The Animalia and I are back from our whirlwind trip to Washington, DC to visit her Nina.
It was fantastic and all the anxiety that I had about flying back and forth with her was relatively unfounded. She slept and played on the flights and did adorable things that made people say she was adorable. She was actually fairly excellent on the trip overall. She had her teary moments but really, what teething baby who's been uprooted from their normal routine hasn't had teary moments?
The flight there was decent. We were sitting alone, just the two of us, in a solo seat to Houston. We laughed, we cried, we napped. The 5am flight was by design as I figured waking her at that early hour could only result in naptime on the plane. From Houston to Baltimore we lucked out too, although in a different way. We were seated directly behind first class so more leg room. Plus, the couple sharing our row loved the Animalia, wanted to play with her, chat with her and were very helpful and friendly and nice. They live in Albuquerque, though originally from India and they showed Animalia pictures of Hindu gods. She napped on that flight too, she made new friends, she ate. It was so much more pleasant than I had expected.
We got to Baltimore late Thursday afternoon and after a relatively short car ride and a quick stop for fast food, we reached our final destination. The nina's apartment, which is very nice. She made lots of space for us, giving us her bedroom for the duration of the visit. Animalia got to explore, we took a stroll to the Yes! Organic Market for Animalia groceries (organic baby food, organic peach, organic yam, organic avocado). We unpacked our many food gifts (chorizo, tortillas, carne seca). We relaxed. Animalia explored a little. Later Thursday night we, the Nina, Animalia, and myself, took a longish walk to the Washington Monument. Animalia got to touch it and we gazed down at the WWII monument and Lincoln lit up in the distance.
Metro back to the apartment.
Sleep, sleep.
The next morning (really early afternoon) the Animalia and I went exploring. We took the metro to a farmer's market where we bought bacon for Sunday breakfast, a watermelon italian ice, and a delicious sandwich made with incredible bread and filled with feta and spinach AND topped with cheddar cheese. The Animalia and I wandered over to a bench on the National Mall and shared the picnic while people watching. Animalia's first sip of the italian ice was confused. It was sweeter and colder than almost anything she's ever had and she let it melt and dribble out of her mouth, leaving a bright red stain on her white cotton tshirt. She was ready after that though, eating small scoops of italian ice like a pro. She loved the sandwich too, but she likes food, so I wasn't too shocked. We finished our meal and headed back to the metro, taking it downtown to H&M for tiny clothes. I bought Animalia a Hello Kitty dress and matching sweater and a couple of other clearance items.
Metro, metro. Back the way we came to meet Nina and Celia for lunch at Good Stuff Eatery (also known as Spike's restaurant, of Top Chef fame). It was really incredible. I ate a burger topped with a fried egg, some pretty damn good greasy fries and a delicious toasted marshmallow milk shake. I was full. We walked back to the apartment for resting and waiting for the Nina to get off of work.
The Nina arrived and we headed out to a Nationals game. This made a grand total of two Major League ballparks for the Animalia in her first year of life. She was happy, we were happy, she clapped, we clapped, she stuck her hand in my chili dog. She squirmed at other kids. It rained for awhile but we were under an overhang and didn't get wet. We left in the 8th inning. We were all tired. Animalia was done. It was ok though, it was the Nats v Rockies with pitchers who had over 4 ERAs so, well, it wasn't the best game ever.
Waiting for the incredibly packed train on the way home was a bit sweaty and claustrophobic. A drunk sissy became fascinated with Animalia and chatted with her drunkenly. We managed to avoid standing next to him once we got on the train. Animalia tried to pinch the woman next to us. That was one of her major things on the trip, pinching. She'd done it to Annabelle before but she hadn't been really pinching me or anyone else. No more. She wanted to pinch everyone.
Back to the apartment. Sleeping, sleeping.
The next morning we headed to Georgetown with the Nina and Celia to get our eyebrows threaded. Not Animalia, her brows, as the Nina said, are perfect. On the bus ride there the Animalia was chewing on a cold pack to relieve the teething pain. She broke through the plastic and we experience momentary panic when she looked up and her little mouth was blue. I am a terrible mother. Thank god it's non toxic. Cleaned her mouth out, got to the threading place, Animalia ate food while we got threaded. After that we got breakfast and the Animalia ate some papas and pan.
