Zoë in Wonderland

On our last full day in Boston we made the inevitable pilgrimage to the end of the Blue Line to take Zoë to Wonderland.   

It was pretty weird hearing a disembodied voice on the T saying: "Next stop, Wonderland!", and I am not too sure quite what we were expecting from a place whose name conjures up all kinds of visions and expectations of extraordinariness.  For a few brief years in the early 20th century Wonderland was an amusement park featuring attractions such as rollercoasters and "a re-enactment of an urban conflagration" (?).  The amusement park is now a delapidated greyhound stadium near to the Suffolk Downs racetrack (both tracks have seen better days), located in the strange and lonely hinterland beyond the airport, along the North Shore. 

This is Wonderland now, a strange combination of Stalinist Black Sea beach resort and Ostend in Belgium.  I once spent a weekend in Ostend in 2000 with my friend Kirsten, and the memory still haunts me to this day.  Ostend was full of tremendously unattractive Flemish people and Wonderland was full of mahogany-coloured pensioners sunbathing on the pavement (why? when there's a beach right there?). 

In all fairness, it's pretty cool when you can hop on a train in the middle of the city and in 20 minutes be at the beach, so I'm sorry we left it until the last minute to visit this blog's namesake.  We could have come to this fabled land of wonder on sunny weekends and worked on our own mahogany tans.  And we couldn't even stay long when we did visit - there was so much still to do before we had to be out of the flat by noon the next day.  But we were glad we finally did go and spend our last day in Boston as a family taking Zoë to Wonderland. 

Baby meets dog

On our last proper weekend in Boston the Cragg/Warnes clan, including Rocky the dog, came to Boston to lead us astray. Despite boston.com prophesying a dire weekend of rain and thunder, the sun shone (naturally) and so there was much opportunity to get out and about to show these New Yorkers how fab Boston is, including how dog-friendly with all the wonderful parks and walks.  We walked the Esplanade, Newbury Street (with a pit stop for a cheeky drink), Commonwealth Avenue, the Public Garden, Charles Street, the North End and the Waterfront.  After all that we cooled off in the pool (sadly no dogs allowed, but I am sure Rocky would have loved a swim after all that walking). 

Rocky is very much Simon and Claire's baby. In fact, he is a registered service dog and by federal law can pretty much go where Simon and Claire go, including restaurants and supermarkets*. Zoë and Rocky have already met, but this time she was slightly wary of him, probably because Rocky enjoyed standing under her highchair during mealtimes, waiting for cast offs and nibbling her feet.  He also quite enjoyed hanging around the exersaucer in case a tasty tidbit should come his way.  Smart doggy.

* But not, it transpires, 4 Emerson Place. Long story. We sneaked him in anyway.

Because her Granny is a dentist

Something else to add to her lengthy night-time beauty regimen. 

Lists, lists, stuff, hairdos, PANIC

There's a lot to do before we check out of our apartment next Saturday morning.  I feel tired just thinking about making a to-do list.  Then there's the exhaustive list of items required by customs for the stuff that is being shipped home (I have done quite a lot of shopping, it's true). Unfortunately my attempts to flog Zoë's baby gear have been a bit hit and miss.  To date I still have no takers for the swing of doom and various other bits and pieces that we don't need to or can't take home, so next week I'll have to take a bunch of "lightly used" stuff to the Salvation Army on Mass Ave. 

I meant to get a lot of list-making done today, and maybe even some packing.  Zoë spent the day hanging out at daycare* and meeting her daddy's co-workers.  In the time available to me I managed a limited but nonetheless enjoyable list of activities.  Principally, I spent a whopping three and a half hours with Francisco getting my hair done and generally hanging out and chatting. 

I also managed to purchase a suitcase, get a dress for a wedding we're going to in September and buy some overpriced fish in Whole Foods.  What the bloody hell is she doing doing buying MORE STUFF when she can barely get a handle on the stuff she already owns, I hear you cry?  So, to make myself feel slightly less guilty when I got home I sat down and made the damn list and it only served to make me panic even more looking at all the crap I have to do before next Saturday.  Shiiiiiit!!!

