'Tis the Season

This will be Lila's second Christmas and because she was just five months old last year in many ways it feels like her first.  After diving right in to her inaugural Thanksgiving dinner - the pumpkin pie being her favorite- Lila has gracefully ridden the holiday wave- which I suppose technically started with a Halloween blizzard!

Halloween Blizzard!

Last week we embarked upon the traditional walk down 5th Avenue to take in the tree (Lila fell asleep-but we tried) said hello to the New York Public Library Lions (I am still wondering what happened to their holiday wreaths...) and then wrapped it up with the Lord and Taylor holiday windows.  We have decked the halls, complete with Lila's little tree on her dresser- we have a festive "lighting celebration" every night, and the "big tree" went up yesterday.  While ever-curious our little elf is very careful with the ornaments and the only one she has absconded with so far is 'Baby's First Christmas" most likely because she is fascinated with her photograph.

While old enough now to know there is something aswirl, Lila is of course not quite old enough to understand the true meaning of this most wonderful time of year. I am grateful that Lila received several "first" bibles for her baptism this past spring so that we can read the stories about that holy night in Bethlehem. It is hard to say what it is that is dancing in Lila's head, so we will continue to count our blessings and be joyful and grateful for all of the gifts of the season- be they from wise men or Santa.

Thankful for Pumpkin Pie

Little Luxuries

After a summer bounty of travel kicking-off in June with Lila's first plane/family road trip, highlighted in July with her 1st birthday celebration in Vermont and capped off in August on the Cape Cod seashore (our little traveler added three more states to her "domestic passport") we have come home to nest. Maybe it is the first chill of fall that brings me home again- back to Sunday dinners and sweaters at the ready. Of course I write this as Greg is away for a football weekend in Philadelphia, which has given Lila and me the opportunity to savor a crisp fall day of nowhere to go and nothing in particular to do- what a luxury!  I can't remember the last day I spent alone with my little girl- certainly this was the first in her "age of action." 


Lila on the move in her new kicks



Approaching 15 months, this little blonde ball of energy seems to be campaigning for mayor - she waves and blows kisses to everyone she sees- sometimes as I push her in her little car I feel more like her handler than mother. It was "Back to School Night" at Lila's school this week - there was a barbecue and Guitar Dan.  Lila made her rounds and throughout I was greeted by other parents who had stories of Lila, sharing with me how she greets them hello and pats their babies goodbye.  Last weekend we went for Lila’s official shoe-fitting and in between first Nikes and Mary Janes our little lover found time to plant a big smack on an unsuspecting little boy- I am afraid he may be the first of many for this little girl seems to want to seal everything with a kiss. I soak up every minute of these blissful days of walks along the water, hide and seek and new discovery as Lila reaches out to everyone she sees. I am not sure where Lila gets her joie de vivre but it is certainly contagious.

Lila and Guitar Dan

I suspect Lila’s spirit may have been inherited.  My mom was just down for a visit and spent two days caring for, or should I say chasing, Lila. Grandma Cathy and Lila seem to have developed their own language which is dominated by toddler shrieks of delight. I have such precious memories of my grandmother and am so thankful that Lila has her two grandmothers to love and teach her. I do believe that it takes a village and perhaps that may explain Lila's butterfly personality- you get what you give. 

There's been controversy in the press this week about "older parents," and while according to Time magazine we are technically a few years south of this line of demarcation, I have been paying attention to the debate. In this time of multi-tasking and constant screen time it is a luxury to unplug and reconnect to those who mean the most. I savor these days when I am beholden to no one but my daughter.  All my roads always lead to Lila but it a precious day when they are detour-free and today was one of those days. At just over a year in I am certainly no expert on parenting, but no matter what the age on your driver's license I think the true litmus test for a “good” parent may be when there is no greater luxury than simply being with your children.

The Big One!!

Lila has turned one!  Have you heard the news?  I try to temper waxing poetic about our little girl but this big milestone made me want to shout from the rooftops.  I was not alone in my wild exuberance, for with impressive flair my sister painted the ultimate birthday card to her niece in bright pink, billowing splendor!  All birthdays are fabulous, but there is something about a 1st birthday that elicits such powerful emotion.  As the wise mother of two, Kelly pointed out that the 1st birthday is really a celebration for the parents- like breaking through the first of many finish line tapes, July 17th, 2011 was cause for huge celebration  - we made it through the first year! 

For the occasion, Jack wrote a poem to Lila- complete with the 'OMG I can't believe you are one," recited to his little cousin while he was dripping wet from the pool- it was hot after all and so perfect. The entire family strung loads of pink lanterns and flowers, crafted a giant "1" out of Chinatown garland, Kelly whipped up a delicious strawberry cake, which Henry helped to cut, and sweet corn risotto was on the menu for the budding baby epicure. Amid the sweet confection of the day, the memory I will most treasure is when my brother-in-law Matt broke into an impromptu acoustic guitar of "Happy Birthday" and serenaded his niece.  With the backdrop of a Vermont summer, punctuated in pink and enveloped by her family, at that moment I knew we had indeed all given Lila the perfect celebration.

The Greatest Show on Earth

Cab seat belt tightly fastened!

Lila turned ten months old last week and our life has never been more full.  Last month we celebrated Lila's first ceremonial milestone with her baptism, a blessed day made even more special as it was shared with family and dear friends.  The walk down the church aisle carrying our little girl overflowed with joy and hope for her future.  In her crisp white dress and every-present smile Lila was indeed angelic.

