hiking in the rain

Today was an especially rainy day, but we didn't let that discourage us. As planned, we went hiking in the Columbia Gorge, bringing with us our friend Mike.

We picked a wooded trail and didn't really get that wet in the forest. The trail led to a beautiful and dramatic waterfall called Ellowah Falls, rimmed at the bottom by large rocks covered in bright moss and ancient lava flows.


The forest smelled like pine needles, fresh soil, and mushrooms and the undergrowth was almost entirely made up of small new ferns. Indeed we found lobster mushrooms, which we promptly sauteed in garlic with butter, salt and parsley for dinner. Delicious! They not only resembled lobster with their coloring, but tasted like seafood too. Even Jonah loved it. I put a few pictures here.

back from Prague

Just got back from Prague. Though I was only gone nine days, it felt like months. Already on the plane to Europe I felt homesick. I wanted to pull out the photo album I compiled for friends and start looking through it, but stopped myself, feeling pathetic.

Once in Prague, I was able to relax and enjoy my time alone, though I felt rather strange... naked without Jonah.

As always, the trip was a whirlwind, mostly comprised of socializing with friends and family, catching a couple of cultural events, and rushing through Prague to buy presents and snap photos, which always embarasses me because acting like a tourist in my birth town is a bit awkward.

Most of the time was spent with my grandmother whose eightieth birthday is coming up in the spring. We always have such a great time together. She treated me to a concert - a sixty-some piece orchestra playing Britten, Berlioz and Dvorak, of which Dvorak was of course my "unbiased" favorite.

I also saw my dad and his wife and met my two cousins' fresh babies, the only two offspring carrying the family name so far. The story of how these two came about is actually quite amuzing - a bit like a fairy tale. My uncle - the king in the story, also a severe hypochondriac who believes every day is his last, was getting tired of waiting for grandchildren, so he declared one day that he promises to bestow one million crowns on the son that brings him his first grandchild. Sure enough, my two cousins got to work and just a few short months later, both announced their girlfriends were pregnant. The rest is history.

The old, the young, the dead... all of those were on my list of family members to visit. Thus, my grandmother and I made our usual pilgrimages to place a flower on my grandfather's and stone on my paternal grandmother's grave. On the way, we placed a small stone on the grave of Franz Kafka as well.

My dad was super busy juggling his two careers - one as an actor and theater director, the other - a recent development- as a Senator. He invited me to a staged reading of Vaclav Havel's lesser known play Spiklenci (or Conspirators). My dad cast and directed the reading. He also read the stage directions and a couple of bit parts. Some of the actors were, by Czech standards, quite well-known personalities. After the performance, my dad made me pose for pictures with him and the ex-president. I had my camera with me, but was too shy to take it out and request a snapshot for my collection of curiosities. You will just have to take my word for it - I was there.

In addition to family, I made my rounds and got together with most of my favorite friends my generation and my parents' generation. The highlight was a reunion I organized of my grade school classmates. Ten of us were there (from a class of about 28). We finished grade school together in 1987, and most of the people I saw at the get-together I hadn't seen in twenty years!

Though I'm not a great fan of the television, I watched the news nearly every day, trying to get a sense of what my birthland is currently going trough. One day I read the newspaper as well. The entire first section was taken up mostly by huge articles and exposes on the corruption of the government. Shadily bought shares, government money spent on delux apartments and fancy cars... in short, the topic de jour seems to be the misuse of power of those in the government. I also learned that I had temporarily switched places with the current Czech president, who, while I was visiting the Czech Republic, was attending the United Nations conference in New York, apparently giving scandalous speeches that deny the fact that global warming is occurring at an alarming and dangerous rate and that it is indeed largely caused by humans. He and Bush are the only heads of state still in denial, I sware.

Now I'm back. It's great to be with my boys again.

If you are curious, I put together the best pics from my trip and posted them here.

first hot chocolate and homemade cookies

Like I've mentioned before, we've been trying to keep Jonah off sugar for as long as we can. That doesn't mean he doesn't eat sweet things. His favorite are raisins and fig bars. He has only had cookies a couple of times in his life and of course, as any child would, he loved them ... too much.

