A little shy of 21 months

An unexpected post! Not that unpredictability is such a winning quality in a parent.  This will be quick, but I wanted to capture a few things.

We returned from our trip to lush trees and cool breezes off the lake in Evanston.  Many hours of Daniel Tiger in the backseat of a pretty cozy crossover "SUV" later.  We had a beautiful time.  We visited with my parents and many old friends who fit like loose cozy sweaters.  We walked the charming downtown streets, lined with businesses that have been there since I was a kid waiting in the car while Dad ran am errand at Lemoi hardware, mom picked up a coffee cake at Bennison's.  Gigio's pizza, Elenora Smith Park across from my childhood home, the skinny wooden slats of the fences near the beach.  I love taking Ellie home with me all the more now that she can appreciate a taste of pastry, a swingset, or Chicago deep dish pizza.  I feel deeply rooted there.

An odd thought visited me while we drove back to Washington.  We have a wider network of friends here, stronger professional contacts, a church we sometimes attend, doctors and dentists.  We met here and, but for a couple of years in law school, have been together only here.  But if I died tomorrow, I know my remains would not belong here. I guess it is the same with my Grandpa Rollie, buried in Carnegie after a life spent other places, and my dad, whose ashes will be spread in  Big Sur someday.  What are the things that keep people from living in their true homes?  It seems so strange that this will be Ellie's taproot.  For all its history, this place seems only a few inches deep in some places.  Maybe that is one reason people are frequently coming and going; it is difficult to feel you are from here.

I have digressed fantastically, of course.  We looked at a large, beautiful house a few blocks from the lake.  My mom indulged me by driving up and down streets off the lovely strip on Central St with the library and the bread shop and the bakery.  But then we drove back and here we are in our lives again.

Before that all happened, we had a magical trip.  Ellie ate blueberries, which Grandma buys several pints at a time.  She adored my parents' garden, with its tall sunflowers, which must have looked like giant beans talks to her! "Flowers, flowers, flowers!" She went on a few dates with her dad, too, between hanging out with grandma and grandpa.

A few funny moments:

At the dinner table, Ellie dangled a spoon in front of Maggie until she was interested, and then yanked it away, scolding  "No spoon!" A little dickens.

After a trying dinner one night, I rubbed my eyes and said, "oh Ellie," and she said, without missing a beat, "oh Zozo."

One day, we changed her poopy diaper before a walk, and after Nitin bagged it, she tried to kiss the bag and said, "Bye to poop."

And one other moment that, however things turn out, I think I'll mention.  On the Tuesday morning we were there, I peed in a cup, dipped a strip, and quite unexpectedly saw two pink lines materialize.  I shouted for Nitin at the base of the staircase in my parents' house, and showed it to him and stared, wide-eyed.  Nitin took the news pretty casually and said we had to wait to see if the line kept darkening.  Mom was sitting with Ellie of on the couch all the while and had taken the whole scene in.  We told Dad at lunch, and he was delighted.

But now we are in the pins and needles of early pregnancy.  No ultrasound until 6.5 weeks.  We are at 4.5 now.  Two HCG numbers so far, 97 on Friday and a whopping 574 on Monday.  One more tomorrow.  Nitin says there is a 95 percent chance of a baby at this point based on a study he read.  I guess we shall see.  Could be one, could be none...could even be two! Or a molar pregnancy or an ectopic pregnancy or a miscarriage or...who knows. The uncertainty is a little daunting.

I guess I went and hijacked Ellie's blog tonight with my own musings and her possible new sibling!  We'll have more news on Ellie soon.  Tomorrow is her preschool orientation, and in a few short weeks, preschool will begin.  We may or may not fly to Providence first.  Or confirm the pregnancy is viable.  So. 

We did ask Ellie if she would like it if we brought a baby home.  Her response : "Yeah!" Nitin said we should have caught that on tape.

20 Months!

I am writing as we hurtle down the highway towards Chicago for a visit with grandparents and friends. I meant to write a post in July detailing the explosion of Ellie's vocabulary and her many adventures -- but those adventures kept us busy.  It can be difficult to keep the months straight -- so pardon any updates that I already noted in June!

The summer is flying by more quickly than ever before.  Ellie has been very chatty and has started to pull simple sentences together. At the zoo, she said, "me meet panda," and meet the pandas she did!  She is very fond of explanatory sentences: "This is Dada, this is mama, this is Baa, this is Zozo."

She understands what is happening around her so well.  She also knows how to ask for what she needs -- "help," "pouch," "milk" and Elmo seems to be the catchword for screen time.  She sure loves Elmo, but even Elmo videos have not made her enthusiastic about tooth brushing!

She can be very friendly! She particularly likes to say hi and bye, even (especially) to inanimate objects -- very often "hi trash" and "bye trash."

Her sense of family identity is very strong. She looked to call roll, saying "mama" and "Dada" over and over.  She can say her name, though the "L" sound is not clear, but she more often refers to herself as "booboo."

We had a wonderful visit from Ellie's grandparents in July while Nitin was in Italy.  She had a blast showing them the parks in our neighborhood and all of her toys and books -- many of which Grandma and Grandpa picked out!

The toddler age is a busy one, and boundary testing and building frustration tolerance are real things.  But the gifts of this age are many -- she is frequently "in on the joke" in a book or in conversation, and her laugh is a beautiful sound.  She likes to sing along to songs, and we are surprised my how many of the words she knows in her favorites.  She also learned to hum, which is a pretty cute phenomenon. 

She has a very, very sweet side -- we cuddled in the hotel bed last night when she woke up scared, and she was tired, but so snuggly.  She gave me a few sly smiles.  I wish I had a photo of those moments. 

She is also ever the adventurer, enjoying the zoo, sprawling indoor play spaces, and spray grounds and playgrounds all over!  Her next adventure is preschool, beginning in just a short month! I am both excited about nervous, but I know that once she settles in, she will have a blast and her facile mind will be given so many new opportunities to grow!  We sure love this sweet kiddo.