance and lost it again.  It went on like this until they all left the stage.  It also didn't help that directly behind Obama was a TV spotlight.  Even if I would have been tall enough to see, I would have been blinded by the light. 

Obama spoke a great deal about Biden and Delaware, which I thought was truly kind.   This stop on the train tour was intended to focus on Biden and his hometown more than anything else.  It shows a generous nature that Obama honored Biden in that way.  Obama also spoke about the winter cold, but that spring would come again.  Hope.  That is what won our hearts and the election.

I hope that some day I will be able to articulate to Emmeline how important this moment in history was. Obama's presidency is unprecedented in many ways and is important to so many people for a great number of reasons. From my perspective (though young and naive as I am) I can see my country changing.  I can see the tides turning. I can see a new era of democracy and policy. I have faith. I have hope. I can see a better future for my child: better public education, a cleaner earth, and opportunities that go across class boundaries. How profound it is to live in a country where the bright dawn is on the horizon.

Me and Mel with Barack.  He is up there

on the podium next to that darned spotlight.

Barack, Jill, Joe and Michelle

"Spring will come again!"

Lovely MLK Day at Longwood

Since Paul and I both had MLK Day off from teaching today, we wanted to treat our family to a little adventure.  We decided on Longwood Gardens and spent the snowy afternoon wandering through its warm greenhouses.  They have an indoor children's garden which we figured would be great for Emmeline to play in.  She had a lot of fun, but with 17 fountains she got a *bit* soggy.  Next time we must remember to bring her a change of clothes.  

Longwood was started in 1906 by Pierre S. du Pont when he bought the Peirce Arboretum to save it from the lumber industry.  Longwood now encompasses 1,050 acres of gardens, woodlands, and meadows.  You can see over 11,000 different types of plants and more fountains that any other garden in the US (info from website).

We haven't been there for three years and then it was also on a snowy day (Valentine's Day, actually).  We really need to go back in the spring to see the grounds; so far we have only explored the conservatory and greenhouse.  Impressive as they are, we are anxious to venture up into the adirondack-style tree houses and watch towers and wander through mazes of groomed hedges, gardens and ponds.

But for today's adventure, we enjoyed Longwood's exotic plants and indoor splendor.  It made our trip all the more fun to see the snow lightly falling from the windows of the greenhouses:

Paul and Emmeline winding their way through

the children's garden path

The children's garden boasts all sorts

of twists, turns and tunnels.

Emmeline is pointing out to Paul that the fountain

spit up water intermittently

This is a silly picture but I still like it; I was trying

 to get Emmeline to smile at the camera but 

she had other ideas...

Emmeline was a little nervous about the

"drooling dragon"

Emmeline discovers a fun fountain that

was timed to slither like a snake

Discovering yet another fountain; all placed

conveniently at toddler-height.  It was nice

of them to provide towels!

The plant was tickling her right ear; see the snow

outside?

Pretty hibiscus!

Tropical plants with a snowy backdrop.

African mint hanging from the ceiling and

exotic lilies flanking the walk

Longwood Garden grounds in the snow

Happy Birthda, Na-Ma Sandy!

Happy Birthday mom and na-ma!  We hope that this tree we planted in honor of your birthday will flourish and grow to be as beautiful as you. We love and miss you!

Bunch of Belated Business

OK, so it is bothering me that I am so far behind on Emmeline's blog. We have had so many interesting adventures and happenings here, there, and everywhere that I am not able to gloss over them or let them go by without giving them due attention.  I am unable to move forward with the blog until I post some pictures and comments about a few things that have happened since Thanksgiving.  So, the first (and probably most exciting!) thing that happened was that Kate and Mike finally had their baby on December 2nd!  Emilia Rose (she will go by Milly) was born at 3:11pm, weighed 6lbs 9oz and was 20.25 inches long:

Sweet Milly Rose

Mommy and baby

I think Emmeline was a little jealous but

she was pretty excited, too.

Emmeline really wanted to play with Milly

as she plays with her baby dolls (roughly,

that is.)

Emmeline was disappointed that she couldn't

climb into the bed to snuggle with Kate; she

is one of Emmeline's favorite snuggle buddies.

She had to make due with Kate's finger.

Milly is now six weeks old and is doing great.  Kate and Mike are both really tired but are positively glowing.  We have been able to spend some good time with them since we have been back from the Midwest and it is so much fun to hold that little one.  Emmeline squeals with delight when she sees Milly and talks about the baby and "Tate" (Kate) several times a day.  It is pretty cute.  We look forward to watching Milly grow and having lots of play dates!

On December 6-7 we travelled to NYC to see our friends Erin and Charles and their son, Baird.  (Rumor has it they are moving to Brooklyn!)  It was a quick trip but we were itching to get to NYC and wanted Emmeline to see Rockerfeller Center.  Unfortunately the closest that we could get was about a block and a half away.  The people traffic was unbelievable and since we had two toddlers in strollers, we decided not to muscle our way through.  But luckily Charles works in a huge building close to Rockerfeller so we went up to his office (42nd floor, I think) and had a great view of the city.  If I worked in that office, I would never get any work done!  We could see Rockerfeller Center from where we were, but it was pretty tiny:

You can see the rink and the tree in the upper

right-hand portion of this pic.  You can see

Emmeline's head at the bottom, looking down

on the city.

That's the Empire State Building behind

you, Emmeline!  What a view!

This picture (and the next) are courtesy of

Erin; she has a really nice camera!

The three of us in Times Square...brrrr!

Emmeline watching the light show in

Lincoln Center

Baird did a great job sharing his toys and space

with Emmeline; it is nice for him to have practice

as he will have a new brother or sister in July!

Raiding the 'fridge; monkey see, monkey do!

Our last stop before we left the city was Magnolia

Bakery; we always gotta get our cupcake fix!

Emmeline's first taste of a Magnolia

cupcake; it looks like her eyes are

rolling back in her head from the

yummy goodness

That was gooooood!

Christmas adventures, to be continued...

Pretty Portraits

I know I am behind on my posts.  And I really don't have enough time to write a long one right now (Emmeline should be waking up from her nap any second).  But I have been itching to post something so here you go.  The following pictures were taken on Dec. 26 by a family friend photographer when we were in North Dakota.  She did a wonderful job. I hope you enjoy them as much as we do:

The three of us

All of us!