Just the other day on one of the first cold fall days, I decided to make hot chocolate - with real cocoa powder and organic cane sugar. Jonah got so excited to have his first hot chocolate that he ran around repeating "chocolate, hot chocolate, chocolate" over and over, greatly emphasizing the "ch" sound as he often does with words that are special: trucks, trains, etc.

I put the hot chocolate in his special little teacup with a blue fish on it and we sipped hot chocolate together on a cold rainy afternoon like good friends.

Over the weekend the whole family made chocolate chip cookies together, a first for Jonah. He had a pretty good time mixing, but he liked licking the dough much better than eating the finished cookies. I must say he looked sharp in his apron!

best treat of all

Ever since we started giving Jonah chewable vitamins, he has been wild about them. They taste like candy and for him it's the only candy he gets. So after breakfast or lunch he gets one and then he wants more. We tell him he only gets one a day. He is starting to understand the concept, because the other day he asked me for another one and when I said no, he remarked: "Tomorrow."

water weekend

Yesterday Tim, Jonah's uncle Andy, a couple of friends, and Jonah and I drove out to a river beach at Oxbow Park. The drive was about forty minutes. The park is basically just past the eastern-most suburb of Portland, but it could be a hundred miles away. It feels so peaceful and secluded. The river is pretty slow there with the flow hardly noticable. It's lined with small cliffs and leaf trees, and as you swim in the cool but pleasant greenish opal-colored water, eagles coast overhead.

Jonah enjoyed the water in his kid-sized life vest. Best of all, he enjoyed throwing rocks in the river and pounding rocks against rocks. At one point all the men that were part of our group surrounded Jonah and watched him pound small rocks with a large rock he called a hammer. The sight was quite primal- cave child pounding rocks surrounded by cave men relaxing after a day out hunting - I mean working (Yes, most of them came straight from work even on a holiday).

Today we enjoyed city style water at an urban park filled with parents and children. The center piece of the park, or rather square, is a fountain that pours water out down sandstone slabs onto the tiled floor of the square. The water then recedes like the tide and comes back a minute later, filling up the area again. Kids love that place and Jonah does too. This was our fourth time there this summer, I think. Jonah scooped water into his bucket and poured it out an infinate number of times. He also scooted himself, seated, along the bottom of the "pool," with only his head sticking out saying: "I'm a boat." He tried splashing a couple of kids in the face to see their reaction, but the kids didn't really care so he quickly abandoned that form of entertainment. Once he even filled up his bucket and ran up to a flock of birds chirping on the ground, hoping to soak them. The birds outsmarted him, of course, flying away quicker than he could run. Good times.

We topped off the three-day weekend with a delicious dinner, if I may say so myself. I made the best rice I have ever made: chopped onions, smooshed garlic in the garlic press and fried that in a generous amount of olive oil. I added the rice and fried it with a large dash of cumin and cardamom until some of the grains turned brown, then added water, salt and a pork chop bone (yes, in my pregnancy I have been craving pork, which I haven't eaten in over two years). The beans I also started with onion frying in olive oil. I let the beans simmer for a while, flavored with cumin. We ate that with chicken pulled off the bone and heated in the oven. All of that was topped with a salsa of fresh cherry tomatoes off the vine in our garden - just with some salt and red wine vinegar. Then lettuce. So tasty!!! And simple too. Jonah stuffed himself too. Very rewarding!

anniversary & party at the park

I can't believe it's September already! This summer has gone by in the blink of an eye.

Tim and I celebrated our wedding anniversary a couple of days back by having a family picnic dinner with Jonah at a park, then watching a unique fall phenomenon of hunderds of swifts swirling around in the sky and diving into an old elementary school chimney. I had heard about this happening at the same place every year, but never had gone to see it.

From what I hear, the number of swifts rises through mid-September until there are about ten thousand of them gathering together. It would be worth going back just for that.

Jonah enjoyed himself too, though not as much watching the birds as running around and watching kids about four years his senior sliding down a steep grassy hill on cardboard. There was even a girl soccer practice giong on nearby. So much to see!

A guy came up to film us for his documentary on the swifts. Jonah was so excited to see the giant camera that he shouted over us like a maniac. I doubt the filmmaker will be able to hear anything over him. The funniest was when Tim mentioned that we came to see the swifts for our anniversary. The guy asked how many years we have been married. Tim said three and after thinking about it a moment, in typical wife fashion, countered that it has been four years. It came off pretty funny.

