Marking our return to the concert scene

The last time Jude and I got a chance to spend a night out without Sophie was January 2010-- Avatar was playing in the theatres, neither one of us had graduated, and Sophie had not even stared on solids yet. We were home for Sophie's first Christmas and the family was more than happy to jump at the opportunity to babysit. Since then, we'd just never got round to getting a babysitter in Ann Arbor and by then, we had just gotten used to schlepping Sophie everywhere with us. We had to eschew going out to anything past her bedtime but that was something we just got used to.

But sigur rós isn't just any old something and now that we're back home, family is around again to help us out with watching Sophie. She was more than happy to spend the night at the grandparents and hang out with her aunts, uncle, and Julianne-- she had her jammies, books, and toys picked out the night before and it was all she could talk about all Friday. When we said bye to her before the concert, she gave both of us a tight hug, reminded us that she was going to miss us, but told us to have fun anyway :)

According to Sam, Sophie did whine a little just before bedtime and asked for both Jude and I, but snuggling helped and she eventually fell asleep quietly and slept through the night without any fuss (except maybe sleeping horizontally and hogging precious bed space...) So all in all, I think Operation "Jude and Serene Return to the Concert Scene"was officially a success. We were praying it would be, what with Regina Spektor in December and possibly the Laneway Music Festival in January... ;)

Speaking of which, sigur rós was simply astounding. We've loved their music for so long and to be able to see them in Singapore was an exquisite experience. For a couple of hours that afternoon, I was so afraid that the concert would get washed out by the heavy storms, but thankfully the skies let up, the concert went on, and even though it did start to pour towards the end, it was less an inconvenience than a poetically fitting end to a gorgeous set. Because really, who listens to sigur rós on a bright sunny day anyway?...

1. Concert in the tropics ..., 2. Cousins, 3. jónsi, 4. Enraptured

I listend to them A LOT as I was writing my dissertation and there were several moments throughout the concert that brought up difficult memories of me crouching over my laptop tapping away into the wee hours of the morning, which made for a rather complicated experience, especially while standing in the drizzle that would then give way to a downpour. But I love how I feel when I listen to sigur rós-- complicated or not-- and watching them 'live' and sharing that with Jude and my cousin Terri was something quite quite special.

The concert didn't exactly have the same vibe as what I had always envisioned a sigur rós concert to be (see video below) but having it out in the open at Fort Canning was quite an inspired idea, although it would not have been my first choice in Singapore. I was expecting something smaller, a little more intimate, something more befitting the spare lushness (how's that for an oxymoron) of their music. But it worked out beautifully in the end, and it was quite the night to remember.



More pictures here.

The Snail and the Whale

So excited!

Sometime last year-- or maybe it was Christmas the year before-- Sophie received the activity book to The Snail and the Whale from my friend Khanh Duc who lives in the U.K. She fell in love with it almost immediately-- you know, because of the whale-- and I had to get her the storybook just so we could find out what the story was actually about. Since then, it's become a solid favorite and regularly comes up in our nightly bedtime reading. It's a beautiful story about a tiny snail's immense wanderlust and how it ends up saving the life of the "great big grey-blue humpback whale" (Sophie's favorite line from the book...)

And so two months ago-- literally a week after we had just arrived back in Singapore-- when I found out that the Singapore Repertory Theatre was going to be putting up a production of the story in October, I jumped at the chance to get tickets. They are a little pricey, I have to say, and probably not something we can do on a regular basis, but Sophie (and us too) had a wonderful time, which made it so worth the while.

We only told her we were going to the play on Friday night-- she's at that age when telling her things too early in advance only frustrates her because her grasp of time is still sort of tenuous-- and it was the first thing she asked about yesterday morning when she woke up. She got washed up and had breakfast in record time and we didn't even have to ask her twice to wear her shoes (which usually takes her forever...) Nearly bursting with anticipation by that time, she still managed to make sure she brought her copy of The Snail and the Whale along and even wanted to bring her whale plush toy with her, but changed her mind in the end because she didn't want to lose it at the theatre.

And she had an awesome, awesome time :) The production company did a fantastic job keeping the play intimate, interactive (complete with squirting water at the audience!), and funny enough for a three-year-old to appreciate. They used the book as a metaphor for a more melancholic story of a daughter missing her seafaring father, which I don't think Sophie got, but that Jude and I kind of liked actually. Props were cleverly used (customized modular furniture were re-arranged to form the shape of the whale) but modestly and sparingly so it didn't get too overwhelming for the kids or distract from the story.

