Alice

The first stuffed Mole (think children's stuffed animal, not something in the Museum of Natural History) I ever saw was in England -- which I thought was hilarious, but actually makes perfect sense given the Wind In The Willows was written there by Charles Grahame in 1908.

As a reminder, the Mole was a mild-mannered, home-loving animal, who was initially overwhelmed by the hustle and bustle of riverside life, but eventually adapted to it.

I came across the second stuffed Mole a couple weeks ago. This one was super cute and made by a company in France to help "rediscover the traditions of our grandmothers." I saw it, loved it and couldn't stop thinking about it - so now Chase has a stuffed Mole named Alice.

*And yes, it is yet another example of how difficult it is to find children's toys that look like the real thing. The Mole is close, except he has glasses and little sweater. But I figure Moles aren't known for their vision and if there's one thing I learned in England, it's always good to have an extra layer.

Learning To Read

Mission Impossible

When I was a little girl I loved pink. So much so that I convinced my parents (who were such good sports) to let me paint my bedroom walls a bright, glossy pink. The trim, I decided, had to be glossy purple. I loved that room.

When I found out I was having a little girl, I was so excited. I started thinking about what comes with raising a little girl - and wondered to myself what comes naturally, and what is imposed on little girls by society (this gets scary when one really thinks about it -- especially when one has a background in PR and media).

So I decided to try to hold off on pushing societal norms on Chase as long as possible -- to do so, I broke down my plan into four parts:

Part 1: I was determined to dress her in green and yellow from a young age so she didn't have any forced association to the color pink

Part 2: I would bypass dolls as long as possible and offer stuffed animals instead

Part 3: I would avoid gender-biased toys (little ovens would be replaced with butterfly nets and chemistry sets).

Part 4: I wanted to provide Chase with as many natural looking toys as possible - so no make-believe animals (pink rabbits, yellow bears).

Five months in to my plan and I'm finding it exceedingly difficult for the following reasons:

Part 1: 99.9999% of children's clothes are pink or blue. Any green or yellow clothing usually has funky colored butterflies, flowers, etc. Plus, I've realized that when one has an entire wardrobe that is pink, it is super easy to change out dirty clothes quickly because they all match.

Part 2: Working so far, but I don't hold out much hope. I think I should probably start picking my battles and just try to steer her towards Groovy Girls and away from Bratz.

Part 3: So far, so good.

Part 4: I feel utterly defeated. It is simply not possible to find real looking animals, mobiles, etc. Plus, I didn't realize that you wipe out fairies, gnomes, etc.

Ah well.

Heidiland

It's funny because it's true.

Zurich Street Parade

Once a year Zurich goes WILD. I passed on taking Chase down into the madness; Brian braved the crowd to get these pictures for the blog.

Weekend Away: Klosters

We decided to spend the weekend in Klosters, a well-known ski resort close to Davos.

Recognizable to Britons as the favoured winter getaway of Prince Charles, Klosters sits about 9km northeast of Davos. Klosters is peaceful and quiet, with lovely dark-wood chalets and a village atmosphere.

Klosters is a destination in the Summer for hikers, bikers and outdoor types. There are magnificent vistas from cable cars and gorgeous Alpine hikes. We were lucky enough to be offered keys to a friend's place. The drive out was beautiful. We were so looking forward to a weekend away.

When we got there the clouds and rain set in (which is why half the pictures are in color and half are in black and white). We ended up only spending one night, as it was quite chilly and wet, wet, wet outside. We headed home a day early ...















Small mountain town:















View from the apartment:















Out on the town (we had about 15 mins between rain storms):

Daddy's Little Girl

The Kiddie Park

I have taken a real liking to the local kiddie park. It's filled with mums and kids of all ages. It's a large green park with a sandbox, a wading pool, swings, play structure, etc. I find it extremely entertaining to watch people there (an inexpensive, amusing way to spend a day). Following are some of the characters I've come across. I really wanted to take pictures but it just wasn't appropriate. Maybe I should look into secret spy gear.