On another note, yesterday we went to one of Jonah's friend's birthday parties at the park. The park had a toy jeep for kids to drive. Jonah was so obsessed with it, he drove it and crawled all over it for hours. Even in the middle of the night he rememberd it when he woke up and began to narrate a story about it in a super loud voice.

My two favorite moments at the park where the party took place were:

1. Jonah and the birthday boy singing ABCD together.

2. An incredibly overweight and expressionless pug dog with a studded leather punk leash in the playground toddler swing, pushed by his "mommy," its tongue sticking out slightly on one side (as if post-stroke).

3. Jonah standing next to a stranger, watching him take off his sandal to wipe bark dust off his foot, and proclaiming in a loud and declaratory voice: "Dirty foot." The man sure was embarassed. Kids say the darnest things.

a month of celebrations

I haven't blogged in over two weeks. August is this family's busiest month of the year. Three of the three of us - wait, that's all of us! have our birthdays in August, plus Tim and I have our wedding anniversary at the end of the month.

For my birthday we went to visit friends and relatives in Seattle. It's always nice to see those folks. But before that, on the night of my birthday, I celebrated with my girlfriends. First we went out to eat, then to sing karaoke in our very own private room. What a blast!!! This was one of my very favorite birthday celebrations.

For Tim's birthday and our anniversary we spent four days in Central Oregon's ponderosa pine forests and in lava fields overlooking the spectacular 10,000+ foot volcanic peaks dominating the landscape. Jonah had a blast, especially since his uncle was there, later joined by his wife, aunt Jenni.


We - well the boys - swam in a pretty lake flanked by a forest. We hiked to another, smaller lake with a view of the snow-capped Sisters, and later along the pretty but freezing cold Metolius River whose current moves surprisingly fast. On our walk we saw snakes, butterflies, dragonflies, hawks, and deer with fawns. In the woods I even spotted what I was pretty sure was a coyote running. The best part was that there were very few people that we ran into on our explorations of the wilderness. The house we rented off Craigslist was gorgeous! Lots of wood, tall ceilings, spacious rooms, pretty rugs, a gas (wood) stove, a feeling of privacy, and a good layout for kids...

I put some pictures of our trip here. Enjoy.

2 yrs old

video retrospective

Some short videos from the last two years for your enjoyment. These are all 15 seconds or less in length with no sound.

first video we made of Jonah at 4-months-old:


just learned to roll over - January 2006. Nice hair, don't you think?


eating rice cereal for the first time - February 06


learning to stand - March 2006. Sorry this one is mostly sideways.


new to crawling - June 2006


petting our cat Pancho - Aug 2006


one-year-old - Aug 06


first birthday & cake - Aug 06


standing on his own - Aug 06


new to walking - Sept 06 (12-months-old)


playing the piano w/ great-grandmother in Prague - Dec 06


playing peek-a-boo - Jan 07


new to drawing - Jan 07


playing uncle's drums in New York - March 07


mopping - April 07


favorite pastime & Jonah's favorite video of himself

2

Jonah turned two yesterday!!! The day started with him discovering his new toddler-sized table and chair from me set up in the living room. The chair is a bit too tall for him so his feet dangle in the air, but he still likes it a lot.

In the afternoon we had guests over. Our party was originally just going to be a family gathering - uncle, aunt, and grandma. But instead twelve guests, including visitors from as far as Oklahoma and California came, and we had a barbecue in our backyard. Jonah had a fabulous time playing with his uncle. He loved the blueberry crumble with whipped cream my mom made in lieu of a birthday cake.

I had a hard time getting Jonah focused on unwrapping presents. He still doesn't get that phenomenon. But he so enjoyed his new gifts - especially the child-sized football and another ball he got from my friend Kyle and his uncle and aunt. He also got a Harley Davidson cap from our friend Mike's dad, fan of all things Harley. Jonah liked wearing the hat. Along with the balls, the other favorite was a wooden train set from my mom. In the middle of Jonah's bedtime routine, he had to get up and go check on the train set yet again. I'll put pictures from yesterday up soon.

midwife appointment

Yesterday we had our first midwife appointment with baby #2. Our midwife is just great. I am so happy we picked her. She works with an assistant, a midwife in training.

Jonah enjoys the toys the midwife has in her office, which is at her house and it's beautifully decorated and very peaceful. All important things to me.