Super grainy picture from during the play

Sophie was entranced from beginning to end. She would periodically ask worriedly, "Is it ending yet?" and settled back in comfortably when we said no. And when the 55 minutes was over, she asked plaintively, "Can we watch it again?" like it was one of her beloved Kipper videos. We had to explain to her that a play involves real people acting 'live' and that you can't just watch it immediately again from the beginning, and promised to take her to more plays in the future. That seemed to satisfy and we spent the rest of the day talking about her favorite parts of the production (when the father-- the whale-- was tickling his daughter-- the snail) and the parts she didn't like so much (any parts involving crashing waves, thunder, or lightning).

We of course had to read the book before bed last night (and tonight too) and she actually started singing some of the lines in the book just as the actors did in the play. The story has gained greater resonance for her now that she connects it to a different context and we're glad she got that experience to enrich her already deep love for the book.

More photos here.

Up and down bus

You would have thought I had brought her on the most amazing carnival ride ever, or that we were sitting in a fancy space shuttle ready to take off on some fantastic journey. And to a three year old who until a week ago, had never seen a double-decker bus, sitting right in front on the upper deck probably elicits the same level of thrill and excitement :)

Sitting  right up front on the upper deck

Sophie calls it the "up and down bus" and we rode on it yesterday, fully intending to visit the library to get her a library card. But no, Sophie had such a wonderful time sitting where she was and seeing what she was seeing from the vantage point that there was no way she was getting off before she was ready. And so we ended up bypassing the library and taking the bus all the way to my parents' instead, 45 minutes away from our hotel. Thankfully it was all on the same bus line.

You should have seen and heard Sophie-

"We get to sit on a double-decker bus- that makes me smile!"

"You can call me Bus-driver Sophie! Hi! Nice to meet you!"

"Ok everybody, no squirming on the bus! Put your bottoms on the seat, please!"

"Oh look, Mama- the cars look like toys. And I'm on a giant bus!"

"Oh hi, Mr Bus-driver- thank you for taking me to my Por Por's house."

Throughout the ride, she alternated between pretending to drive the "upstairs bus" and hanging on to the edge of the window because something new caught her attention outside-- some billboard of some sort, an interesting looking building, the MRT train zooming close-by, etc. It was probably 45 of the most exciting minutes she's had in Singapore; and that made me smile. I'm glad Sophie is so curious about her new home and how open she is to all the new experiences and sensations. One day, she'll eventually take riding on a double-decker bus for granted-- just as many of us do-- but until then, I'm happy to just sit back, watch her revel in her newfound love for public transportation, and pray that it lasts for a long, long time :)

Exhilaration

Part of me was a little afraid that a year later, Sophie wouldn't enjoy the carnival as much as she did when it rolled into town last year. I was worried that being a year old and more aware of her emotions and anxieties, that she might be a little more apprehensive of the different sensory experiences of the rides and the carnival itself.

I was wrong :)

[Click to watch a flying spin ride as experienced by an almost three-year-old]

Field of dreams

Here's a thought experiment- think of something you really really love. Like really. Got that? Now imagine a roomful of it. You following? Okay, now imagine entire museum halls filled with nothing but life-size manifestations (albeit in skeletal form) of this object of love. Throw in a generous helping of pure toddler wonder and awe, and what you have is Sophie Yew at Chicago's absolutely brilliant Field Museum of Natural History.

It's quite something to be in the presence of 500-million years of evolutionary history- forces you to put your life in perspective a little and it's oddly humbling and inspiring both at the same time... Since nothing I write can describe the magnificence of the museum or how enthralled all three of us were by the exhibits, here are some photos instead:

"Woah, Mama..."

In front of Sue, the largest and most complete (80%)
Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton currently known. She is
67 million years old.

Sophie's favorite pterodactyl that she spotted the moment
we entered the Main Hall.

Sitting inside a dinosaur footprint :)

The Artic (no, that's not a typo...)

