Five Kings Down

"So Samson took hold of the two middle columns holding up the building. Putting one hand on each column . . . He pushed with all his might, and the building fell down on the five kings and everyone else." (Judges 16: 29-30)

While I was preparing Emilio's second breakfast today, he was role-playing the part of a Hebrew Hercules. His dangling tormentors paid the price.

It's sixty-three degrees outside right now, so I think the young thespian and I should try to get in a Jewel run before the rains come.

Emilio at Twenty

Thursday marked the end of Emilio's twentieth week in the world. He's doing well. Having perfected his back-to-stomach roll-over move when Mari and I are not looking, he now does public roll-overs without breaking a sweat.

When Mari gets up, at about six a.m., to go to work, she gives Emilio his breakfast bottle, and with any luck I can manage to coax him back to sleep. Usually, this involves the two of us streteching out on the couch together, with Emilio either beside me or on my chest. Second breakfast is scheduled for ten and lunch at two. In the intervals, chairs are rocked, books are read, naps are taken, dangling toys are tested, and fluffy toys are shaken, inspected, and hurled.

Mari's arrival (see photo at left) is a daily highlight.

Kickin' It with the E

Because I have been on Spring Break, Emilio and I have spent even more time that usual together this week. It has been fun (photographic vidence at right). These days he really notices when one of us moves out of his eyesight. He is spitting up less now than he used to, so he's sleeping on his back more and we've started weaning him off the formula that is "for babies who spit up frequently" (he still gets a couple of servings of mother's milk every day). He loves to lie on his back and interact with the creatures that dangle from the arc on his gym, and when he gets tired of that he works on flipping over, something using the arc for leverage. But his most frequent and enthusiastic activity is kicking. He really pounds the base of his chair, and though it obviously doesn't hurt him, we've started putting a blanket under his heels anyway.
Emilio often sits peacefully for long stretches just checking out the world. I have found that he sometimes finds it easier to go to sleep when his head is covered with a light blanket like the one seen in the photo at left. Apparently, he lowers it sometimes when I'm not looking so that he can spy on me while I'm working on this blog. He fell asleep (or pretended to) soon after I took the photo at left.

A Visit From Grandmother

On Monday, March 13th, Emilio, Mari and I celebrated the eighth birthday of Iona Gibson (in the photo at right; it was also the birthday of Emilio's Tia Gimena as Mari's blog fans know). We met Iona for the first time in Xiamen, just a few months after she was born, and caught up with her and her little brother Aedan in the summer of 2000, when we visited the Gibson clan on the Isle of Lewis. The Gibsons are hoping to visit us in Chicago this summer during the second week of July and we're looking forward to meeting Iona and Aedan all over again.

Last Monday night I also went to O'Hare to pick up Emilio's grandmother and her travelling companion, Peter Cottontail (whose voice sounds like Gene Autry's). The two of them stayed with us all week (spring break at Mansfield Summit High School).

Every morning, after Mari went to work, Mom and Emilio made their way through Emilio's growing library and played together while I slept in. When I went to work on Tuesday and Thursday, they hung out together at the house. It was a low-key week of Sudoku, bologna sandwiches, John Grisham, rottini Tuscany, Freakonomics, Turner Classic Movies and dulce de leche ice cream for Mom, and a thrilling week of lullabies and stories and gymnastics for grandmother and grandson.

On Thursday, when I got home from school, Mom, Mari, Emilio and I walked the long block to Corner Grille where we met Jack and Julie for hamburgers, meatloaf, fajitas and talks about the Italian Renaissance . Luckily, our favorite singing waitress, Audrey, was working the evening shift. She wasn't so happy to be there (she prefers the day shift), but Emilio cheered her up. She carried him around the restaurant, introducing him to her other customers and then rewarded him with a beautiful, bluesy "Summertime" serenade.

After we'd closed down the Corner Grille, we walked two more long blocks up Clark Street for Sweet Occasion desserts, and then headed home.