When the midwife felt my belly and broadcast the baby's heartbeat for us to hear for the first time, Jonah got very concerned about me and began to cry. He calmed down in no time, though. It's too early for him to understand a sibling is on its way.

back from the co-op

Jonah and I just came back from our first visit to the co-op school. Jonah had a great time playing with toddler-sized, foot-powered cars plus a gas pump; glitter and glue; fire engines; plastic fish in water; a mini cash register with a drawer that opened and closed; and finally outside in the sand box. He enjoyed snack time and learned one of the kid's names - the one who threw the most tantrums, of course.

I was most impressed at potty/diapering time when Jonah peed in a "foreign" potty. He was quite independent while there, but had to make sure he saw me out of the corner of his eye at all times. If he didn't, he went looking for me.

On an average day, there are about nine children there, most around Jonah's age (two-years-old). Three parents are on duty every day. The day begins between 9:00 and 9:30 and ends at 1 pm. Children go three days a week with their parent on duty once a week.

I must say I was more overwhelmed than Jonah by some of the crying and screaming that took place. Mostly it was when parents dropped off their kids and left. But it's quite a ruckus when, for example, there are three kids crying at the same time. The other parents are nice, a couple of them seemed sort of artsy (filmmaker and artist?).

Most parents visit two to three times before they sign up to join the co-op, so I plan to do just that. Will report back again.

baby #2

Here is one of the ultrasound images from two weeks ago. What a prominent profile, don't you think?

beach

Just got back from a very nice weekend to the beach with my mom, Jonah's grandma. We had nice weather - not too hot, not too cold, but a little windy on the beach. Everything this weekend was great except on the last day, Jonah began to vomit periodically. We decided to come back home right away so he can sleep on the way back and soon be at home in a comfortable surrounding. He is feeling much better. Must have been some kind of a fast viral bug. Let's hope so. Pictures from the weekend here.

full name & other language stuff

Jonah now knows his full name. Yesterday I heard him mumbling something in his car seat while driving. At a closer listen, I realized he was saying his last name over and over again. When I said his first, middle, and last name all together, he got excited and started repeating them with a big smile. I know Tim's been teaching him.

The other day he was playing with some coins. He put the coins in a slot and said: "Thank you. Have a good time" in a singy-songy voice. That was great.

He also now knows the word love. Right now he is walking around, saying: "Love concrete mixer. Love big bulldozer. Love dump truck." He just told me he loves me too. I'm glad I'm up there with all the construction equipment. Quite an honor.

This morning at breakfast Tim and I were marveling at Jonah's verbal ability. Tim told him: "You're amazing," at which Jonah smiled mischieviously and said: "Thanks."

Cheeky little monkey.

July recap, August happenings

It's August already! I can't believe it. August is our family's month, during which we celebrate all of our (three) birthdays and our wedding anniversary.

What's coming up this month? We will be going to the coast with Jonah's Czech grandma for three days - can't wait. We also plan to take a trip to Seattle to visit Tim's family and friends. Also, I will be taking the boys on a surprise weekend trip for Tim's birthday. No hints!

Another big event in August will be Jonah's first visit to a co-operative school, which has a spot for him if we like it. He would go three mornings a week, of which one would be with a parent and two by himself. I think once he gets used to it, he will really like playing with other kids his age in a community atmosphere. When his brother or sister comes, it will be just the perfect arrangement for all of us.

July went by so fast. Some of the highlights: our hike to a mosquito-ridden lake; Tim's parents' visit during which Jonah got to swim in a pool and listen to some fun live music in an outdoor setting; a barbecue we had at our house which was well attended by friends and fun; and last but not least our first ultrasound!!!! Image for your own enjoyment coming soon. Stay tuned to this blog.

hike

Today we went on a hike, hoping that after a few days of rain there would be some mushrooms. No mushrooms, but the hike was still nice. The moist air smelled so good and fresh, the forest seemed happy. The hike led to a beautiful small lake that was peaceful and still. The water was green and.... the mosquitos hungry! Jonah walked quite a bit and loved wacking young trees with a stick and throwing rocks at stomps and in the lake. The mosquitos didn't bother him a bit. He also let his dad carry him in the backpack a ways. My mom, who ate wild blueberries along the way, came with us. I put some pictures here.

happy

Today when my dad called from the Czech Republic, I made a big deal out of the story of Jonah using the potty for the first time yesterday. I watched Jonah's reaction. After the phone call, I told him his Czech granpa was very happy about Jonah using the potty. Jonah thought for a minute, then proclaimed: "Pancho happy too." Pancho is one of our cats. I am sure the cat was thrilled about Jonah peeing in the potty :)

Jonah did pee in the potty about four times today!!! I was very impressed! I hope he continues to do so.

is this really the same child?