After breakfast, we got some fantastic gelato. The Animalia slept while I ate basil and lime cilantro gelato. It was truly incredible. Then we shopped, first at Piccolo Piggies, a very fancy shop where I scored some great sale items for Animalia. If they hadn't been on such a good sale I wouldn't have been able to afford them. Seriously. Then to Sephora and another H&M where I bought clothes for myself. Jeans that fit! Oh my goodness!
Back to the apartment. Napping, napping.
We took a cab to dinner at Sticky Rice, a sushi place that serves PBR sake bombers and tater tots. The cabbie gave Animalia a tiny teddy bear and chatted with us about his family. At the restaurant, they were very good to Animalia, offering to turn down the music and one server even creatively made her a cup to drink from, using a plastic container and cutting a hole in it for the straw. The food was great, I ate some sushi, the Animalia ate some tater tots and some teriyaki tofu bites. Oh, and then she pooped. At a restaurant with no changing tables in the bathroom. Gross. And then she pooped on the cab ride home. "Amalia, you've been rockin' that diaper for awhile," said Celia. She got a bath too, because it was disgusting.
Back to the apartment. Sleeping, sleeping.
Sunday morning, the Animalia slept in, rolling around in her Nina's bed while we got ready for brunch guests. She did wake up eventually, guests arrived, she played and wandered. We talked about how she's an attractive baby and maybe she needs something to protect her from the mal de ojo, you know, just in case. Celia watched her while I played Bananas, the best word game ever, next to Scrabble. After breakfast, we went with the Nina and the Animalia's new friend Gloria to the Jim Henson's Fantastic World exhibit. She liked the Muppets in their cases. It wasn't all Muppets though, it was a small retrospective type exhibition, dealing with the range of his work, lots of illustrations and stuff relating to unrealized projects. Nice. Animalia got an Elmo puppet that she loves. Gloria went home and the Animalia, the Nina, and I took the metro, went to the International Spy Museum gift shop for gifts for Da, and hit a lovely tea house. There, the Animalia ate, nursed and took a nap while the Nina and I had cocktails and snacks.
When the Animalia woke up, we hit the International Museum of Crime and Punishment. The Animalia was happy there with all the ominous music and references to death and murder. It was good times.
Back to the apartment. Animalia slept while we stayed up late watching DVRd things. The Nina made me a sandwich.
Sleeping, sleeping.
The next day the Animalia woke up cranky. She was clingy. She didn't want anyone else to touch her. I had to finish packing. So I did. She cried and complained. I finished up, we took a walk around the neighborhood. We took her to the fancy dog store where she made raspberries at the dog statue. We munched on things, went back to the apartment, packed up the car and headed to Baltimore. Animalia took a nap on the car ride and I was afraid, both because of the nap and her previous mood, that she'd be difficult on the flight home. She wasn't. Between Baltimore and Houston she was great, though her little foot did touch this woman's newspaper. The woman flinched. The flight from Houston home was great though, with us sitting in an entire row of older women who love babies. One woman actually spent a good bit of the flight gazing at Animalia. When the Animalia pointed at her, not sure at what, a bracelet, earrings, the woman actually asked what she wanted and said that she'd give her whatever it was. The Animalia also took to saying Hi to people in her breathy, Kathleen Turner or tiny drag queen way that she does. It was cute. She slept a bit on both legs of that trip too. Good girl.
The Hi thing... she'd said Hi before but not regularly. Now she's saying it all the time. Also, her Nina taught her to pat herself whenever someone asks "Who's a good girl?" It's freakin' adorable.
When we arrived in Tucson, it took 45 minutes to locate her checked carseat and that was a drag and I was mean to the customer service lady but she wasn't very helpful. I'll elaborate at a later date. We were happy to see Da though, driving up. He jumped out of the car and Animalia smiled. He lifted her out of her stroller and she laughed and gripped him for dear life. He put her in her carseat and she wailed sadly. I think she was wondering where he was the whole time.
Home.
