Motherhood Mondays: What family traditions do you have during the holidays?

What are your family traditions around the holidays? When we were growing up, my parents would light angel chimes at the dinner table, and the heat from the candles would make the angels spin around and ring the bells. That little "ding, ding, ding" sound still makes me feel so warm and cozy...

Toby is two-and-a-half years old, so this is the first holiday that he'll really understand. I've been thinking so much recently about the value of rituals, and I'd love to create some for our family. So angel chimes are the very first holiday tradition we're starting with him.

Does your family light angel chimes? (Apparently, angel chimes are actually Swedish, but they were introduced to America about fifty years ago.) What other holiday family traditions do you have? A big Christmas Eve dinner? Homemade stockings? Super spiked egg nog? I'd love to hear—and get ideas!

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Toby, 2.5 years old

Toby is now two and a half (how time flies!), and it's awesome to watch him develop his own little personality. I figured I'd share a few photos, if you'll indulge me:) Above, he's riding on Alex's shoulders to brunch...
Strolling around the neighborhood with a Happy Birthday balloon (note: it was not his birthday).
Cuddling with his girlfriend. No big deal.
In toddler heaven at the Brooklyn Transit Museum.
Painting during an art class.
Feeling sheep at the Central Park Zoo.
Drinking shirtless while watching TV like a dude.
Zonked!

Toby, I love being your mama.

In other news, we're starting potty training this week! Wish us luck:)

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Motherhood Mondays: Do your eyes light up when you see your child?

Whenever I see or call my mom, she always acts ecstatic. Even though I'm usually regaling her with something super boring ("I’m ordering Mexican for dinner tonight,” "I’m kind of sleepy today,” “Did you see that it snowed?”), she’s always thrilled to hear every detail. And although I’m 33 years old, it feels reassuring to have someone who is so reliably happy that I exist.

Learning from my mother, now that I have a child of my own, I try to never hide how happy I am to see Toby. Even when I'm buried in emails or writing a post, I always look up with a huge grin and eyes twinkling when Toby walks in the door. Even when I'm sick, busy, tired or stressed, I want him to always know, 100%, that I'm glad he's there.

Author Toni Morrison shared a similar sentiment on Oprah years ago: "When my children used to walk in the room...I looked at them to see if they had buckled their trousers or if their hair was combed or if their socks were up. You think your affection and your deep love is on display because you're caring for them. It's not. When they see you, they see the critical face." Does your face light up when your child comes into the room? she asked. Because they notice.

Toby, for one, has definitely noticed. He'll sometimes even come through the door and announce, "Ta da!!!" It makes my heart sing that he believes he's worthy of such fanfare.

What about you? Have you ever thought about this? Maybe every mother does! It's one of those little things that feels really important.

P.S. The first time my eyes lit up.

(I wrote a shortened version of this post for SFGirlbyBay; thanks, Victoria)

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Yada, yada, yada

Our friend Nora stopped by last night, and Toby fell madly in love with her. They both wore plastic red fire hats, naturally, and Nora also pretended to fall down, which is always a hit around here. But the piece de résistance was when Nora was telling me a story and said, "Yada, yada, yada." Toby burst into hysterical laughter. What wit! What timing! What funny sounding words! He couldn't get over it.

The whole scene reminded me of this classic Seinfeld clip:)

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Toby's new sweater

My grandmother Milly lives in England, so we aren't able to see her nearly as often as we'd like. But she just sent Toby a dinosaur sweater that she knit herself. How sweet is that? It makes me nostalgic every time Toby wears it.
Here's a photo of Milly from our trip to Cornwall last year. (By the way, how little has she changed in four years...or forty-six years?!!) Amazing to think that she's Toby's great-grandmother!
And, just for fun, a recent photo of Milly and another of her great-grandchildren doing the Sunday crossword. (The 2006 calendar apparently has not been changed:)

P.S. Breastfeeding across the ocean.

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Why do kids cover their eyes when hiding?

You know how children often cover their eyes when they want to hide? Well, Cambridge researchers wanted to discover why, and here's an amazing quote from their findings...

"In both studies so far, when the children thought they were invisible by virtue of their eyes being covered, they nonetheless agreed that their head and their body were visible. They seemed to be making a distinction between their 'self' that was hidden, and their body, which was still visible. Taken together with the fact that it was the concealment of the eyes that seemed to be the crucial factor for feeling hidden, the researchers wondered if their invisibility beliefs were based around the idea that there must be eye contact between two people—a meeting of gazes—for them to see each other (or at least, to see their 'selves')."