August 2005



May 2007

another milestone

Jonah peed in the potty for the first time today. My mom was over and we cheered and clapped for him. Then we called daddy and uncle Andy at work to share the good news. Jonah was so excited, he kept trying to pee in the potty, but obviously, there was nothing left to squeeze out. I hope this is the beginning of a new trend!

On another note, this is the third day in a row when Jonah hasn't taken a mid-day nap. Not good for the parents, I will tell you that. Hopefully this is just a short phase and the naps will resume very soon.

babysitting milestone

Jonah had his first experience being babysat by someone other than a family member. The first day he missed his parents and cried and got angry, but the next day he did great, said my friend Mia who watched him. Her son Ira and Jonah played well together and generally had a good time, which they usually do, but I have always been there. This time I had to go to an all-day workshop. In the end, all turned out great. What a relief!

big news

Many of you already know, but for those of you who don't, here is the big news: Jonah's brother or sister is on the way. The due date is January 25th. I am very excited and at the same time anxious about how we will survive the first few months of dealing with two demanding little beings. Eventually, things will settle down and we wil recognize, I'm sure, that it was all worth it.

When I told my boss I was pregnant, his reaction was: "Again?" Mind you, that's coming from a man who has five children, if I remember correctly. It's best just to laugh about such reactions. The last time he found out I was pregnant was two and-a-half years ago. I guess time flies and it seems just like yesterday. Jonah will be turning two next month.

4th of July, another day at the ZOO, and fun at the park

We spent the 4th of July at our Czech friends' house. They are both artists and wonderful people. They had a few other friends over. We ate like champs, played in their backyard, watched a homemade display of fireworks in the street, and then had a fire towards dusk. Jonah thoroughly enjoyed himself, though he was the only child at the gathering.

Today we went to the ZOO with Jonah's friend Ira and his mom Mia. The highlight was petting the goats. But even better than that, there was the old favorite - the sandpit with dump trucks, shovels, and buckets. I have put a few pictures here.

Later in the day we went to our neighborhood park to check if the wading pool had water. Sure enough. The city has started filling the pool every weekday afternoon for the summer. The perfect time to go is late afternoon, right before they start letting the water out. The day camp program is over, so there are fewer kids. Plus the wading pool is mostly in the shade at that time. Just perfect. I took Jonah to the wading pool a few times last year. He had just learned to walk and was still a little too young to appreciate it. This time he was so excited, mostly watching the older kids play. We will go to the wading pool often from now on!

Won't you be my neighbor (or mail man)

Jonah's imagination has really been expanding. Today I noticed he was playing "post office man" with a fridge magnet that he would stick in the horizontal slots between his dresser drawers, saying: "Post office. Magazine - in. Movie - in." He was obviously sticking mail in mail boxes. I asked him if he was "post office man" and he smiled, all pleased with himself. How great!

Before that, he has pretended to be daddy going to work with a bag over his shoulder and keys in his hand. He has also pretended to be a digger (and a driver of one). He has fed and changed his bear and doll and taken both on a stroll. Sometimes he plays "kitchen man" too, baking pizzas in the oven and cooking in the pots.

Lately he has been imagining random things to be other things - a piece of a fried egg may become a bulldozer, for example. When he draws, he now describes the drawings sometimes. He will draw a squiggle and call it a dump truck.

As you can tell, he still hasn't quite moved out of his obsession-with-construction-equipment stage. That's why the mail man game was so encouraging to me!

The other day Jonah caught me off guard. I made various objects out of play dough, fulfilling his requests: dump truck, digger, garbage truck (that one was tough . . . and hardly recognizable, I must confess). Then I made a person, sitting on a chair, starting from the feet up. When I finally added the funny-shaped head with ridiculous hair and unintentionally spookey looking facial features, Jonah took a look at the play dough person, and remarked with conviction: "Neighbor." My mom and I almost fell over in our chairs. I am glad the neighbor didn't hear.

funny guy

We were eating pizza in one of my favorite pizza restaurants, when Jonah snuck up behind me, made a fart noise with his mouth and yelled at the top of his lungs: "Mommy farted!!!"