Talking with Sophie about Chagall's America Windows

It was one of those very special moments that I wanted to bottle up and preserve forever. Sophie will likely not have any memory of it when she grows up but I always will. And I will remind her of it as she gets older, that we once stood together in front of Chagall's America Windows at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Ever since I saw it in person in 2004, America Windows has been one of my favorite pieces of (public) art ever. I've always been a Chagall fan and have seen a few of his original artwork, but nothing quite prepares you for the stunning magnificence that is America Windows. Calling it stained glass is like calling the Taj Mahal a house- it's so much more than that. I only managed to see it twice before it was removed for restoration in 2005. It took 5 years of intensive conservation treatment and archival research before the windows returned in 2010 as the stunning centerpiece of a new presentation at the east end of the museum’s new wing. And the moment we walked into the Art Institute yesterday, I made a beeline straight to it with Sophie in tow.

And it took my breath away. Again. Sparkling, shimmering, glowing. I asked Sophie what she saw in the windows, which sections she liked, and I told her why it's one of my favorite pieces of art. It wasn't like I gave her a crash course in art history or anything- we just talked about the windows like we would talk about a picture in one of her storybooks- the colors, the "characters", what we thought was going on, how the images made us feel, etc.

In fact, that's how we spent the next hour or so at the Art Institute. Visiting the Art Institute was one of the first things we've done with Sophie that was more for Jude and I than it was for her. Usually, on our vacations, we'd stick to things Sophie enjoys-- the children's museum, the aquarium, parks, etc. But this time, we wanted to go to the Art Institute and we took it as an opportunity to share with her something we love.

And it turned out to be really fun. And funny. Trust almost-three year olds to be the harshest art critics. The Art Institute was having a Roy Lichtenstein retrospective which was great- we thought Sophie might enjoy Pop Art a little more than say, the Impressionists. Sophie had very honest-- and VOCAL-- opinions about several of the pieces that caught her eye. "Why is the lady not wearing a diaper?", she asked, as we stood in front of Frolic (which prompted the woman next to us to say, "You must write this down in her baby book- how precious!"); "Oooh... I like hotdog. But I like it with ketchup, not mustard." (Hot Dog with Mustard); "I like some spaghetti too!" (Ball of Twine); and my favorite, "Why is the lady crying? Maybe she's in the shower. I think she has shampoo in her eyes." (Drowning Girl). Like I said, it was loud and hilarious :)

We had a wonderful time even though we obviously didn't visit all the exhibits. We're actually looking forward to some local and regional art when we move back to Singapore. Jude and I really enjoyed the National Museum of Singapore after it reopened a while back and I have a feeling Sophie might too. Here's to more museums to discover and explore together!

Farm in the city

When people think of Detroit, they think of cars, urban blight, Eminem, and maybe casinos. If you ask Sophie about Detroit though, she'll tell you that's where farms are, and where you hang out with chickens and collect eggs. That's what happens when you bring an almost three-year-old to visit your friends who live in Detroit who have turned the abandoned lots next to their apartment complex into a wonderful cornucopia of fresh vegetables, healthy happy chickens that lay eggs everyday, and of bustling bees that help with pollination and also produce a modest amount of honey.

Talking to Rachel about the chickens

Trond and Rachel have painstakingly turned what was otherwise another prairie-zed piece of land into a precious gem that is just teeming with life. Sophie spent the evening feeding mulberries to the clucking chickens and learned about all the different baby plants (squash, tomato, chives, lettuce, potato, etc.) that would soon bear fruit and vegetables. I think it was good for her to see the effort that goes into growing and cultivating the food that makes it to our table and to recognize that food doesn't just come from the store or the market.

Helping to feed the chickens

She was particularly thrilled to be able to help collect the freshly laid eggs and put them carefully into a carton for us to take home. It occurred to us that since she can't actually eat the eggs because of her allergies, it's the closest contact she can probably have with eggs for now :)

She can't eat them, but she sure knows how to pack 'em!

We made the eggs for dinner tonight, as part of "Breakfast for Dinner"- the country bacon was from our new favorite artisan sausage store, Biercamp, and the potato and fennel were from the farmers market. It was about as local and farm-fresh as they come and it was as soul-satisfying as it was delicious :)

Country bacon, farm fresh eggs, roasted potato and fennel

[More pictures here]

Princess Duckweed of Black Pond

There were no eggs or rabbits or chocolate for Sophie on Easter Sunday, but there was lots of walking in forests and among trees (nope, no bunnies there either...). With the Hands-on-Museum and YMCA closed for Easter, our usual Sunday afternoon plans were pretty much shot; but we knew the one place that would always be open and that Sophie enjoys is the Leslie Science Center. The trails and raptor enclosures are opened all year round from dawn to dusk and since it was too beautiful spring day to squander indoors, we decided to do a little impromptu hike.



