What is going on??? OR -- Summer 2011, part 1

So it has been just too long. So long that I freeze up thinking about how I can possibly update the blog properly to reflect months of excitement, glorious changes and growth. Since the last entry there has been: trips to Europe, New York, ... Since the number of stories rival the current national debt (trillions, that is, if anyone is counting...yes, that is what has us all holding our breaths here), I decided to give up and just offer a smattering of random tales (possibly not chronological, or any type of logical, for that matter). Also, beware, this entry may be long or broken into several entries. Here goes:

1. Europe, overnight train from Munich to Paris.It was 10:30 p.m. and we boarded the overnight train, expecting that Zoe will nod off very soon. We apparently violated the number 1 rule of traveling with a toddler -- NEVER expect anything. Not only was she not sleepy, being on the train made her more excited than anything else, she was bouncing off the walls. This was particularly tricky because everyone else had turned off their lights and were ready to sleep. The elderly Frenchman in the lower bunk was already a little annoyed by our very existence since it interfered with his perfect bedtime ritual (perhaps he offers an excellent example of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, OCD?). Every time someone walked by him, he had to readjust the sheets and blankets just so. With his headphones and eye mask, Zoe's chatter and giggling did not sit well with him, to put it mildly. I figured that in the dark, bored, Zoe will eventually go to sleep if we just try. After laying with Zoe on the 18 inch berth, fearful of moving lest we fall off, Zoe decided that sleep was not for her. But she tried to help the situation by singing everyone else to sleep... she cycled through all of her favorites ("Farmer in the Dell", "Itsy Bitsy Spider", "Old MacDonald"...) and then sat up. Apparently Mom was being just too uptight with her "Shhhhh-ing" and needed some "pat-patting" (this is where she slaps my back with all the force that she can muster up in her tiny body and sings in her clearest, loudest voice "Jesus loves you evermore"). I had to inwardly smile a little, because the older man's grumbling seemed to tone down at the mention of Jesus. Anyway, after many rounds of this song, Matt took Zoe out to the "luggage room" to bounce off the (padded by bags) walls there, where I joined after the nearly involuntary Franco-grumbles unnerved me sufficiently, and we discussed politics and love with some nice, beer-chugging, German youth. The adventures continued in our cabin when the girl on the upper berth made trouble by getting sick, causing more grumbling from our friendly neighbor. But eventually we all managed a few hours of rest, without falling off the berths. (p.s. how weird-- in the morning, we learned that the upper berth travelers were family of, well..., an ASTROPHYSICIST! They left Dad/Hubby behind to do science while touring Europe on their own. It's a small world.)
2. Street performers. Ever since being put in a certain *ahem* awkward situation in New York, Matthew has developed a fear of street performers. Unfortunately for him, Zoe finds them quite inspiring. Late in the evening (well past Zoe's bedtime), the sun had barely set in Paris and we were out roaming the streets with Ben on our last night in this wonderful city. We were in front of the Notre Dame when we saw some "popping" (the break-dancing type art where movements are really sharp and jerky, kind of like Robots... pretty cool, actually). Zoe tried some of that too. Then "Popping" was replaced by "Fire-juggling" and Zoe did the less dangerous version of this too. I think the poor street artists lost some audience to her, as she did her best to mimic them (we did not solicit funding for our talents, however, since we were leaving Europe and had little use for Euros at this point... just kidding. )! Here are a few videos.

From europe2011

From europe2011

3. Prayer out of school. For whatever reason, Zoe has always been rather in tune with some form of spirituality or other. Starting with her fancy for Buddha, to singing "Jesus loves you evermore" when singing her dolls to sleep... Since our vacations, Zoe has realized that she likes to have "Mommy-Daddy-Zozo" days all the time -- cries of "I don't want Daddy to go to work", "I want Mommy to be with Zoe", ... and "I don't want to go to school"... have replaced her enthusiasm in the mornings for getting ready for school. We talk about her friends and discuss all the things that she loves about school -- circle time, art, water play, Ms. Namalie, ... Naynay (Nathan), Omeed, Rahrah (Ryanne)... we talk about how Mommy and Daddy will both pick her up later (soon!) and we can go to the park and have special Mommy-Daddy-Zozo time then, we plan to look for and count the "Daddy" buses and school buses on the way to school... eventually we manage to get out of the door and repeat again once buckling into the carseat. The other day it was pretty silent all the way to school -- we did not encounter any school or Daddy buses that day. When I went to the back to unbuckle her at school, I found her eyes closed and her hands together, the lips softly mumbling.