* Zoë's teacher's dad came in to the nursery today with a guitar and a violin and apparently she was completely enthralled and even started banging in time with the music!

Sooper Pooper

Today's swim class was unfortunately cancelled due to a "toilet incident".  Why the offending child* was not wearing the prescribed plastic knickers I cannot imagine, but it must have been quite an "incident" as the whole pool had to be evacuated.  Bummer. 

Instead, Zoë went swinging with Josie.  Good times. 

* Or maybe it wasn't a child?  WE'LL NEVER KNOW.

Already planning her first cross-Channel swim

Geeks aren't well known for their love of outdoor pursuits and physical activity.  Surprisingly then, for a university reknowned for its extreme geekiness, MIT has some very impressive sporting facilities, including the Al and Barrie Zesiger* Sports Center.  Thanks to Katie's research, this was the venue for our little girls' first swimming lessons.  Wow, only 8 months old and already taking courses at MIT, those babies sure are super-advanced.... 

Here in the US they don't like babies swimming earlier than 6 months, for reasons that I think involve chlorine (?), but in the UK Zoë's NCT baby friends have been visiting the pool together for months already and are practically ready to form a synchronised swimming squad, so she has to be ready to join in when we get home!

At the moment the Al and Barrie's pool is overrun with babies and children, as all the geeks have gone home to their darkened bedrooms for the summer and MIT is running infant and toddlers' swim classes, and a "day camp" for older children.  I can only imagine the amount of urine and other kiddy bodily fluids washing around in that pool, which makes me grateful for, rather than wary of, our friend chlorine. 

The class is designed to teach the babies about water and to make them feel comfortable in and around it.  In my view, turning up the water temperature would make them (and their parents) feel much more comfortable.  The classes last 25 minutes and involve lots of singing and movement, particularly encouraging the babies to move through the water whilst kicking or "scooping" with their arms.  Zoë is like a manatee compared to Josie the seal - she spends most of the class chattering her new teeth together and chewing on the rubber toy she's supposed to be swimming after - but I think she really does enjoy it (although not quite as much as when she goes swimming outdoors in the sun with her daddy).  It's certainly been good exercise for me, as most of the time I walk from home to the pool and back, a round trip of about 5 miles. 

It's our last class at MIT today, but we'll be home in London very soon where Zoë can join Nelia, Alex, Matteo & Co at the Willesden Sports Centre for some more swimming fun,  All we need then is for some very rich person to give Willesden Sports Centre a lot of money so that they can rename it something super-glamorous like the Ira and Brenda Goldstein Memorial Lido and, if we're lucky, turn the water temperature up, as London in September is an awful lot chillier than Boston in July.  Brrrr!

 

* Here in the US, if you have enough cash and you want to be remembered for posterity, you simply need to donate an exorbitant amount of money and you can have a public building named after you.  Like the Barbara and Melvin Nessel Cancer Care Center at MGH, across the road from our building. 

Feeding time at the Zoë zoo

Because her teeth are hurting her Zoë doesn't much like being spoon fed at the moment, as you can see in this video.  Zoë also demonstrates her signature squealing so you might want to turn the volume down a bit if you are watching this at work!

Run off her (tiny) feet

There's so much to report this week Zozo fans!  Our tiny heroine is really growing up and is no longer the helpless little baby who arrived in Boston that freezing weekend at the end of February.  Look how wee she was way back then (but just as nosey)! 

First things first, Zoë has been busily growing her top front teeth - she now has three, which she very much enjoys grinding together with her bottom teeth.  I wonder who she got that from?!  In fact, Zoë's been busy growing all over, she's now a whopping 18lbs 2oz and all of a sudden none of her clothes fit any more.  Unfortunately Zoë isn't as much of a fan of shopping as I am, but she put up with a good couple of hours being pushed around the hellhole of Downtown Crossing whilst I bought her some new pyjamas.  That was the day she learned to do her high pitched squeal and she loved it so much she did it the whole time we were in Macy's, much to my dismay, my fellow shoppers' disgust and the store clerk's amusement. 

