Daniel started attending his conference this week. Our family mornings are now spent together in a fog, alternating getting ready and keeping Nora from bodily harm, stumbling along the uneven brick sidewalks towards a promised pool of caffeine by 7:00am (which still feels faintly like 4am).
Noodle and I send him off to his Berkeley bus stop with waves and kisses and then begin our stroll past pumpkin tendrils curling around wrought iron fences and interesting door handles.
It poured yesterday. A near constant stream of rain and wind swirled the entire day. Nora and I; however, would not be housebound. Albeit a comfortable amount of space, our apartment quickly runs out of options for baby amusement. One small bag of toys, wooden spoons, and two books only hold her attention for so long...hair brushes, eyelash curlers, empty plastic containers, and banana puffs can extend the experience for a few more minutes...but eventually, the girl has to hit the bricks. Stormy or not.
The long-awaited Dwight Street apartment tour (rented through the fabulous folks at VRBO)
living room
kitchen
the bedroom (yes, that's a full-size bed...hence the reason that Daniel is on the couch...Little Miss No-Sleep and I take the bed.
How it looks when one adult and one precariously-placed-lurching-infant bed-hog are sleeping.
And so a walkin' we went. With Nora strapped to my chest and her baby paraphernelia on my back, I popped open the umbrella and set out to explore the city on our own. After a few stops on the bus and subway, I decided to walk. To breathe in the fresh air and to hear the sounds of dropletts fall upon the umbrella. We set out across the Longfellow Bridge. The red line subway trains heading to Alewife or Braintree roaring past us. Fog swallowing up the Boston skyline behind us. Small white sailboats flitting in the Charles River below us.
Oh, the comedy of taking these pictures. I struggled to uncap my camera, whilst keeping rain from Noodle and from the lens. We were a sight to be seen. Juggling a baby in bright rainbow leggings and monkey shoes, a large camera up to my eye, an umbrella with two broken spokes above us, and soaked tennis shoes that squished as I turned.
Then...the lens clap fell to the ground.
To the ground.
I am not an octopus.
I pressed Nora to my chest, slung the backpack on my back, tucked the camera under my neck, stuck the umbrella handle deep down into my bra, and fished for the cap. I had to giggle.
In the end, perhaps we should have taken the subway across to Cambridge. But the memory...my laughter, Nora's amazement at the pitter-patter of rain, her eyes squeezing shut when gusts struck her face, her mimicking the squeal of the subway brakes...all of it led to a memorable walk.
Our final destination in Cambridge, J.P. Licks. Yup, I walked in the rain for over four miles in a rainstorm to an ice-cream parlor...only to buy oatmeal frozen yogurt. I have a sweet tooth...but I also attend bootcamp.
And on the homestretch, we took the 1 bus along Massachusetts Avenue. Winding through Cambridge, past MIT, across the Harvard Bridge, and past the Berklee School of Music. Soon we came into the familiar South End. After a spectacular meltdown, Nora had nursed, bitten me, and fallen fast asleep upon my chest. I carried her through the Chinese market buying Vietnamese sweet sesame crackers and Vermont blueberries. Who knew that there are over ten varieties of bok choy? She awoke just as the cashier was placing our items into a bright pink plastic sack.
It wasn't an "eventful" day in any tourist sense of the word but one I won't soon forget it.
It's just me and my napless wonder sidekick. Nursing like crazy and not sleeping.
But after an hour of attempting a nap, who can resist this face? And like my Grandma Lola said, "Nora just does NOT want to miss a thing."
Rest assured, she's not.
It looks like you are having a lovely adventure. I absolutely love the pictures of Nora's travels! We'll have to meet up soon. I miss you girls!
Posted by: Daniela | August 17, 2011 at 11:13 AM