"Zoe, what are you doing?"
"I'm praying."
"For what? Can you tell me?"
"So we can have Mommy-Daddy-Zozo day and no school."

It kinda broke my heart to send her to school that day.
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I hope to recount some other favorite stories again soon. To hold you over, here are our pictures from Europe. (It began with an Xray Astronomy conference in Berlin for me alone; then we met in Vienna and spent a few days with Rinka; finally we had a family trip to Paris, where we met up with Ben, Michel, Frederique and Chloe.)

Buddha continued...

This evening, Zoë requested her father to read to her from a Buddhism book and then she took our Buddha statue and tucked it in for sleep (on the couch, where it almost got sat upon by some less enlightened soul). Then Zoë said "Daddy, let's see Buddha on the computer!", followed by ecstatic jumping and clapping. So the two of them researched and analyzed Buddha images from around the world. We then meditated as a family, after spending some time turning off ALL the lights (even those that were in other rooms, as commanded). During her mediation, Zoë had an epiphany and said "I am Buddha too." (I kid you not. So far I have not made any of this up... ) Matt and I exchanged impressed looks and several chuckles. Then we put on pajamas and headed for sleepytime in our blissful and peaceful states, but... apparently our Little Enlightened One is very particular about socks, because in the end we had a complete meltdown over them -- to be honest, I don't know what part was so contentious: the color, who put them on, the mere suggestion of cold feet? In the words of Buddha:

I teach one thing and one only:
that is, suffering and the end of suffering.

Looks like we are still learning.

an Acorn.

Rather than apologizing for the long gap, I will try to share a sampling of evidence that Zoë has grown in the meantime ... One big update is that she is now an Acorn. She has been promoted from "Dragonfly" to "Acorn" and managed to adjust to the new class, teachers, and buddies. She is a TWO-YEAR OLD! No longer a baby... and yet, always my baby :)

Here are some vignettes highlighting other gems of Zoë's "growth":

• "I want Buddha": This may be an old story, but worth documenting in her blog. At the young age of 20 months, she has shown an uncanny affinity to Buddha. I was away at the Swift proposal review, when Matt took her to a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner and she pointed to the statue in the corner and clearly showed interest and said "Buddha". This was interesting, since her only other introduction was 4 months prior at an Indian restaurant where a huge, wall-sized gold Buddha apparently made quite an impression on her. But after coming home, Matt gave Zoë a tour of Buddhism (courtesy of Wikipedia). They also (re-)discovered our Buddha on a bookshelf. At this time, Zoë had only recently shown minimal interest in dolls and stuffed toys, but this Buddha became her security object. Especially during meals, she wanted Buddha close by. (Keep in mind, our Buddha statuette is made of heavy rock and almost acts like a paperweight... it isn't cuddly nor easy to manipulate.) One day, Zoë and Matt were on the way to the store, but Zoë adamantly refused to go because "I want Buddha. I WANT BUDDHA!!!" This sparked a long religious lesson about how Buddhism is about suffering and about detachment and if she were a real Buddhist she would carry Buddha in her heart and this statue is only an illusion, etc. etc. etc... Zoë listened respectfully. But... "I WANT BUDDHA!" (Update: in the following several months, she has made significant headway into embracing the purer Buddhism philosophy and has practiced detachment with the "Buddha" statue more and more.)
• "A Dose of Sympathy": In the mornings, while combing her hair and getting her ready, Zoë and I play the game of "Faces" -- "show me a happy face... now, Zoë's sad... " etc. Mainly this is to entertain her while I get her ready... but this day in January, Mommy bumped her head and I pretended that I really got very hurt and I pretended to cry and cry and cry. For a while Zoë seemed to think it was funny, but when I didn't stop she looked very shocked and horrified. Then all of a sudden, she began to cry. I think she was so forlorn to see Mommy in such a state that she felt helpless and maybe even empathetic. I told her that a hug and some gentle patting would make me feel better and we soothed each other -- me for my head "boo-boo" and her for her sympathetic nerve "boo-boo". Then we played.
  
