A Journal of Urban Living

After a successful dim sum excursion with his grandmother we took Simon out for Sushi with his Aunt Sasa.

If these books are to be believed I see a deli in our future.

Then on Thursday night we took Simon to his first wine tasting.  I called ahead and asked if we could bring the whole family.

Me: Hi, I was wondering about the tasting.  My kid is twenty-two…….days old.  Can I bring him?
K&L guy: <laughs> sure.

When we got there however we heard a different story.  Poor Simon wasn’t allowed in the tasting area as that would have been a violation of the local liquor laws, having a kid in the tasting room and all.  So we left him in the tequila isle.  Much more family friendly.

But I'm twenty-two

Babies love tequila

And then, the highlight of Simon’s evening, some fancy changing after we left the store.

Another first - offsite diaper change

We decided on an outing to the Atwater Market yesterday.  (We can’t grow everything.  Our corn and watermelons need more time, our raspberries are done for the season and our chickens aren’t quite plucked and dressed.)   Simon spent the morning asleep in the stroller, or so we thought.  It was only after getting him back into his car seat that we realized he was shopping under protest:

Fighting the power, since 2011

Simon looked a little yellow last weekend.  The pediatrician recommended more nursing (more?!) and sunbaths.  Here he is, basking in the sunshine in his crib under the watchful eyes of Megan’s Hammies and Jeanne’s stuffed severed arm — stuff our crafty friends made.

It pained my sun-phobic mother to put his tender new skin in direct sunlight.  But he’s the right color now.

Simon got his middle name from my grandfather, Oscar de Jesus Duque.  Papito died July 18 in Bogota at age 93, five days after his first great-grandchild was born. Cancer had already stolen his mobility and energy, so it’s not a sad death.

It sounds something out of a Garcia Marquez novel, but we think having a namesake helped Papito let go.  My aunt Ellie says he even talked about one last trip to the States to meet him.  She says he was scared and Simon Oscar let him make peace with dying.

The only sad part is that my mom couldn’t go down to Bogota for the funeral because she doesn’t have her passport with her.

I hope Simon Oscar shares his great-grandfather’s sense of adventure and his insatiable appetite for life.

Papito and Mom (Oscar and Madeline), Joanna's college graduation, 2007

Madeline (aka Mom) hadn’t decided what she wants to be called by her first grandkid.  But now she’s lobbying for “Nana” or “Nonna,” like Colombian kids call their abuelitas.

She’s been so much help, up all hours almost as much as I’ve been…

My dad is coming soon I hope.  Sally and Duke are due in late August.

Carmageddon was nothing.  We beat the traffic home, no problem.  Baby-geddon — now that’s been something!  And it’ll never end!

My old friend Gretchen was in town from Albuquerque so she was first to visit Simon.  These photos make me happy for two reasons: First, Gretchen got to meet him when he was brand new. Second, I’m a lot less puffy now than I was last Saturday.

Popeye

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just born

all 10 fingers, all 10 toes

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