2012 year in review

2012. Man, what a year! There were some sad times, like when my grandmother passed away, but there were also so many good times. For starters, 2012 is my proudest year to date: it was the year of Maxwell, the year that I saw him grow from a wee baby to a little man of one year. So, not surprisingly, many of the moments in 2012 that I consider the most memorable include a lil chub. Oh, and food. What can I say? Some things will never change, no matter what year it is. Happy New Year! Signing off with my last post of 2012 . . . see you in 2013! 

xx Jamie

The Nutcracker, puppet style

Part of our Christmas festivities in town included taking Max to see the holiday classic, The Nutcracker. Instead of ballerinas though, festively-crafted marionettes and costume characters took over the stage. We were ten minutes late, because we had driven right past the location, not realizing that The Puppet Co. is actually deep inside a park. (Us "city folk" have to remember that not everything is visible right off the street over here!) I'm so proud of Max who sat through a 50-minute production, so well-behaved and engaged in the music and show (and not scared of the dark theater either!), even though the production is geared towards children older than four years of age.

Panda bear, rrrr!

This little knit panda hat that we picked up at a street market in Russia years ago (pre-baby!) finally made its way out of the closet and onto Max's adorable head last weekend. Rrrrrr!

Christmas 2012

This is Max's second Christmas. What a delight it was to get our first snow on Christmas Eve, and then again the morning after Christmas. Everything was still and peaceful and white for just a bit, before it all turned to slush. Max opened one gift in the morning and then we walked to the park in the Christmas Car, Max in his jammies. Here are some pics from Christmas day.

Tips for Christmas cheer, by Maxwell

First playdates in Maryland!

There are firsts for everything, right? I've finally hooked up Max with some people his own size and set up his first playdates here in Maryland. Been working the mommy connections out here as best as I can––including "picking up" a momma and her same age daughter at the bookstore. I also went to my first mom's happy hour meetup in Rockville, where I enjoyed a warm bowl of mussels in white wine and had (the usual) mommy convos. Here are some cute photos of our little porker with new pals. Thanks to our friend, Lee-Jah, for the last two of Max stuffing his face with Chinese sticky rice! Priceless.

The calm before Christmas

I'm convinced that the softest and snuggliest of shirts belong to men. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it has something to do with just the right combination of oversized fit and lived-in feel. And the man scent is pretty delicious, too. That's why I've lately taken to taking The Fella's sweaters. It's like a secret stash of new clothes just waiting for me, without the price tag. I almost got away with it, unnoticed.

Freddy's Lobster + Clams

A couple weekends ago, we ate at Freddy's Lobster + Clams in downtown Bethesda. And by "ate," I mean stuffed our faces. Even little Max. He was the worst of us all. So demanding, that lil porker, he wouldn't stop signing "Eat!" and "More!" all meal long. We fed him what we ate––Maple Black Pepper Wings, Lobster Mac 'n Cheese, and the most delicious Buttery Lobster Roll which was every bit as good as the one I had made by the executive chef of RL the restaurant! 

It's playtime!

Remember when I said I really needed to branch out from Barnes and Noble and find Max something new to do? So I took him to an open play hour at MusiKids in Bethesda last week, hoping to socialize with other babies and moms. We were the only ones there! Unbelievable. In Chicago, there would have been at least 20 other moms and babes, easy. I refuse to believe that there are no other SAHMs in an area that is allegedly "so wonderful" for raising families, so, I'll just chalk this one time up to it being an unseasonably warm day and everyone else must be outside playing, right?! Nevertheless, Max and I doled out our seven bucks to play by ourselves and we had fun making music together in this wide, open room of ours.

Winter showers

When I first moved to Bethesda, I was surprised by how casual everyone dresses, particularly within the subdivision neighborhood where I live. In Chicago, you might spot the occasional 20-something walking the dog in a logo'd tee (or last night's outfit, cough), but mostly, people in the city got dressed to go outside. As in, changed out of their pjs/sweats/hoodies, and put on real clothes to go about their day. So, here in my charming, new neighborhood, I constantly find myself to be the only person "dressed up." And if by dressing up, we mean pulling on a pair of easy colored denim, cheery red boots and a slick spring rain jacket, then let's call it a day. Now, was that so hard?

Last weekend, succinctly

Last weekend, this weekend, it's all starting to feel the same to me. But, we did have a nice Shanghai Chinese lunch with our friends in Rockville, and then took our little Stay-Puft Man to a Winter Wonderland thing in Bethesda. It was small, taking up literally one teeny tiny triangular intersection, with just some lonely ice sculptures and a few vendors passing out cookies for the kiddos. Sadly, but not completely surprising I must say, it was nothing like the festivals and community events in Chicago. Oh well. I know I'm supposed to talk about how wonderful it was to make new memories with Max out here––and this it was!––but I also can't help but wish there was more of a scene, more diversity, more options, more livelihood, around here. Although, seeing the look of wonder on Max's face as he looked up at his very first ice gingerbread man, was priceless.

Choo-choo!

I've been taking Max to Barnes & Noble as my go-to place here in Maryland. Being unfamiliar with the area, plus living in suburbia, there don't seem to be quite as many options as in Chicago. As it turns out, Max LOVES the bookstore! This one has a Kids' NOOK center, so he can swipe all the interactive touch screens he wants! The kids section upstairs is large and wide open, with plenty of books for him to pull down, for Mommy to put back, for Max to pull down . . . and it also has a train table, yea! Wily kids must be pocketing Thomas and his buddies because there was but one lone train that day. He really likes it when I go "Chugga chugga, choo-choo" with the train. He thinks I'm saying "Chew chew chew," something The Fella recently taught him to do, because he starts opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

Post-Thanksgiving

"What is Thanksgiving without a side of drama and pie?
Pumpkin, of course." –
Blair, on Gossip Girl tonight

Fortunately there was no drama here. Just the way I like it. I hosted the in-laws in our new home, picked up a delicious turkey dinner from the local Whole Foods (a great value!), and lapped up sweet baby love all weekend long!