Zoë's also been busy on the sports and social front. We started swim class at MIT this week, of which more in a later post.  That's in addition to the swimming Zoë has been doing in the apartment complex pool with her Daddy, which she just loves.  Bizarrely our outdoor pool is warmer than the indoor pool at MIT- all those techno-geeks and they still can't get the temperature of that pool right.  No wonder the babies pee in it all the time, it's the only way they can stay warm!  

On a sad note, it was our last Isis Caterpillars class this week with our longtime mommy friends Alessia, Gi and Nor Aynne, and our legendary instructor Teresa.  I am not kidding, there was not one question (and she must have been asked hundreds over the last 6 weeks) she couldn't answer about the strange, wonderful and unnerving things our babies did.  We are REALLY going to miss going to class, Zoë because she loved playing with all the cool toys and the other babies, me because it was a chance to socialise with other new mums and discuss how we were all getting on.  Oh, and ask Teresa all those questions like, "why does my baby wait to pee until after I take her nappy off?". 

(l-r) Alessia and Ethan, me and Zoë, Gi and Samantha, Atissa and Silas, Jodi and Nicholas

This week Zoë also went on the swings for the first time.  As well as there being a "spray pool" for kids at the bottom of our street there is also a wonderful playground, with lovely views over the Charles River on one side and, unfortunately, Storrow Drive on the other.  No matter - it's clean, it's got great equipment, it's not vandalised, there is no dog shit or used hypodermics lying in the bark chippings, AND all the other mums there are super-friendly.  Seriously, can you imagine that in Swiss Cottage?  No, I thought not. 

Finally, in a dramatic but long-overdue move, tonight is Zoë's first night in her own room. It's not been a great success so far as she is well aware she's somewhere different, but we hope it'll eventually result in a better night's sleep for all concerned.  And I'll be able to read in bed for the first time since 10 November 2009!!!  Yay!

Up Armagh!

Like her Daddy, Baby Zoë is an avid supporter of Armagh GFC.  And by a stroke of good fortune the top matches her hair!

Wibble

Just watched the film Shutter Island on the telly.  Holy crap, I don't think I'll ever be able to visit the Harbor Islands ever again!

Baby on Main St

Poor Zoë has been cutting a big front tooth these last few days.  She's been cranky and restless, and, even worse, throwing up a bit after every meal (including prune right down my new top - nice!).  To distract her from her misery we took her out and about this weekend. 

On Saturday we joined Helen and Bill (and the beautiful baby Eve!) for lunch across the Charles in the People's Republic of Cambridge at The Cellar.  It was very delicious and the perfect cure for the hangovers Helen and I were suffering as a result of a heavy evening on the maragritas the night before.  Who knew the truffle fries would be so YUMMY?  Instead of pudding, however, we got quite the most incredible downpour I have seen since those crazy days in March when Storrow Drive went from beltway to lake in about 5 minutes flat.  Poor Bill had to run home in the rain and reported that the standing water was up to his ankles on the corner of their street!

Happily Sunday was sunnier and we took the train to Concord.  I wish we had known about the MBTA Commuter Rail service running out of North Station before now.  Not only is North Station a 5 minute walk from our flat, but the trains go to a host of lovely little towns north and west of Boston, including along the North Shore.  The trains are cheap, on time, clean and spacious.  Mind you, I guess if you travelled very rarely on the Thameslink and off peak you may well come away thinking the same thing. Well, apart from it not being very clean.  And maybe it's not so cheap either.  Although I understand it sometimes does run on time.  If you're lucky. 

Enough.  Concord, or "Conkerd" as it is pronounced in the local dialect, is very famous for its role in the Revolutionary War and for the various depressing 19th century writers that made the town their home.  It is an extremely attractive place, so quite why they were all so gloomy I have no idea. 

We had some lunch and strolled around the town.  I was hobbling rather then strolling as I had managed to  trip over Princess Zozo's bouncy chair earlier in the day and my toe was beginning to turn a nice shade of purple. So we hopped/hobbled back onto the train and home - me for some Advil and a pack of frozen peas on my foot, Zoë for some Infant Tylenol and her teddy bear teether.  Oh dear, I don't think either of us is going to be on top form for our first baby swimming lesson today! 