• "Curiosity never potty-trained the cat (or the girl, for that matter)": In the last few weeks, Zoë has shown more and more curiosity in the potty. She seems to have a "love-hate" relationship with it (also the vacuum -- she runs away and hides when we vacuum, but always wants us to vacuum ... we will call this curiosity). She has coined several unique phrases, encapsulating her love for the potty, like "Giggle giggle POT-ttteeee" (you have to say it just right, or she will correct you!) or "Pretty pretty POOP!" She likes to walk around the toilet and investigate it, to see if it bites. It doesn't. We got her a "Zoë" potty and it was like Christmas, again! She was so excited to open it and set it up, but ... screamed bloody murder when we suggested that she sit on it. She does like to have Pinky Baby sit there all day. It's been a few weeks and we are getting used to it for now... reading Potty books and toilet training her doll (except more recently, Zoë put a diaper on Pinky Baby).
• "Happy to you!": We had a birthday party for Zoë the weekend before her birthday. There were 10 kids (!) and their parents(!!) and we all survived. There were balloons, balls, bubbles, bubble wrap (we only play with things starting with "B". Just kidding...), also stickers and pasta necklaces, and ... food! CUPCAKES, naturally. Payesh, very important. And snacks and pasta salad, and ... good times were had by all. Instead of presents, we asked people to donate to a Children's Homelessness organization (Project Night Night), and this idea was very appreciated and we got very nice cards! We bought Zoë a nice train tent (pictures forthcoming!) where she likes to play hide and seek, and especially climb around in with her friend Mary, who also lives in our building and is the same age. Here are some pictures and a video from the celebrations (that's right-- plural! We also had our small family party).
  
  
  
  Also noteworthy... on Zoë's birthday, a sneaky fox (we hear his name's "Swiper" and he makes mischief on Dora the Explorer) stole all of Zoë's bottles ("Oh No!") and so we can only do sippy cups and regular cups now. Swiper is a known bottle thief in our building, Mary also suffers from his acts.
• "A sense of immediacy": In case anyone was unsure about the cleverness of our girl, we have proof. For awhile, Zoë would ask for something and we would say "ok", hoping she would forget, and then when she became more insistent we would modify her request to satisfy our time constraints, like: "Yes, yes... Of course, you can eat chocolate. Tomorrow." So she adapted. She learned the word... "NOW". "I want chocolate NOW!" So now, we are working on understanding the meaning of "No" and "wait".
  
• "Is she at the stage where she throws tantrums in public places? Yet?": We have had one such incident and ... I'm too traumatized to write about it. But this was the question that someone asked me awhile ago. I thought it was funny then. Now I think it is mean. (The nice gentleman had two sons -- 12 and 10, so I guess his wounds have not healed. Yet.)
• "Mommy's Competent" and other verbal gems: We are in the stage where Zoë throws out what she hears. (BEWARE!) On this one occasion, we were reading her report card and we were telling her that we were proud that the school found that she was competent in her growth milestones. Then Daddy said "You will have lots of report cards. Why, even Daddy got a report card from work - Zoë's competent and Daddy's competent". Zoë counters with "No. Mommy's competent." Well, my job's done. Whew. :)
  
• More pictures: Fall in Shenandoah
  
  
  
  Christmas (Caveat Emptor: I did not take many pictures on our trip to CA, so please donate to this album!)
  
  
  
  Thunder Snow event
  
  
  
  Random Winter photos...
  
  
• Videos! :
  
  Food critic-in-training
  
  
  
  Video within a video