Sophie's never gone on a hike before and I wasn't sure how she'd take to all the walking. But it would seem that we have a little woodland nymph on our hands and she walked through the woods like she'd be doing it all her life. We took a mile-long trail through the Black Pond Woods towards Black Pond and she never once asked to be picked up. She was too busy picking up sticks, looking at insects, and trying to sit on fallen logs or tree stumps. It was really quite wonderful to see her enjoy herself so much :)



But what she really loved was sitting on the bridge at Black Pond and stirring the duckweeds around with a huge stick. We were literally there for close to 45 minutes, basking in the quiet of the woods, watching her play, listening to her little running narrative about catching us fish for dinner and cooking it in black soup. She even said to us, "I don't want to go home. I want to stay here, please?" We were compelled to ceremoniously crown her Princess Duckweed of Black Pond :)



We promised her that we would come back often and that Black Pond wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon (we didn't tell her that it probably dries up in the hot summer months, though...). We then took a shorter half-mile route back to the science center and by that time, it was obvious that woodland nymphs get tired too...



It thrills us that Sophie doesn't really need fancy toys or gadgets to amuse herself. Give her a stick, some duckweed, sit her by a pond, and then let her imagination do the rest :)

It doesn't matter what the climate

A beach is a beach whether it's almost freezing cold in Saugatuck, Michigan or tropical humidity in Changi Point, Singapore...

For picking up sand and shells

For playing with sticks

And for pictures with Mama...

Life's a happy song

I guess technically, it's not really Sophie's first movie (see here), but I doubt she has any memory of herself at 9 months old, so as far as she's concerned, she went to her first movie today :) We've building up her excitement for The Muppets movie since showing her the Mahna Mahna video and app and so when she woke up this morning, the first thing she said was, "I so excited! I go to the theatre and watch mahna mahna!"

We knew ahead of time that there was going to be a sensory-sensitive screening of the movie early in the morning and so had already bought advanced tickets. These screenings are specially designed for young kids or children with autism or ADHD which means that the house lights are left on and the sound volume lowered so that children aren't scared and/or overstimulated. Also, the theatre informs everyone before the show begins that during this screening, the audience is free to sing along or move about, which is just perfect for the little ones.

And because of that, Sophie had a blast of a time without even coming close to a toddler meltdown as we had feared. There were parts of the movie during which we had to let her walk up and down the steps or run along the seats but she wasn't fussy or noisy, and no one minded at all since that was the whole point of the special screening. She loved the big song-and-dance sequences and didn't need any prompting to start dancing and bopping along when they happened. And she was completely mesmerized when her favorite "Rainbow Collection" came on, basically sitting still in her seat, watching the screen in pure awe. And by the end of the grand finale, she even gave a huge applause and a loud cheer :)

1. During previews, 2. She just bounced off her seat and started dancing along, 3. At the edge of her seat. Literally. , 4. Mesmerized during "Rainbow Connection"

As for Jude and I, we grew up with the Muppets and loved that we were reminded of the self-depreciating, affectionately clever humor of the characters. Then there was the army of cameos from celebrities like Feist, Sarah Silverman, Neil Patrick Harris, Emily Blunt, David Grohl, Jim Parsons, etc., that we had a field day identifying. Most importantly though, it was the deliriously infectious soundtrack that had us completely sold. Three songs were written by Bret McKenzie of Flight of the Conchords fame so we knew we weren't in for run-of-the-mill kiddie movie songs. Bouncy, fun, but also witty and sort of deadpan in true Flight of the Conchords style, till this morning, all three of us are still humming the theme song from the movie, "Life's a Happy Song". In fact, as Sophie was moseying about her play yard setting up a pretend picnic, I overheard her singing, "...everything is great, everything is grand..." over and over again ;) Listen for yourself and I dare you not to start tapping your toes to what is surely to become the next great Muppet song.

You know what, listen to the entire soundtrack. You won't regret it, I promise.

Pumpkin patch kid

Click for album

I guess we could have just walked into the supermarket and bought a pumpkin for Halloween, but what would be the fun in that? No walking amidst pumpkins of Brobdingnagian proportions in the blustery autumn wind; no watching Sophie try to stay standing on said pumpkins and then laugh at herself for losing her balance; and no seeing her try to hug, push, shove, carry, hide behind, and climb over those crazy giant pumpkins.

