Almost Two

In less than two months we will have a two year old on our hands. Somehow that is hard for me to wrap my mind around. When having a baby, one prepares extensively (more or less) for just that, a baby. While it took me some time, I got used to the idea of having a baby - one that I could port around with me all over the city in our car-less days, one that slept quite a bit, one that didn't mind whatever I chose for her to wear.

Miriam is no longer said baby, and it is both wonderful and terrifying. She has such a big personality and will - though her will is far from rational. She is currently sleeping (thank you, God) to an opera on the radio because that is the only thing that would quiet her down...for tonight.

Yet what a glorious thing it is to see more fully how her brain ticks as she begins to talk and express her will - rational or not. She loves to take care of her doll, organize things, clean up, and help me out in the  kitchen. Here she is helping me squeeze the juice for some blood orange sorbet.

Her capacity to learn has also exploded, along with her vocabulary. She counts to seven in English, four in French, and three in Swahili. She knows her body parts in all three languages. The point being not to brag about our genius child (because we could easily share stories that would prove otherwise) but to revel in the capacity to learn at such a young age.

Here are a few snapshots of what she is up to lately.

Learning how to bead

Organizing by shape

 

                      A true Boston toddler. Thanks for the hat, Uncle Andrew!

Gone are the bald baby days.

And finally, a video of a little St. Patrick's Day revelry, family style. Miriam thought it was so funny, she kept saying, "Silly, Daddy!" over and over.

Surviving Winter

Winter hits hard here in Boston. The wind is biting, sickness pervades, and darkness creeps in far too early. It's hard to believe that this is our third winter here in the New England. Each year has been different, but each year it feels like we hold our breath, reminding ourselves that Boston is great nine months out of twelve.

Winter or no winter, life in Boston doesn't stop (unless it's getting a record-breaking snow storm and only then does it stop for a mere day or two), and we've found ways to keep going as well.

Visitors: We were fortunate enough to have visitors on two separate weekends in February to help us pass the time. Maybe no one told them February is a precarious time to make plans or maybe they just love us that much. Miriam always loves the extra attention and is working on her role as the bossy first-born. As you can see below, Brittany complied amiably.

Hearty food: What better way to avoid the winter doldrums than to pass the dark evenings with good food. Miriam asks for pizza every night, so we decided she could make her own. 

Playing in it: Apparently toddler energy doesn't downshift a bit when there is three feet of snow outside and no possibility of romping around the playground. One can only run around our small apartment so much, so Zach took it upon himself to shovel out a maze for Miriam in our backyard (as if the five hours he spent shoveling post-blizzard weren't enough). It was a brilliant idea that allowed Miriam to burn off all that pizza-fueled energy.

A view of the maze from our porch

Miriam busy making snow soup

 Simply staying in: When you wake up and your car looks like this you have a pretty good excuse to call off the normal routine in favor of staying in, sipping hot cocoa and just enjoying family.

Even though snow is forecasted yet again this week, we have at least made it to March, and thought hard to believe, winter will just be a memory.