(no subject)

[rivka]

When they tell you that your life changes after you have children, and you have to give up all your old habits and expectations...

...they never tell you that you might find yourself in an intimate little downtown trattoria, eating bruschetta and grilled vegetables and prosciutto-and-mushroom-stuffed chicken in wine sauce, sharing a bottle of pinot grigio, and having an uninterrupted adult conversation, while your one-year-old sits peacefully next to you, alternately absorbed in people-watching and demolishing the heel of some of the best Italian bread you've ever had.

This is just to say thank you, Alex, for being such a pleasure to travel with.

Comments

[therealjae.livejournal.com]

That rocks. :-)

-J

[redbird]

Awww.

That is very sweet.

[brooksmoses]

Doesn't it just?

Alex certainly keeps sounding like a wonderful kid.

[chargirlgenius.livejournal.com]

I think that sometimes people focus on the negatives, forgetting about the positive. Thanks for posting a wonderful postitive. :-D

[kightp.livejournal.com]

Obviously, you're rearing her right. If you'd taken her to McDonald's, now *that* would have been a legitimate excuse for her to get cranky!

[tassie-gal.livejournal.com]

Its a testament to the way she is being brought up. Included, accepted and loved.

[klwalton.livejournal.com]

:):):):):):)

:):)

[ckd]

Should we point you at this post next time you express your perceived failure as a parent?

[timill]

I blame the parents, myself ;-)

[micheinnz.livejournal.com]

She can't _possibly_ be one year old. When the heck did that happen??

(Then again in a few weeks the Weegirl will be eight... no idea how that happened either!)

Would you mind if I knitted something for Alex? And if you wouldn't, what colours look good on her and what kind of thing would you like?

[green-knight.livejournal.com]

The next time you are reaching for the bad Mum hat, pause and savour this moment.

[elusis.livejournal.com]

Having just spent the evening dining with 4 sets of parents who also have fairly well-socialized, easygoing children (ages 9, 5, 9 months, and 3 months), I am given hope that it is indeed possible to become a parent without having one's life utterly consumed by baby talk, Barney, and Country Buffet while all memory of adult interactions fades into some kind of blur.

[ailbhe]

It's amazing how treating children like Real People makes them act like, er, Real People, isn't it?

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Nah, I think that parenting skill only accounts for a teeny-tiny percentage of the variance in restaurant behavior in one-year-olds. Check back with me when she's four, and then I will take some credit, or blame, for how she behaves.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Hmm, that would explain why she "accidentally" spilled half my french fries in the airport, on the way home...

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Seriously, did you put in some sort of a request? Because it was as if she was custom-tailored to be your girlfriend's baby.

[brian1789.livejournal.com]

Besides, Alex seems like a genuinely easygoing and curious baby, around groups of strangers... besides being beautiful and adorable, of course. :)

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

I expect that her calm temperment is luck of the draw, but you still get credit for giving her a low-stress happy environment so that she keeps that temperment.

[kightp.livejournal.com]

See! Try telling her they're pommes frites next time.

[(Anonymous)]

That's awesome! And sounds delicious!!! We haven't braved the intimate trattoria setting yet, but we've been practicing at Bertuccis. :)

[treadpath.livejournal.com]

Sorry... that was me. I am still trying to figure out why sometimes lj lets me read my friends list but then my comments come in as anonymous.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

The other thing I will happily take credit for is that we actually take her to restaurants, instead of assuming that we can't or shouldn't.

[rivka.livejournal.com]

We cheated a little, by asking the concierge at our hotel to recommend a place that wouldn't frown upon babies. We probably wouldn't take her to a super-elegant place with slow service - this was a nice combination of great food and casual, fast service.

As I recall, Bertucci's has some damn fine rolls. :-)

[rivka.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, it's all about her temperament. We lucked out, there. And I'm glad you liked her!

[rivka.livejournal.com]

And in fact, she isn't one year old... yet. She'll be one on the 11th of April.

I wouldn't at all mind! Thank you! My rough guess based on her growth charts is that, next winter, she'll weigh around 25 pounds and be about 34 inches/85cm tall. Her head size tends to be bigger than her clothing size. We don't really have any clothes for next winter, yet, so hat/socks/jumper/whatever would all come in handy. We're pretty well supplied with baby blankets.

I think her most flattering colors are turquoise (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rivka/101427924/in/set-72057594066566145/) and soft yellows and oranges (http://www.flickr.com/photos/rivka/54461700/in/set-1180656/), but the only color that actually looks bad on her is lime green.

[fairoriana.livejournal.com]

Good for all of you! You're an inspiration.

[lizardling.livejournal.com]

Yay for Alex and yay for you! You're obviously doing something right. :D

[journeywoman.livejournal.com]

I am so jealous. When we try to eat out these days, most of the time is spent with one person pacing with a toddler outside the door, while the other person wolfs down food. Michael finds it extremely stressful so we don't try very often anymore.

[mjlayman.livejournal.com]

And do you prefer fancy yarn or yarn that's machine wash/dryable?