Visiting the pumpkin farm was as much an experience for Sophie as it was for us. She got to go on a hayride round the farm which she really enjoyed while Jude and I marveled at how incredibly ginormous the pumpkins were. I mean, Sophie could barely see over the top of some of the really big ones! At what point of the evolutionary process was it advantageous for pumpkins to grow this big??? All the better to be harvested and carved? I don't think Sophie appreciated the sheer size of those things- right now, I have a feeling that as far as she's concerned, those pumpkins are how real pumpkins look and the "regular" ones at the store are probably miniature in her mind :)

"I love you, pumpkin."

An apple a day

Eating her weight in apples

It couldn't have been a more beautiful Fall day for the quintessential Michigan apple-picking experience- sunny, crisp, and just chilly enough to make fresh donuts and warm cider the perfect treat after all that walking and foraging. The Cooks, Cooneys, Sophie and I (Jude was doing a bike tour in Detroit) visited Wasem Fruit Farm where the Fall picking season had just begun two weeks ago. MacIntoshes, Cortlands, Jonathans, and Honey Crisps were ripe for the picking and Sophie for one, couldn't wait to sink her teeth in almost each and every apple she managed to either pick from the tree or off the ground.

Chomp chomp chomp

She had a wonderful time running about with the big kids, stomping through the apple trees, crawling under the foliage for lower-hanging fruit, and just basically reveling in the experience of being able to pick something off a tree and then putting it straight into your mouth without having Mama take it away from you because it wasn't edible (for instance, a quarter or a bulb syringe...) It didn't matter that her pants were getting wet from the dew-damp grass or that she kept falling over the apples strewn all over the ground- she could RUN and there were apples to be eaten, and that was what mattered :)

There were raspberries too and those were even more fun for Sophie because unlike most of the apples which were too high for her to pick on her own, the raspberry bushes were the perfect height for her to look at, touch, and pick.

Sweet raspberries

Squishing it in her hands

Sophie also had apple cider for the first time. I wish she could experience fully the whole warm-donut-with-hot-cider-after-apple-picking experience, but she didn't seem too bothered that everyone was having donuts except her. I think she was just happy to have done something new, fun, and exciting. And the fresh cider was also probably tasty enough to distract her from the fact that she didn't get to have any fried dough.

More importantly though, she got to spend time with friends (both the kids and grown-ups) and so couple that with being out in the wide open orchard with copious amounts of apple literally within her reach, it was just the most perfect way for a two-year-old to spend a beautiful Fall morning.

Julianne and Finn- the best babysitters-in-training ever!

More pictures here.

HomeGrown Ann Arbor

Usually, it takes Sophie about 20 minutes or so to fall asleep. She lies in her crib and me on the futon next to it- I tell her stories, or she rattles on about everything and anything that goes through her precious little mind (last night, she pretended that her teddy bear had a poopy diaper and enacted the entire diaper-changing routine, complete with asking me for wipe wipes, diaper cream, and a clean diaper...). But tonight, her head barely hit the mattress and I think she was out like a light, although not before declaring, "I'm happy, Mama. Are you happy?" :)

And that's because we had just spent the last 2 hours at the HomeGrown Festival in Kerrytown. Basically a celebration of local farmers, growers, food purveyors, and makers of all things local, it was a wonderful event filled with good food, music, dancing, and just a vibrant atmosphere of community and cheer. Whether it's turkey, tomatoes, or tofu, all the ingredients used by the vendors came from local farms (see links to specific farms here) and so there was a definite sense that we were supporting the people who grow our food. Between Jude and I, we shared duck confit and BBQ brisket sandwiches from Tracklements and a chicken/chorizo/okra stew from Grange- astoundingly good. Sophie wasn't as concerned about the food (although she didn't complain about her slice of vegan pizza and chocolate chip cookie) and alternated between riding on my back on the Ergo and running around with Jude. What she enjoyed most- the dancing :) There was a music stage set up and different local bands played throughout the night. Sophie LOVED the music and spent most of the night twirling, spinning, jumping, hopping- basically grooving to everything that was playing. She especially liked Saints of Soul playing James Brown- in the words of Jude, "She's getting her mind blown by Soul..." :) She-- and her parents-- was also enthralled by The Appleseed Collective, an Americana-jazz-folk foursome whom we've actually heard playing at Selma Cafe when my parents were here over Christmas. A little gypsy, a little dixie, they've got a wonderfully eclectic sound that got all three of us quite smitten. This video doesn't do them any justice but Jude felt compelled to record down a little of what we were enjoying (not in video- Sophie kicking her feet and bobbing her head to the music as she sat on my back on the Ergo):