How sweet is that? Children are fascinating.
(Via Kottke)

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Little Lincecum

Toby had a second chance to trick-or-treat last night because his friend's apartment building hosted a rescheduled Halloween night for kids in the city. He dressed up as San Francisco Giants' pitcher Tim Lincecum, which was Alex's idea, clearly:)

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Hurricane week: photos

How are you all doing? Is everyone OK after the hurricane? The photos of the aftermath have been shocking, and we've been thinking so much about everyone who was affected. How devastating for those who lost their homes, and this story was utterly heartbreaking. We feel so, so lucky to have gotten through the hurricane unscathed. Lower Manhattan still doesn't have power, so our apartment is pitch black, but we're safe and fine. Here are a few of our photos from this crazy week, if you'd like to see...
On Monday, the day the hurricane was heading our way, Toby and I went for a little morning walk around our neighborhood, along with his Thomas-the-Tank-Engine umbrella and a peanut butter sandwich. I wanted to give him a run-around before we got stuck inside for a couple days. His enthusiasm was contagious. Little kids can be so blissfully (and beautifully) unaware.
During our walk, most businesses were closed, except for the pizza place (hurray! of course we ordered a large) and the children's pharmacy, which has a train table. Party at 10am! As a special treat, Toby was allowed to have a purple lollipop, which basically made his whole life.
That afternoon, the rain started, and trees bent over almost halfway in the wind. We ran over to our neighbors' house, where they built a fire and made Negronis and pasta. Toby and their one-year-old daughter spent the afternoon running up and down their hallway and...that's pretty much it. They loved that hallway.
That night, we ran back across the rainy street to our house, and the power went out shortly afterward. We lit candles (including this pumpkin one, which is officially The Coziest Candle in Candle History) and Toby fell fast asleep with his adorable little tractor PJs sticking right up in the air.

The only real bummer was having to throw out everything in our fridge, as Toby was dismayed not to have his morning and bedtime milk. The next morning, I gave him a sippy cup filled with orange juice instead, and tried to make it sound exciting: "Toby! I have a special treat for you! Juice for breakfast! Just like at Meriwether's house!" But after smiling indulgently, he said, matter of factly, "Mat." (=Milk). I was like, "Well, we actually get to drink juice today!" His reply: "Mat." He would not be fooled.
Yesterday, Alex and I walked up to his office in midtown, which had power, so we could check emails, work and recharge our electronics. A whole conference room ended up being dedicated to displaced spouses.
We grabbed Chinese food after work, and everything felt almost normal. But the cab ride home was SPOOKY. As we drove below 31st Street, the city plunged into complete darkness (you can see the view from the taxi window, above). The buildings were towering gray shapes against the moonlight. Suddenly nervous, I asked Alex if we were crazy to go back home, but there were lots of people walking around with flashlights, and a general feel of camaraderie, so we forged ahead.
The French restaurant down our street was actually open! Glowing with flickering candles, the room looked really romantic, and couples were enjoying wine and sandwiches.
Meanwhile, we all agreed that the best decision was for Toby and his beloved babysitter Naudia to take a cab to her apartment in Brooklyn, which had power, so they could have a sleepover! He was so excited.
Naudia was SO sweet and bought a clown costume from a drugstore so they could go trick-or-treating. Toby was Mr. Clown, and she was Mrs. Clown. His friend was a dinosaur. I almost keeled over from the cuteness of her photos, and then almost burst into tears because I wanted to beam myself there so much. How delicious does he look? I can't wait to hear Toby's full recap of the night. We chatted quickly on the phone this morning, after he woke up, and he kept saying, "Silly! Fun!"

Really hope you are all doing OK and hanging in there! Here are a few more photos from the news...
And did you see this rainbow arched over the city after the hurricane? Our hearts go out to everyone affected by the storm. Here's a great list of ways to help. All our best wishes to you and your loved ones. xoxo

P.S. I'm bumping the challenge series to next week, thank you! xoxo

(Bottom news photos from The Boston Globe, The Atlantic, Gothamist, MTA's flickr stream, Inga, Reuters/Lucas Jackson and Andjelicaaa's Instagram)

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