It was fantastic and all the anxiety that I had about flying back and forth with her was relatively unfounded. She slept and played on the flights and did adorable things that made people say she was adorable. She was actually fairly excellent on the trip overall. She had her teary moments but really, what teething baby who's been uprooted from their normal routine hasn't had teary moments?
The flight there was decent. We were sitting alone, just the two of us, in a solo seat to Houston. We laughed, we cried, we napped. The 5am flight was by design as I figured waking her at that early hour could only result in naptime on the plane. From Houston to Baltimore we lucked out too, although in a different way. We were seated directly behind first class so more leg room. Plus, the couple sharing our row loved the Animalia, wanted to play with her, chat with her and were very helpful and friendly and nice. They live in Albuquerque, though originally from India and they showed Animalia pictures of Hindu gods. She napped on that flight too, she made new friends, she ate. It was so much more pleasant than I had expected.
We got to Baltimore late Thursday afternoon and after a relatively short car ride and a quick stop for fast food, we reached our final destination. The nina's apartment, which is very nice. She made lots of space for us, giving us her bedroom for the duration of the visit. Animalia got to explore, we took a stroll to the Yes! Organic Market for Animalia groceries (organic baby food, organic peach, organic yam, organic avocado). We unpacked our many food gifts (chorizo, tortillas, carne seca). We relaxed. Animalia explored a little. Later Thursday night we, the Nina, Animalia, and myself, took a longish walk to the Washington Monument. Animalia got to touch it and we gazed down at the WWII monument and Lincoln lit up in the distance.
Metro back to the apartment.
Sleep, sleep.
The next morning (really early afternoon) the Animalia and I went exploring. We took the metro to a farmer's market where we bought bacon for Sunday breakfast, a watermelon italian ice, and a delicious sandwich made with incredible bread and filled with feta and spinach AND topped with cheddar cheese. The Animalia and I wandered over to a bench on the National Mall and shared the picnic while people watching. Animalia's first sip of the italian ice was confused. It was sweeter and colder than almost anything she's ever had and she let it melt and dribble out of her mouth, leaving a bright red stain on her white cotton tshirt. She was ready after that though, eating small scoops of italian ice like a pro. She loved the sandwich too, but she likes food, so I wasn't too shocked. We finished our meal and headed back to the metro, taking it downtown to H&M for tiny clothes. I bought Animalia a Hello Kitty dress and matching sweater and a couple of other clearance items.
Metro, metro. Back the way we came to meet Nina and Celia for lunch at Good Stuff Eatery (also known as Spike's restaurant, of Top Chef fame). It was really incredible. I ate a burger topped with a fried egg, some pretty damn good greasy fries and a delicious toasted marshmallow milk shake. I was full. We walked back to the apartment for resting and waiting for the Nina to get off of work.
The Nina arrived and we headed out to a Nationals game. This made a grand total of two Major League ballparks for the Animalia in her first year of life. She was happy, we were happy, she clapped, we clapped, she stuck her hand in my chili dog. She squirmed at other kids. It rained for awhile but we were under an overhang and didn't get wet. We left in the 8th inning. We were all tired. Animalia was done. It was ok though, it was the Nats v Rockies with pitchers who had over 4 ERAs so, well, it wasn't the best game ever.
Waiting for the incredibly packed train on the way home was a bit sweaty and claustrophobic. A drunk sissy became fascinated with Animalia and chatted with her drunkenly. We managed to avoid standing next to him once we got on the train. Animalia tried to pinch the woman next to us. That was one of her major things on the trip, pinching. She'd done it to Annabelle before but she hadn't been really pinching me or anyone else. No more. She wanted to pinch everyone.
Back to the apartment. Sleeping, sleeping.
The next morning we headed to Georgetown with the Nina and Celia to get our eyebrows threaded. Not Animalia, her brows, as the Nina said, are perfect. On the bus ride there the Animalia was chewing on a cold pack to relieve the teething pain. She broke through the plastic and we experience momentary panic when she looked up and her little mouth was blue. I am a terrible mother. Thank god it's non toxic. Cleaned her mouth out, got to the threading place, Animalia ate food while we got threaded. After that we got breakfast and the Animalia ate some papas and pan.