Speaking of all things local, today was our first pick-up from Harvest Kitchen, a prepared foods CSA that we just signed up for. Two years ago, we signed up for a farmshare with Tantré Farms (see here), and while it was a great experience, it also got a little overwhelming during those weeks when we were just overloaded with too much produce (there's only so much sweet peppers I can handle over a 2 week period, or all those tomatoes and basil!...) What Harvest Kitchen does is to get around that by preparing meals for you using the same locally-sourced, organic, and sustainably-grown ingredients you might otherwise have gotten through your CSA. Everything on their menu comes from local farms so you know that you're supporting community agriculture. Every week, you get enough food for about 3 to 4 meals which really helps us since both Jude and I both now have full-time positions and making good, healthy dinners has become tricky business. We're hoping that with Harvest Kitchen, we now need only to plan dinners for a few nights per week, or make something simple (like a carb or salad dish) to augment what we've gotten from them. Best of all, the food tastes like what we would make for ourselves anyway- curries, stews, pasta, soups, etc. We didn't get a full share last week but we did buy a portion of lamb curry which was delicious. You could tell that it was definitely homemade- the flavors were fresh, delicate, not too salty/sweet/aggressive like what you would get at a restaurant, and there was the plus of knowing that everything came from Michigan growers. This week, our full share consists of black bean corn salsa, chicken chili, baked beans with pork, verde rolls, beef and potato stew, and corn griddle cakes.

Our share this week

Every week is inspired by a different cuisine-- 2 weeks ago was Italian, last week was Indian, and this week's Southwestern. We haven't tried anything from this week's share yet, but as I packed the food into the fridge (photos here), I got really excited just reading the labels of what each box contains.

And it's things like this-- and like HomeGrown-- that make us grateful for Ann Arbor :)

What $25 buys

8 cups of Tall iced vanilla latte at Starbucks

2 movie tickets (weekend) and a medium Coke

1 (yes, one, as in half a pair) Toms Red Classics

This skirt

A hunk of fancy cheese and some organic strawberries at Whole Foods

The complete second (and best) season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer

2 priceless hours of fun at the Ann Arbor Summer Carnival where your daughter-- you may call her Sophie the Fearless-- went on several rides by herself, including one which involved being in an elevated "helicopter" the whole time. Did I mention that she took that ride THREE times? By herself? Alone? You could not find a happier kid at the carnival that day :)


1. Yes, it went up that high..., 2. She was so excited to be riding by herself, 3. Jumping Jumbos, 4. First ride by herself

Day at the museum

1. Excited flapping hands :), 2. How big a mastodons leg is, 3. "Row, row, row...", 4. Kneeling for a better look at the wild-life dioramas. , 5. Dada showing here where on the globe we are, 6. Sophie wanted to touch the owl badly

I don't know what took us so long to finally make our way to the Exhibit Museum of Natural History which is right on central campus and a ten minute drive from us. I guess we thought Sophie wasn't big enough to appreciate the exhibits. But oh is she ready now...

Ever since downloading all the various Night and Day Studio apps for the iPhone/iPad, Sophie has come to know her animals very well. She can pick them out in a group, name them, and most of the time, imitate the sound they make. Add to that her odd penchant for dinosaurs (it started with an episode of Harold and the Purple Crayon...) and you have an 18-month old who was raring to go when we told her we were going to the museum to see dinosaurs and animals. All the way to the museum, she kept saying "dinosauce, dinosauce" (that's how her dinosaurs comes out) over and over... until we actually walked into the dinosaur exhibit area where she promptly clammed up, grabbed our hands, and refused to let go for the longest time. See, the thing is, methinks our daughter likes the idea of animals; it's an exciting notion, conceptually. But bring her anywhere near them (or in this case, their skeletons or a stuffed version of them) and she gets a little nervous... For all her hellion bravado, she's a little scaredy cat inside :)

She did eventually warm up though and had just a fantastic time scuttering from one exhibit to the next. She was enthralled by the large dinosaur displays but was probably still a little intimidated by them to appreciate their spectacular majesty (truly, they were awesome...). But she absolutely loved the wildlife dioramas-- from squirrels to ducks, rabbits to owls-- she wanted to look at each and every one (and touch them too of course, failing which, kissing the glass panels was the next best thing).