Every day is now filled with new discovery for Lila, enabled largely by her newly-acquired crawling prowess.  Stuck in reverse for weeks she has now found forward-gear.  Like a garden snake, she winds her way around a maze of furniture legs with the greatest of ease and when she gets stuck she simply takes a nap.  Anything vertical is a climbing challenge to be conquered--I await the moment when I find nothing but her little feet sticking out of her toy basket.  Our bed has become her gym with its vast terrain of pillow mountains and blanket valleys into which she dives with full-giggle.  Whether it's watching her explore the texture of the screen door or be drawn into the temptation of the endless array of buttons underneath the television, a front row seat to Lila's explorations is a hot ticket. 

So we are now engaged in a full court press of balancing the protection of Lila from harm while providing encouragement to extend her reach.  Restaurant dining has become a sport in which we never seem to have enough hands, and cab rides have never seemed so fast or wild, but we would never dream of letting her miss the experience or the ride.  So we pull the seat belts tight and never let her out of our site, which is not difficult, as watching Lila grow truly is the greatest show on earth.

Crouching Mother Hidden Tiger

While this "Tiger Mom" controversy has been in the back of my mind for months- it wasn't until I stole a few minutes away on the elliptical with an old Time magazine that my mind fully wrapped itself around this hotbed of playground debate.  Lila is still small, so while I may joke about big plans of summer dual- immersion programs of Mandarin and swimming, I secretly covet lazy days of summer, more reminiscent of Country Time lemonade commercials and Huck Finn then any kind of formal structure.  The New York Times recently published an article about the vanishing of good old fashioned play- the kind of play where tidy linen closets are forsaken for elaborate forts of billowing cotton. Every morning I bring Lila into bed where we seek refuge under our coverlet of escape before mommy jumps in the shower and the day begins. 

Growing up in middle America we played with abandon and little more than our imaginations.  I remember rushing through dinner to be released for just a little more time outside.  Time to roam the little patch of woods behind our house or ride our bikes on the "dirt trails" which were nothing more than the part of our neighborhood that was not yet developed, but my the secrets these childhood fortresses held. These trails and little woods provided the backdrop for endless pretend, inspiration and awareness of a bigger world and the roads that awaited my discovery.

There is a balance to be achieved in encouraging and challenging our children to be the best they can be, while letting them find their own yellow brick road.  As Lila enters her first spring, I can't help but think of all I wish for our blooming baby- lessons and practice will certainly be on the agenda but they will be balanced by play and time scheduled for absolutely nothing but make-believe and daydreams.

I took a walk across our courtyard today and had to hold back the urge to literally skip through the tulips whose green tips are bursting through the mulch.  After one of the worst winters in memory, spring seems to be asserting itself with a fierce aggression. Hope springs eternal and anything that blooms year after year from a little bulb is certainly determined and passionate.  So it may be that Lila is being raised by the daughter of a flower child who draws more inspiration from persistent blooms than tiger roars.  Times have certainly changed since I roamed freely and didn't come home until dark, but Lila will still roam freely- her mother will just be crouching behind the trees watching her lay the bricks to her own path, and either real or imaginary that path will be well-played.




"Work/Play Balance"



Lila's party



"Sign" Language

Our dear friend Virginia, who studies astrology, told us that the hands are a very strong symbol in Lila's astrological sign and birth chart.  Lila clearly follows the stars, as since she was born, her tiny hands have barely stopped moving.  These curious hands often bring scratches to our little girl's face, forming a quotidian map of her tactile explorations.  Putting those little protective mittens on Lila was futile and felt cruel to force on a little girl who just wants to touch it all.

As Lila grows so do her hands- the little fingers that first gently clung to ours now have a vice-like grip that will latch on to anything she can- eyelids are particularly painful when falling victim to her curious grasp.  Lila is an explorer with her tiny digits, constantly reaching and stretching to discover just a little bit more of the world. 

Lila's newest dexterous fascination is the realization that two hands are better than one, hence we are serenaded with regular clapping sessions.  These sessions are typically accompanied by a chorus of consonants and vowels which every day grow closer to forming actual words and are music to our ears.

So we surrender to Lila's gestural language and protect her with an arsenal of nail files, clippers, and cream at the ready to soothe the scratches (on all of us) and just sit back and marvel at the daily orchestra that Lila so expertly conducts with her magnificent hands.



Multi-tasking



Clapping to her beat

Capturing It



Jack and Lila at Christmas

It is the second week of the new year and we are just coming down from Lila's first holiday season.  After many parties, much cookie and cake baking, decking the halls and snowstorm travel to Philadelphia and Vermont, Lila is now enjoying a long winter's nap in her crib.  The unusually high amount of snowfall has covered the trees outside our window and transformed the hilltop view into a Currier and Ives painting. We bid adieu to our Christmas tree today, sent it off to be turned to mulch- hopefully for someone's spring bulbs.  The stockings are packed away for next year and with the thank you notes sent, my energy now turns to organizing all of the holiday photos and videos.  With family and friends scattered across the country I try to post photos and share Lila as much as possible, all the while trying to balance enjoying the moments with capturing them.  Lila will be six months next week and the "firsts" are now coming in rapid succession- no longer a tiny baby, our little girl has almost tripled her birth weight.  She now holds her head high, sits in the "tripod" position, is working on that first tooth, and is quite the motormouth - producing a cacophony of sounds that often erupt through a geyser of bubbles.  In these milestone filled days, I do my best to capture the moments with a camera, document in the baby book and write about it all.  Most importantly, we soak up each moment of beautiful Lila, who greets us with a smile every morning that typically lasts throughout the day.  We are blessed with this joyful little girl and while she has not yet found words, her ever-present smile speaks volumes.

Ready for the new year in her jeans

First Snowstorm