On Friday, we bid Mom a sad farewell as she headed back to Texas, leaving behind fond memories of stories read and songs sung. And Peter Cottontail, who is rooming with us now.

Dim Sum

Earlier this week we got an e-mail from Dhyana and Angel, one of the couples who were in the parenting class we took at Weiss Hospital, asking if we wanted to meet them and their daughter Mariana for dim sum at Furama, a Chinese restaurant on Broadway, just a few blocks from our house. We did. We were actually among the first people to meet Mariana, who was born on the last day of class. We got to the hospital early on that day, ran into Angel in the lobby, and he invited us up to see his young daughter (we were really impressed that Dhyana was in such good spirits on the day she had given birth).

The dim sum was great--as good as any we had in China. It's hard to believe we'd never eaten at Furama before. I'm sure we'll go again. It was also a lot of fun getting to catch up with Mariana, and watching her and Emilio checking each other out. Emilio started out in the Baby Bjorn, but he eventually worked his way into my lap and then Mari's. I get the feeling that it won't be long before the Baby Bjorn, aka The Sleep Machine, starts to lose some of its magic.

Dhyana interviews friends and family of people who are either on death row or are heading that way. Her goal is to collect information that will help save the accused from execution . She told us she often takes Mariana with her when she does the interviews, so she has already made plane trips to Florida, New York, and Texas. Dhyana says Mariana doesn't mind flying at all, but believes she'll have a harder time sitting still when she learns how to walk.

Emilio debuted his dragon shirt for the outing. He looked really cool. We look forward to getting together with Dhyana, Angel and Mariana again in a couple of months. Mari suggested that we might go to one of the Middle Eastern restaurants in our neighborhood (Emilio could debut his cartoon Muhammad shirt), but I'd be happy to dim sum it again.

Free at Last!

Temperatures reached the sixties today in Chicago and seemingly every housing unit in the city (ours included) emptied its people-content onto the streets. Think of the dazed, childlike aliens who file out of the space ship that appears at the end of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, or the munchkins who pop out from under the foliage after Dorothy drops a house on the Wicked Witch of the East, and you'll get a sense of what the first spring day in Chicago feels like--especially when it's a Saturday. When Mari, Emilio and I got down to the street, we realized that we didn't need our fleece and corduroy layers, so I happily trotted them back up stairs and we began our neighborhood walk feeling almost naked in long sleeve shirts and jeans. The sidewalks on Clark street were thick with pale babies and their transportation paraphenalia and I started asking everybody how old their children were. I'm sure the babies of Andersonville have been out in force in previous springs, but I haven't paid much attention until now. Because Mari is such a good mother, who realizes how much Emilio enjoys watching her eat, she bought a smoothie at the gym and chocolate-covered pretzels at Elizabeth's bon-bon shop (our favorite chocolate-pusher reported that she recently married a man with the unfortunate last name "Felato"). Eventually, we parted ways, I to my office, M&E to the house, but when I came home around nine o'clock, the temperatures were still in the sixties, so we decided to make a late night supermarket run. It has started raining by then, but we stayed dry under our family umbrella and Emilio seemed to be fascinated by the night and the sound of the rain. As you know, once I strap him into the Baby Bjorn he usually manages to fall asleep before I get to the nearest street corner. But tonight he remained alert all the way to the supermarket and he stayed awake the whole time we were shopping, possibly anticipating our return walk home through the rain. It had stopped raining by the time we'd finished shopping, though, and about halfway to the house he drifted off. He remained asleep as I lifted him out of the Baby Bjorn and placed him in the rocking chair that Jack and Julie gave him (see photo at left), but for a long while his arms remained in the same position they had been in while we were on our walk. No doubt he was dreaming of rain and chocolate pretzels.