Sophie's not going to remember much of what we did today-- not in the long run any way-- but we'd like to think that we gave her something to see, think and talk about today and maybe tomorrow. And for an 18-month old, that's probably more than we can ask for.

[Rest of photos here.]

Not quite Tom Hanks in Big...

... but close enough :)

Thursdays with Mama

Thursdays are my days with Sophie and we've gotten a nice routine down every week. In the mornings, after a leisurely breakfast, we go to the library for story time at 10.30. It's only a 30 minute session but there's music, singing, and props that go with the story and Sophie really enjoys it (which she shows by sitting really still in my lap the whole time-- a remarkable feat for her, hands on her own lap, transfixed by Story Time Lady). They then take out toys for the children to play with and we hang around for another 45 minutes or so, and then borrow a couple of books before we head home for lunch. Sophie takes her one nap at around 12.30 and usually sleeps till 2.00 or a little after.

And then, it's mommy group time. Since she was 5 months old, Thursday afternoons have been spent with our mommy group, which started in January as a Lamaze-organized thing. The group met through Lamaze till May and then we took a break over summer. I missed them when we were in California- even though we only met once a week, we saw our babies through some of their most important developmental milestones-- sitting up, solids, teething, crawling, standing up, etc.-- and we had all become good friends (I'd like to think so did our babies). And so when I came back in September, we all made it a point to continue meeting during our usual time. During those warmer weeks in September and October, we met at different parks around Ann Arbor, and now that it's getting cooler, our default meeting place has become the Hands-on Museum, a wonderful, wonderful space for children of all ages. Today though, we broke from our routine and met at My Urban Toddler instead, an indoor play-area for infants and toddlers in Saline, a 20-minute drive away. It's not as big as the Hands-on Museum but it was still very nice- with different rooms (like a Library, the Market, the Fire Station, Fine Arts corner, and a Kitchen) all stocked with props and playthings for the best kind of imaginative play possible. Sophie had fun pretending to cut up fruits and vegetables, pushing dolls around in baby umbrella strollers, and also discovered her musical side:



I love my Thursdays with Sophie- even through that last insane leg of my dissertation-writing, Thursdays were sacrosanct days where I did no work as long as Sophie was awake. On Thursdays, I'm all hers.

How to be a good dinner guest

Last night, we celebrated our friend's Rick's birthday with dinner at the Common Grill in Chelsea. Because of Sophie's bedtime and the fact that Chelsea's about a 25 minute-drive away, we had early reservations, at 5pm. And as we sat through dinner-- drinks, appetizers, salad, entrees, small-talk and all-- it occurred to both of us how we took for granted that Sophie would be OK through it all. And she was. She sat in her high-chair dutifully, played with the crayons and coloring paper she was given; started eating her pasta, carrots and fish-sticks while we looked at our menus; occupied herself by starring around the restaurant, smiling and flirting with the waiting staff while we put in our orders and had appetizers; fed herself fistfuls of strawberries when the salads arrived; and happily jabbed and swooshed away on the iPad when we ate our entrees. Give her some oyster crackers (thanks one of the many waitresses who fell in love with her) at the end while we chatted and settled the bill, and Sophie was the absolute paragon of perfect toddlerhood. She didn't whine, never fussed, patted Jude or I on the arm when she wanted some attention and kisses, but then always went back to whatever she was doing. And at the end of dinner when I carried her out of her highchair and let her walk around the restaurant a little, an elderly couple who was sitting at the table next to ours sweetly said, "She's a doll!" I beamed with such pride... :)

Maybe it's because she's so used to sitting at the table with us as we all have dinner together, or because we literally take her everywhere we go that she's accustomed to sometimes having meals outside, but we've never had to worry that Sophie won't do well in restaurants. From simple diners and cafes to white tablecloth places like the Common Grill or Cafe Zola, as long as Sophie has her own food that she can feed herself with, the iPad or her favorite books to flip through, and her Mama and Dada within arm's reach, she's a happy camper. We've learned to quit while we're ahead though and having appetizers and entrees is just about as much as Sophie can take. No desserts for us. We attempted to do that while we celebrated my defense at Cafe Zola and that probably stretched her attention span a little more than she was capable of tolerating. We only narrowly managed to avert a mini public meltdown by distracting her with taking a walk outside.