The pronouncement echoed loud and clear through the restaurant, which was fortunately half empty. Tim and I roared with laughter. Jonah - what a funny, funny guy. Not yet two, but so cheeky already.

the boys then and the boys now

Here are the boys that went camping together this last weekend before they were toddlers.

And here they are now.

first time camping

Just got back from our first camping trip with Jonah. This one was in honor of Father's Day.

Three couples with one little boys each went. Yes, that's right. Three toddler boys in tents. We had a great time though the weather was cold and off-and-on rainy. The boys really enjoyed themselves.

We had a couple of scares when Jonah refused to go to sleep in the tent, saying things like: "All done forest. Go home." But eventually he got to sleep and slept more soundly than at home.

The highlight was the adult badminton game (no score kept) with the boys running in our midst like crazy. The two older boys loved playing with their construction equipment and would occasionally get into a tiff over diggers and such. But not too bad.

Lenore and Ted, the parents of Espen, who is only three weeks younger than Jonah, made the most fabulous dinner over fire: grilled salmon and veggies. Wow! I told them they won first prize for most gourmet meal I've ever had camping. Beat canned chicken soup, that's for sure!

You can see pics from our trip here.

shameless plug

I just participated in the 50 Voices of Equality campaign, "a public education campaign by the Basic Rights Education Fund (BREF). BREF's mission is to build community through education and advocacy and to end discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in Oregon."

As a volunteer I interviewed prominent Oregonians dedicated to working against discrimination. After the interviews, I wrote copy for the campaign's website.

I interviewed Oregon Senator Frank Morse and activist Lew Frederick. I will be interviewing State Representative Judy Uherbelau later this month. So, go to 50voicesforequality.com, click on meet the 50 voices, and you will see the pieces I did.

a budding gentleman

The other day I sneezed and Jonah, completely on his own, brought me a package of tissues, saying: "Here, mommy."

What a little gentleman!

the terrible twos are here!

Because Jonah is such a genius and so advanced for his age (tongue in cheek, I hope you know), Tim and I are convinced that he has hit the terrible twos early. Why do we think so? He is so determined that any little thing he is not allowed and wants to do or vice versa - anything he doesn't want to do, but we make him do, sets him off. He screams, cries, kicks -you name it- to assert his will. Like whatever is happening is the biggest trategy or attrocity ever known to - well, our little man. It's quite a challenging stage, because it's very easy for the adult in the interaction to get angry and frustrated as well, which only escalates the situation.

Let's hope this phase passes quickly!

checking in

I have been so swamped lately that I've hardly had time to blog. Between work, the university course I'm taking, and parenting, there has been very little time to spare. On top of all that, I am hosting the Erase Racism Carnival at my other blog, White Anti-Racist Parent, this month. It's been taking me quite a few hours to put that together. When it's up, I'll let you know, so you can peruse the contributions from all the brilliant bloggers that sent in their writing.

At the end of May, Jonah's Montana grandparents paid us a visit. It was wonderful to see them, as always. The highlight for all of us, I think, was seeing Jonah "swim" in a pool for the first time. He swam on the backs of several whales that day - daddy whale, grandpa whale, and uncle whale. So much fun! Pics here.

I also enjoyed the Portland Underground tour that we took to learn about the disturbing history of women and single men getting "shanghi'd", or basically kidnapped and enslaved, for labor (or prostitution) and profit. Portland was the number one U.S. city for this in the mid to late 1800's and early 1900's, with anywhere between 1,500 and 3,000 men being kidnapped each month to be imprisoned underground in dark holding cells, then sold to sea captains to work on ships for no pay, and shipped who knows where. Scary stuff! The underground in Portland's old part of downtown is so complex, that one could easily get lost. It's also one of the most haunted places in North America.

As you can see, the granparents' visit was quite an adventure.

stinky is funny - to mom only

Just the other day I was asking Jonah if he wants a snack, offering him a lengthy verbal menu of choices. He looked at me and said: "No, no, no, don't care. Don't care." My eyes almost popped out of my head. Don't care. Where did he get that?