A New Heirloom

When I got home from work around 11 p.m. this past Friday, I was surprised to find that the lights were on and Mari was still up, since she usually goes to bed some time between 9 and 11. It didn't take me long to figure out why she was still up, though: she was still reveling in the gift Emilio had received that afternoon. Not long after I left the house earlier several hours earlier, the laziest, most sullen delivery man in the world (an employee of UPS whom we know too well) had delivered a large care package along with several other gifts (books and clothes) that had been sent to Emilio from our friends in Denver (via Xiamen): Kathy, Mike, Tao and Maya. Included in that package was the large quilt that you see in the photos at right. Mari draped it over the living room couch so that I would see it as soon as I walked through the door. On the back side of the quilt, which Kathy had made for Emilio, is a map of the world with the following inscription: "Emilio, this is your world. Cherish the beauty within it; strive to change the rest." The side you see in the photo features an American flag and a Spanish flag joined together by the Great Wall of China, representing Emilio's dual nationalities. A mate bombilla (mate is the national drink of Argentina) is superimposed over the American flag, and the sun which appears on the Argentine flag is superimposed on the Spanish flag, as are illustrated maps of Texas and Illinois (Emilio's cultural heritage). It is, in short, one of the most creative, thoughtful and appreciated gifts our young family has had the pleasure of receiving. And, I should add, it is just the kind of gift that Kathy is known for making.

Xie xie ni!

Four Months and Counting

This is what a Emilio looks like when he's about to fall asleep on his 4-month birthday. His eyes shut soon after his photo was taken.

The high temperatures in Chicago yesterday were in the fifties, and it was warm in the house, so Emilio went shirtless most of the day. In the late afternoon, I also opened up the window to get some fresh air in the joint.

Emilio has grown fascinated with his left hand lately, and I have made a few short video recordings of him holding it up, staring at it and turning it.

Boy Blue Smiles, Squeals, Flips, Sleeps

This is the face that Emilio makes when I sing "Lida Rose." At least it was today. Don't know why the photo is so blue.

When Mari got home from school this afternoon around five, Gladys reported that Emilio had had his best day with her yet--lots of smiles.

This past week Emilio has started making lots of "talking" sounds and Mari and I have enjoyed listening to some of his longer speeches, punctuated as they are by the occasional squeal, yelp and blurt (his discourse is remarkably varied). Grandmom got to hear a bit of this gurgle on Saturday when she spoke to him on the phone.

I also forgot to mention that last Monday, while Mari was at her book club, I lay Emilio down on his back in his play yard "gym." When he started working through one of his stump speeches, I started working on my laptop. When he got to a particularly purple passage, I looked up and realized that he had managed to flip over onto his stomach--a first. I returned him to his back so that I could see how he did it, but he waited until I was looking away to re-do the deed. I haven't yet seen him manage the flip, but I know he can do it.

When I can't give Emilio the entertainment he needs, I hook him up with some of his furry friends (see photo at right). I try to get as many of the creatures in the chair with him as I can (like stuffing people in a Volkswagen). Sometimes Emilio tosses them out of the joint, but I usually mangage to get the gang back together again.

If I’d Blogged This Week, You’d Know . . .

It was a good week for the boys.

On Saturday, Jack and Julie babysat while Mari and went on our first Chicago date since Emilio was born: a performance of A Child’s History of Bombing at the Neo-Futurarium (brief summary: bombing is bad). Earlier that day, Emilio and I went for a long walk (forty minutes round trip?) down to the Uptown Border’s, where I bought the latest editions of Harper’s and the New Yorker. It was cold (in the thirties?), but I don’t think Emilio took much note of it the temperature. He wore his snowsuit and slept the entire time. When we got back to the house, we ordered pizzas and Jack and Julie brought stories and gifts from their latest trip to the new Lincoln Museum in Springfield: A Picture Book of Abraham Lincoln for Emilio's growing library; an antiqued copy of the Farewell Address Lincoln gave in Springfield in 1861; a Lincoln miniature—who has for the moment taken his place on the bookshelf beside a taller Anne Bonny; and a Che Guevara doll—recently featured on Mari’s blog—who is presently organizing the furry proletariate on top of Emilio’s dresser.