But now we know better- secrets to a successful meal out with a 15-month old: a good afternoon nap, a variety of finger foods, good media for distraction, some good old fashioned love and attention from Dada and Mama, and splitting the joint after the main course. Priceless :)

We are ladies who do lunch... with an attitude.

The defense is 4 weeks away. Thinking about it makes me want to throw up. But Thursdays are Sophie days and I don't think about the dissertation. We just hang out and do things like take goofy photos with the iPhone during lunch.

Just because we can :)

Family rolls into town and the Ferry Building rocks!

It was the first time Sophie had seen night since we were home in Singapore in December (which I don't think she remembers). And so when we stepped out into the street last night at 8.30pm, our daughter was literally in awe, make "Woah" sounds and squealing in delight at the twinkling city lights and strange interesting shadows bouncing off everywhere. On any other day, she would have been asleep by now but last night was special and she got a rare glimpse of life past sunset.

My aunt Veronica and Uncle Han were on a 13-hour transit in SFO enroute home to Singapore from Vegas and I was beside myself with excitement to see them! We've always been really close and it was so wonderful that she had planned her trip such that we would be able to meet up, even for a few hours. They're real foodies-- my uncle owns a seafood restaurant in Singapore-- and we could think of no better place to take them than our favorite place for good noshing in San Francisco, the Ferry Building. We figured it would be a better choice than say a sit-down restaurant since the Ferry Building has a wide variety of merchants and vendors from which to sample food as well do some foodie shopping. Being by the water helps too, and on a gorgeous, gorgeous Saturday afternoon no less. And it did not disappoint.


It was truly something special, sitting on the patio of the Ferry Building with family, basking in the sun and breeze of a typical San Franciscan day. And to make it even more special, try having some of the freshest seafood the country has to offer while you're at it. We're talking sweet, briny, succulent Sweetwater oysters from the Hog Island Oyster Co. and clam chowder like you've never seen before.


None of that gloppy, starchy stuff you get elsewhere, this is the clam chowder dreams are made of- delicate, light, but still oh so rich and delicious. And to add to that, a stunningly simple but peerless grilled cheese sandwich made with cave-aged gruyère, creamy fromage blanc, and a sweetly spicy mezzo secco from a local cheesemaker. Although the Hog Island Oyster Co. is famous for its oysters, its sleeper hit is its grilled-cheese sandwich.

But the whole point of going to the Ferry Building isn't to eat at just one place, is it? And my aunt had already declared that she wanted to sample food from at least four restaurants if possible! We weren't quite that accomplished but we did manage to get an outside table (again, yay!) at The Slanted Door, serving Vietnamese-fusion cuisine. It's crab and cellophane noodles is on the list of 100 Things to Eat in San Francisco Before You Die (a list which, by the way, we're taking quite seriously...) and so we thought it was as good an opportunity as any to check another thing off our list. The food was pretty impressive all round but the one dish that really stood out and made all our tastebuds sing was the grilled pork sausage stuffed Monterey squid with cilantro, basil, chili and lime.


Don't let how it looks fool you- it's not the prettiest dish you'll see (I personally think the colours are crazy awesome), but man it tasted phenomenal. Scorched-grilled and tender on the outside, succulent and flavorful on the inside; and that amazing sauce! It was so good Uncle Han's already making plans to recreate this in his restaurant (that and a raw bar inspired by Hog Island)

Sophie did pretty well throughout dinner. She was antsy, of course, because she wasn't allowed to roam and crawl every- and anywhere she wanted; but with enough puffs, blueberries, and pain epi from the Acme Bread Company, she could be persuaded (ok, bribed...) to sit still. Jude and I also took turns to carry her around, where she promptly did one (or more) of the following: 1) squawked "Dok!" to every moving creature (bird, dog, fish) she saw; 2) yelled "Mama!" so loudly I'm sure everyone along the Embarcadero could hear her, and 3) waved, smiled, and gestured at anyone who would give her the time of day.


At the end of the day though, delectable food aside, it was just plain wonderful to spend the day with my aunt and uncle (even if it meant a cranky, grumpy baby who only got to bed 2 hours past her bedtime). We're a tight-knit family and being away from them is one of the suckiest things about being here. But being with my aunt and uncle yesterday and watching them dote and fawn over Sophie (who really couldn't have been more charming if she wanted to) made the suckiness go away a little. Just a little.