The man with the orange nike sneakers (white swoosh): Looks like a secret agent. Mousy. Dark glasses. Mysterious. Looks around constantly, as if to see if anyone is watching him. Pushes stroller to a bench, sits down, looks around. Reaches into stroller. Pulls out a newspaper. (I'm wondering if there is a baby in there or if he is a pedophile). Looks around. Nervous. Reaches into his pocket and pulls out cigarettes. Starts smoking. (Are his hands shaking?) Looks around. Reads paper (pulling up paper high to cover his face). Still smoking. Baby cries (so there is a baby in there after all). He extinguishes his cigarette. Picks up the baby. Takes off his glasses. Coos and kisses baby. Behaves like normal, loving father for about 5 mins. Then puts baby back in stroller. Glasses back on. Paper goes back into stroller. He looks around again. Pushes baby in stroller out of the park. (I haven't seen him since)

The family with red scarf hats: Three women. Seven children, all with red scarves for hats. Brian thinks it's a way for three women, with separate husbands, to keep track of their kids. I think it's a way for three women, with one husband, to keep track of their kids.


The pregnant man: okay, so he's not really pregnant. But the first thing I saw was two expecting women, pushing strollers, and then just behind them came a man with a bit of a gut, pushing a stroller. Hence, I have dubbed him the pregnant man.


The naked circus performer: A boy about 10 years old. Buck naked. On the swing set. First sitting normally, then getting adventurous and twisting his body about so his feet are up in the air, his back arched on the seat of the swing, his head so low that his hair just sweeps the ground.


And those are just a few...

*Nike orange shoe photo is courtesy of www.commotionworld.com
*Photo of red scarf woman from www.allparty.co.uk
*Beer belly photo from abc.net.au
*Swings picture from Cirque du Soleil

The "Crib"

After doing quite a bit of research on cribs, I decided to move forward with the "Montessori bed" (a mattress, on the floor, with no rails).

I thought the concept was a good one (although it terrifies some people I know). The child has full visibility and complete freedom of movement. When the child wakes up, she can amuse herself by exploring her room or playing with her toys. This approach is supposed to foster independence and creativity in the child.

As the child gets older, you slowly increase the distance between the bed and the floor.

Note: The key to "Montessori bed" success is your ability to childproof.

Play Time

I never used to understand why I stopped receiving pictures of my friends after they had children. It was like my friends just dissapeared. While I have certainly enjoyed watching their children grow, I have always wished they would send more pictures of them.

Now I'm beginning to understand.

Exhausted. Dark circles under the eyes from lack of sleep. Wish I could lose just 5 more lbs. And the baby is just so darn cute...

Future Pen Pals?

Addy Hall (London, England)
*Made possible by John and Allison Hall
*Special thanks to Addy for the donation of her stylish newborn - six month wardrobe











Damien and Sophia Berry (Boston, MA)
*Made possible by Jeff and Gabriella Berry









Mitchell and Calvin Carswell (Boston, MA)
*Made possible by Allison and Craig Carswell











Jack and Olivia Donahue (Boston, MA)
*Made possible by Victoria and Jeffery Donahue















Callia Ward (London, England)
*Made possible by Isaac and Elaina Ward













Bianca and Alexa Daly (Boston, MA)
*Made possible by Albert and Nayla Daly
**Bianca was born just hours before Chase!















Colby Carstons (London, England)
*Made possible by Anne-Marie and John Carstons











Charlie Howell (Portland, Oregon)
*Made possible by Sarah and Andrew Howell




















Maura and Carter Alfrey (Portland, Oregon)
*Made possible by Whitney and Matt Alfrey















Felix Bond-Roberts (London, England)
*Made possible by Emma Bond and Emerson Roberts












And more to come ....

> Sarah and Zack Jarvis (30 November 2006)
> Chrisanne and Jason Gayl (31 December 2006)
> Jenny and Charles Turner (31 December 2006)
> Lynn Lawrence Brown (January 2007)

Choices

Chase has started making her own decisions.

What to wear... (purple pants with flowers)
Which toy she wants... (stuffed puppy dog)

One thing we're still not sure about is which hand she will choose to use. She swings easily between left and right - and likes to use both when possible.

On The Move

Zurich Fountains

The water here is so clean you can drink from any city fountain - and the fountains are beautiful!

Best Friends

If you look closely you will see that she has grabbed Dagney and is holding on tight!

Time With Daddy