Whoops

Apologies to those who received today's earlier post three times, a result of human incompetence rather than computer error.  To make it up to you, here are a couple of pics of Zozo after her dip in the pool today.  Can you see her top teeth are about to come through!?

Day Off

Some people believe being on maternity leave is kind of like being on a long and relaxing holiday from "real" work. After all, you get to spend your days hanging out with your bundle of joy, merrily gossiping with your fellow mummies and generally having a splendid time, thank you very much - right?  It is indeed possible to drink lots of coffee and spend the afternoon chatting with your mum-chums, as I've written about before in this blog (for example here and here).  Those kind of get-togethers are really important to help keep you sane and in touch with other people going through the same shit as you, because looking after a little baby can be as isolating as it is awesome. 

Day to day life looking after a baby is pretty prosaic and revolves around such thrilling events as NAPS!  FEEDING TIME!  DIRTY NAPPIES! And, most importantly, ENTERTAINMENT!  Babies don't just sit around whilst you read a book, do the cooking or surf the net.  When they are awake they need pretty much constant stimulation to keep them from getting bored, grumpy and whingey.  Some days they are content to play happily by themselves (a skill they only start to develop at 6 months or so - Zoë can now play happily on her own sitting on her playmat or in her exersaucer for 10-20 minutes).  Other days they need to be carried around constantly, which is like a day long wrestling match with a wriggly, 10-armed limpet (although my arms are now fairly toned as a result).  In short, you are on duty 24/7, and everything else has to fit around that, including gossip/coffee sessions, trips to the supermarket, dental appointments, blogging, going to the loo, etc. 

Yesterday Zoë went to daycare at Eamon's office building.  I must say she seems to love it there and regardless of the time it gives me to do other things it's a great experience for her and will hopefully prepare her for when I go back to work and am away from her all day. 

In the days of yore I might have spent such a free day reading or making inroads into my Sharpe DVD box set.  These days I feel I should use the time more constructively.  So here's what I did:

I shampooed the carpet

I did all the laundry

I did the shopping

I found shipping companies to get our stuff back to the UK and requested quotes

I prepared dinner

I also:

went to the chiropractor

got a pedicure; and

spent 2 hours by the pool sunbathing and reading. 

That last activity was my favourite (the shampooing came a close second).  I thought about feeling guilty as I lazed on my lounger whilst my husband was slaving away over a hot PC, but then I thought bollocks, and started the next chapter of my book, secretly looking forward to my baby coming home so I could get a few of those wriggly cuddles in before bedtime.

Summer Fun, US-style

Phew, wot a scorcher it has been here in Boston these last few days.  Today it hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit (I think that's around 35 degrees in normal).  Walking outside at 11 this morning was like walking into an oven.

It was also lovely and warm this weekend, when we were able to celebrate our first Independence Day as Statesiders. Each year in Boston there is a big concert at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade, followed by fireworks.  Happily, we live right by the river and so were able to enjoy the fireworks from just outside our building. 

Obviously, we were feeling a little nervous about being a couple of Brits in a nest of patriotic colonials, so Helen, Bill and Eve came over to boost numbers.  We "grilled" (trans. barbecue) our lunch at the communal "grilling area" whilst the babies had a little frolic on the grass.  We also had a good few beers and enjoyed the company of our equally alcoholic neighbours, Chris and Jessica, whom we pestered all evening for vital provisions, such as corkscrews and tonic water.  In fact, we were having such a lovely time I totally forgot to take any pictures, but here's one of the two girls in their red, white and blue 4th July finery. 

Photo (c) Helen Jenkins, Eve's dress from Waiyee Poon Jones, Zoë's onesie by the Boston Red Sox

Luckily, Helen did take some lovely pictures, which you can find here at her tremendous new blog. 

