A Night at the Opera

Well, not for Georgia and Odessa. They stayed at Alfonso and Bruce's with Kathy, the babysitter, while we all frolicked at La Cenerentola at Glimmerglass Opera in Cooperstown.

The fabulous R&R was a dreamscape. It may have gone unnoticed by O&Geo, but was fully appreciated by all the adults.

A wonderful time was had by all -- we think -- with Bruce and Alfonso kindly putting up with the non-stop explorations of two curious toddlers. Michael and Robin arriving for brunch on Sunday made the weekend almost complete (where were Jessica and Debbie?)


A few "special arrangements" were made, considering the verticality of the stairs in an old farmhouse.

And less work was done than usual, although some of us managed to squeeze in some fence painting.

Georgia Makes Her Own Way

Today I think Georgia officially became a toddler. She ventured out entirely on her own for some long distances, occasionally even forgetting to hold her arms up in the air for balance. I don't think crawling will ever feel the same.

A Day at the Backyard Beach

The first day of even close to hot sunny weather is in July? How is a child supposed to learn to swim? Well, we'll make what we can of this.

Playing in sand is a different matter. Yoram said they would eat it. Nana said they might eat it once, but then they would figure it out. Guess who was right? Well, how could a small portion of sand each day really hurt you? Georgia's approach to the aftermath of a small taste of sand is to ask for something else to eat -- maybe to wash it down with. If she were speaking my language, I would know better what she had in mind.

It was a busy afternoon, ending like most busy days.

Togetherness

From April, which seems already like a long time ago.

Ce n'est pas un poop.

Mommy's French turns out to be godawful, Mama's hand gestures only get you so far, and apparently Parisian restaurants do not look on starving screaming babies as even moderately charmante. Just run around this sensible-but-so-interesting, ancienne-meets-nouvelle, well-planned courtyard that makes us all look brilliant, and let's not talk to anyone. Next time we go on vacation, in ten years, you can do the communicating. Start studying.


Paris video (mostly Odessa learning to walk all alone!!!, and the sisters learning to play together in Gaelle's apartment caring more about not being in the @#$%^ stroller than about being in Paree) coming soon.

Trouble walks

No present is as much fun as [shredding, eating, spitting out in slimy gobs] the paper it comes in, and no toy is as entertaining as tearing the child locks off the cabinets and digging into the tupperware. Oh children, you're so retro and you don't even know it's hip!

Spring photos: here.

Officially Toddlers

O & Geo are now officially toddlers, and watching them gives meaning to the word. Odessa is her determined self -- practice practice practice (much of it at the expense of her adult admirers' backs). Georgia is herself as well -- watching, smiling, and every now and then hopping up to join the action.