After breakfast, we got some fantastic gelato. The Animalia slept while I ate basil and lime cilantro gelato. It was truly incredible. Then we shopped, first at Piccolo Piggies, a very fancy shop where I scored some great sale items for Animalia. If they hadn't been on such a good sale I wouldn't have been able to afford them. Seriously. Then to Sephora and another H&M where I bought clothes for myself. Jeans that fit! Oh my goodness!
Back to the apartment. Napping, napping.
We took a cab to dinner at Sticky Rice, a sushi place that serves PBR sake bombers and tater tots. The cabbie gave Animalia a tiny teddy bear and chatted with us about his family. At the restaurant, they were very good to Animalia, offering to turn down the music and one server even creatively made her a cup to drink from, using a plastic container and cutting a hole in it for the straw. The food was great, I ate some sushi, the Animalia ate some tater tots and some teriyaki tofu bites. Oh, and then she pooped. At a restaurant with no changing tables in the bathroom. Gross. And then she pooped on the cab ride home. "Amalia, you've been rockin' that diaper for awhile," said Celia. She got a bath too, because it was disgusting.
Back to the apartment. Sleeping, sleeping.
Sunday morning, the Animalia slept in, rolling around in her Nina's bed while we got ready for brunch guests. She did wake up eventually, guests arrived, she played and wandered. We talked about how she's an attractive baby and maybe she needs something to protect her from the mal de ojo, you know, just in case. Celia watched her while I played Bananas, the best word game ever, next to Scrabble. After breakfast, we went with the Nina and the Animalia's new friend Gloria to the Jim Henson's Fantastic World exhibit. She liked the Muppets in their cases. It wasn't all Muppets though, it was a small retrospective type exhibition, dealing with the range of his work, lots of illustrations and stuff relating to unrealized projects. Nice. Animalia got an Elmo puppet that she loves. Gloria went home and the Animalia, the Nina, and I took the metro, went to the International Spy Museum gift shop for gifts for Da, and hit a lovely tea house. There, the Animalia ate, nursed and took a nap while the Nina and I had cocktails and snacks.
When the Animalia woke up, we hit the International Museum of Crime and Punishment. The Animalia was happy there with all the ominous music and references to death and murder. It was good times.
Back to the apartment. Animalia slept while we stayed up late watching DVRd things. The Nina made me a sandwich.
Sleeping, sleeping.
The next day the Animalia woke up cranky. She was clingy. She didn't want anyone else to touch her. I had to finish packing. So I did. She cried and complained. I finished up, we took a walk around the neighborhood. We took her to the fancy dog store where she made raspberries at the dog statue. We munched on things, went back to the apartment, packed up the car and headed to Baltimore. Animalia took a nap on the car ride and I was afraid, both because of the nap and her previous mood, that she'd be difficult on the flight home. She wasn't. Between Baltimore and Houston she was great, though her little foot did touch this woman's newspaper. The woman flinched. The flight from Houston home was great though, with us sitting in an entire row of older women who love babies. One woman actually spent a good bit of the flight gazing at Animalia. When the Animalia pointed at her, not sure at what, a bracelet, earrings, the woman actually asked what she wanted and said that she'd give her whatever it was. The Animalia also took to saying Hi to people in her breathy, Kathleen Turner or tiny drag queen way that she does. It was cute. She slept a bit on both legs of that trip too. Good girl.
The Hi thing... she'd said Hi before but not regularly. Now she's saying it all the time. Also, her Nina taught her to pat herself whenever someone asks "Who's a good girl?" It's freakin' adorable.
When we arrived in Tucson, it took 45 minutes to locate her checked carseat and that was a drag and I was mean to the customer service lady but she wasn't very helpful. I'll elaborate at a later date. We were happy to see Da though, driving up. He jumped out of the car and Animalia smiled. He lifted her out of her stroller and she laughed and gripped him for dear life. He put her in her carseat and she wailed sadly. I think she was wondering where he was the whole time.
Home.
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1 comment:
Man, we did a lot! I think I'll have you chronicle all my of activities from here on out. I hope you're practicing the "Who's a good girl?" trick. It requires constant upkeep. :)
I miss having the Baby Amalia in my room. Send her to live with me.
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