As you can imagine, we were feeling a little sketchy the next day.  Bill and Helen tried to tempt us to join them at the Boston Chowderfest, but in all fairness clam chowder in the baking heat is not a well-known hangover cure (although fair play to them!), so when we finally managed to drag ourselves out of the flat we headed to the pool. 

When we first found out that our new Boston apartment had a pool we were very excited.  It transpired that the pool was in fact outdoors, which in the early days of our stay was a distinctly unappealing prospect.  Actually, the pool was supposed to open on Memorial Day Weekend but some (unknown) piss-artist* threw a bottle over their balcony smashing glass all over the pool area and it took Equity a quite astonishing 6 weeks to fix all the resulting problems. 

Zoë's swimsuit courtesy of Aunty Loo-sey, fashion guru

Turns out a swim is a great hangover cure and a failsafe method of tiring out your baby.  Zoë had a lovely time in the pool with her daddy, followed by a mega-nap in the shade.  It's also a marvellous way to cool off after a day wandering around Boston in the baking heat, so tonight when Eamon surprised us by getting home before 6pm we headed straight to the pool for a cooling dip.  Now that's something we'll miss doing when we're back home in Swiss Cottage!

Boston or Benidorm?

* The pool is located by the Longfellow buildings so no Asteria residents are suspects (phew!). 

Es-Cape-ades Part 2

So, we had a marvellous week on the Cape, staying near Wellfleet in a wonderful wooden house nestled up a sandy track, hidden away in the pine forests of the Cape Cod National Seashore.  I must confess I wondered whether our Kia Rondo* would make it up the steep and windy track - there was a hold-your-breath moment when it almost starting sliding backwards.... but we made it fine and were glad that we did.

Each family living in the forest has nailed their name to a tree to tell their friends where to find them.  I wonder whether the ant population of Wellfleet is able to read too, as several colonies seemed to know where to find our empty house and had taken up residence when we arrived. 

One of the special things about staying in a place like this is that you are "close to nature".  The absence of TV chatter, streetlamp glow and traffic hum means almost total silence, apart from the rustle of raccoons in the grass. Mum kept a detailed list of all the animals she saw during the week, which included chipmunks, wild turkeys and glow-worms.  And an awful lot of insects. 

Nearby is Gull Pond.  The water is crystal clear and is also very warm (especially compared to the Atlantic at Newcomb Hollow beach!).  It was in this pond that Zoë took her first proper dip in the water; she was very curious about the experience and didn't make a peep when she was plunged in up to her shoulders.  Hopefully this bodes well for her upcoming swimming lessons.

Zoë takes a different kind of dip in the kitchen sink

 

Two old farts relaxing on the wooden deck in the evening; note the 2 empty wine bottles they have drunk "to keep the mosquitoes away"

Our favourite shop on Route 6; if any more inflatables are lashed to its roof it will probably rise into the air like a psychedelic dirigible

Yes, I know, how childish of me, tsk tsk....

Luckily Eamon was able to come out on the fast ferry to Provincetown to join us for a couple of days of sun and seafood.  Over the week Mum and I ate a lot of unfortunate crustaceans (much to Dad's horror) and we left on quite friendly terms with the owner of the liquor store in South Wellfleet (much to Dad's delight). 

Your name is Shelby?  I am going to call you DINNER

A terrific and exhausting week was had by all.  Sady, Mum and Dad fly home tomorrow, but we're looking forward to the 4th July celebrations this weekend. 

* Once again, Dollar surpassed itself with its quality rental vehicles

Raspberries

Zoë's grandparents have been a terrible influence.  Look what they taught her!  She's been at it ALL DAY LONG. 

Emotional Reunion

The Jenkins/Hanage Family has arrived in Boston!  One thousand welcomes Helen, Bill and the beautiful baby Eve, we are so happy you are here at last!

There was a joyful reunion of the two girls today at lunchtime (I am talking about me and Helen, I am not sure Zoë and Eve quite remembered each other from February).  I wish I had taken a picture of the babies frolicking on the playmat together, but their mums were too busy gossiping and I totally forgot. Maybe next time.  If we pause for breath between all the chatting.