Then and now

We don't do a lot of videotaping around these parts, but I like to capture a few minutes on film every once in awhile. I forget things so quickly - was he really that little? Oh my goodness, he moves so much differently now. He was such a primal little thing!

At the risk of boring everyone but Nils's grandparents, here are a couple videos. One was taken when he was about 2 months old, and the other just this past week. Please be forewarned that I have some serious "mommy voice" going on in both these videos.

Underhill

Talk about a lazy day. There was a family nap from 9 to 11:45 (badly needed by all) and a lot of puttering around the apartment. We didn't aim to get much of anything done, or go and do anything of real consequence. We did manage however, to get out for a bit and hit up the Underhill playground.

It's a great place. A bit off our beaten path, and therefore a little exotic. A little-kid paradise in the middle of Prospect Heights. Plenty of space for Nils to stretch his legs:

"Donated" goodies from homes that have outgrown jumperoos, push toys and the like:

And swings! Can you remember the last time you felt the euphoria that Nils seems to be experiencing here?

A quick snack, and time to go home. Too much fun! I think a Thanksgiving-weekend visit may be in order.

Occupied

     
I picked a great week to keep hanging out on Wall Street.

I haven't been going there as part of the Occupy Wall Street protest (though sidenote: I have stopped by Zucotti Park a couple times and was totally impressed with their greywater system). Our regular childcare wasn't available this week so I trudged up to our backup option, which happens to be one block off Wall Street.

I was there Tuesday, the day after the protesters had been evicted from the park. I was there yesterday, when things seemed to be calming down. And then I was there oh-so-briefly this morning, when I could hear the noise of the protests before I even left the subway station. Climbing up the last of the subway steps - which by the way is no small task when you have a 20-pound baby, all his stuff, and all your stuff strapped to your torso - I ran right into the NYPD. All of them, it seemed. They stood around near the subway entrance. They stood behind barricades on the street, helmets on and batons at the ready. They were everywhere and like me, they could hear the protesters coming.

"Excuse me," an officer said as I turned toward my street. "Where are you headed?"

"I'm trying to take him to childcare," I said. "It's just down the street."

"Listen, I don't want to be a pain in the ass, but you should take him and get out of here. They're going to try and break down the gates and then... you should just go."

"Really?" I said, trying to peek around his shoulder to see what was going on.

In the end Nils and I got back on the subway and went home. I'll just work tomorrow.

Wiped

It has been awhile since I last posted here, and not for a lack of things to talk about. Oliver ran the New York marathon. Visitors came to town. I headed out of town for a weekend, sans Oliver and Nils. 

Nils started crawling:

He was the world's cutest, sweetest shark for Halloween.

I'm just beat, that's all. Looking at this last picture made me realize it - good lord I look tired. Look at those eyes. And that was a day I felt pretty awake, too. Go figure. It's a combination of the things you would expect. Nils moves around now and is therefore harder to keep track of. The days are getting shorter - aren't we all a little less energetic than we were when the sun set at 8:30? He's been doing a sleep regression thing for an embarrassingly long time, which means I've been up at midnight, at 3, again at 5:30, then finally at 7, just about every night for weeks. And every time I say to him "all right kiddo, tomorrow we start sleep training," he goes and gets a cold, cuts a tooth, etc. And then I totally lose the heart to "set him straight."

And when he goes down for the night, giving me sweet, sweet time to myself, I look longingly at the laptop. Or more accurately, look longingly for the laptop. My apartment looks terrible. Would you believe me if I told you this photo was taken just after I had spent most of my weekend cleaning? No time for blogging! Good lord woman, get your home in order.

The funny thing is, this photo also perfectly reflects what my mind feels like. It's messy and a little chaotic, and no matter how many loads of mental laundry I throw at the symbolic washing machine there still seem to be piles of dirty onesies following me around. And Nils manages to get into my purse. 

I wouldn't change any of it though, not for anything. Actually no, that's not true. I would get him to sleep through the night. But that will come soon enough. (Once he gets over this latest cold.) And then I will still chase him around all day, hovering close enough to grab him just before he loses his footing and knocks his head on the coffee table. I will still dream of prune-stained sleepers. I will probably still need that afternoon coffee. It's all good.