On Monday, Mari made her first appearance at Belmont-Cragin since last November and the next day she started punching the time clock . On Tuesday, Gladys came at noon for an orientation session before I had to leave for work at 1 p.m. When Mari came back home from work at 4:30, Gladys was somewhat rattled by Emilio’s crying, but as soon as Emilio saw his mother he broke out the smiles and giggles.

On Wednesday morning, I strapped Emilio into the Baby Bjorn again and we walked (thirty minutes) to the Ravenswood Medical Professional Building on Damen and Lawrence, where Emilio was scheduled to get treatment (silver nitrate) for his umbilical hernia, which, I am pleased to say, is getting much better (it is basically a big “outie” bellybutton that is now, slowly retreating inward; neither the hernia nor the treatment has ever caused Emilio any pain that we know of). After Emilio got measured (14 lbs. 8 ounces—or one pound, four ounces of weight gain in two weeks), Doctor Samayoa (subbing for Dr. Ochs) suggested that we might as well give Emilio his second round of immunizations—the four-month follow-up to the two-month first round. I was planning to get that done two weeks from now and while I didn’t look forward to the experience (two injections in one thigh and one shot in the other), it made sense to get it over with. Emilio cried, of course, which was particularly heartbreaking because he had been in such a good mood. Thankfully, though, the crying did not last long. The squirt of grape-flavored Tylenol probably helped. Doctor Samayoa, incidentally, is from Guatemala and my interactions with him and Gladys (who is from Colombia) were conducted entirely in Spanish.

After we left the doctor’s office, we walked a few blocks and then caught a bus back to the ‘hood. Emilio was sleeping soundly, and when I saw that Audrey was waitressing at the Corner Grille, I decided to stop there for a lunch (a hamburger) and to pick-up some take-out (Cajun Penne Pasta) for María José. Emilio, strapped into the Baby Bjorn, slept through the entire meal. When I paid for lunch, I realized that I had just enough for the bill and nothing for a tip (oops!). Audrey has an evil landlord and a slacker roommate, so after I got home and fed Emilio his bottle, we went back to the Corner Grille to take Audrey a tip. She and Joel were both happy to see Emilio awake this time and they took turns holding him (business was slow). Emilio and I then went to the supermarket to pick up a a couple of pummelos (a daily staple in the Foster Home these days) and prescription for a cream that is supposed to help get rid of his “cradle cap.” Mari met us on the walk home.

When we got home and Emilio woke up, he was not happy. His right thigh was red and swollen. The internet told us that he was having a mild reaction to the immunization, that this was common, and that we shouldn’t worry. We gave him another squirt of grape-flavored Tylenol and weathered the storm.

On Thursday morning, Emilio’s thigh was no longer inflamed and his mood was much better. When Gladys came, I showed her how to put on the Baby Bjorn. I told her how when I put Emilio in it, it always calms him down, and how I sometimes use it at home when I want to put him to sleep (carrying him around in my arms, for some reason, just doesn’t do the trick). When Mari got home, Gladys told her that she had not used it, but she had given a massage using a new technique she had learned from a friend of hers who does yoga, and that seemed to have calmed him down.

When Emilio wants a midnight snack (or a 1:45 a.m. snack) or when he wants an early breakfast (4:45 a.m. today), he cries loudly. Sometimes reinserting the pacifier does the trick, but sometimes it doesn’t and during the time it takes me to change his diaper and whip up a warm bottle of formula, he makes sure his mamá knows how he’s enjoying the wait. Mari has always had a hard time going back to sleep once she has awakened (her mind races), so she hasn’t gotten all the sleep she has needed this week (Emilio and I don’t have to get up to go to work at 6 a.m. and we can get catch naps after Emilio’s first and second breakfasts). A couple of weeks ago, Emilio was skipping that midnight snack, so we’re hoping he returns to that routine before too long!