This morning after Jonah woke up, he yawned, covered his mouth, puckered his nose and stated: "Stinky." Then in the car he repeated: "Stinky breath, stinky breath, stinky breath." Funny, funny guy.

Also, I coached Jonah to say "stinky daddy" when dad entered the room, and sure enough, Jonah didn't disappoint. Unfortunately, Tim wasn't amused.

finally a hike!

Today we finally went on a hike after a long, long time. I've missed hiking so much. Tim and I used to go nearly every weekend before Jonah was born, but it was nearly impossible to go for many months after Jonah came around. He would get too fussy on car rides lasting longer than 20 minutes and in a backpack, preferring to walk, first with our help, then alone, but of course, for only short distances.

Today he was pretty fussy in the backpack too, so we had to make frequent stops and didn't hike very far. The best part was our stop over on the shore of the Clackamas River, where Jonah dug in the sand, waded in the cold water, watched the rapids, and threw rocks in deep water, listening to the "plunk" sound with great gusto. The weather was gorgeous!

The most disturbing part of the hike was the graffiti on the picnic table - in German. Scribbled on the table in thick black marker were the words which the Nazis placed over concentration camp gates: "Work brings freedom." But the author also added the word Jews in German. This hit me right in the pit of my stomach. My grandparents and many other relatives were imprisoned in concentration camps, many died there. How could anyone propagate this kind of thought and hate today? And in one of the most beautiful places in our region. Truly despicable.

On a positive note, here are the pics from our trip.

update on language & other stuff

Just this week Jonah looked at me and for the first time said: "Mama, I love you." What an amazing thing!

He also uses adverbs such as never and seems to understand tenses, distinguishing between simple past and present progressive. He also uses plurals and the -er ending for people. Skateboarders, for example. His brain and language development is really incredible to watch. He is now interested in numbers and letters. He can pretty reliably recognize the number 3, 5, and 0. As far as letters, he usually correctly identifies m's and o's.

Yesterday we went to story time at the library. When we did our usual Ring Around the Rosie, I encouraged Jonah to hold the hand of another toddler in the group, a girl named Angel. This was his first time holding another child's hand and he LOVED it. He smiled and wanted to hold her hand for each round. So sweet!

Also, I got Jonah a new book, trying to ease him out of his construction equipment obsession. This book is called This Jazz Man and it introduces young kids to famous jazz musicians from the past with playful language and beautiful collage-style illustrations. Each page is sung to the tune of This Old Man. Jonah loves the book so much! We've already read it about twenty times today. His uncle is a jazz drummer and Jonah got to play his drum set, piano, and xylophone when we visited him and my sister in New York in March. Jonah still remembers and we use the book to review his drum vocabulary: high hat, cymbal, bass drum, snare drum. Maybe he will be a drummer some day!

weekend on the coast

Just got back from a wonderful weekend on the coast with friends Mia, James, and their one-year-old son Ira. We all had a fabulous time. The weather wasn't too bad and the house was perfect - a play structure in the backyard for the kids and a hot tub for the adults. It was so great to vacation with another couple with a child close in age to Jonah. The two of them get along great. I put pictures of our getaway here.

flu relay

Over here in Jonah land, we're keeping busy by playing flu relay. First, Tim had an awful flu, which put him out of commission for a few days. Next, Jonah got it and had a fever and slept for almost two days straight. Now he's better, but still coughing hard and tired a lot. And for Mother's Day, I too got the bug. How wonderful. Right now I'm laying in bed, covered with three blankets and still feeling like I'm at the North Pole. Happy Mother's Day to me :(

my piece got published today

My first column is up on the parenting blog Anti-RacistParent.com today, the day Jonah turns twenty-one-months.

my compassion and his

Mine first: Jonah's been running a fever the last two days. We think it's his teeth since he has been drooling profusely and always sticking his fingers or other objects in his mouth. Hopefully he doesn't have the flu Tim just got over.

His compassion: Today our cat Pancho was coughing, trying get rid of a hair ball. Jonah got so concerned that he began to cry, saying "No" and "Au," the Czech equivalent of "Ouch." He got so scared for Pancho. I picked Jonah up and held him, consoling him and explaining that Pancho is just coughing and that he is fine. After Pancho stopped hacking, I told Jonah: "See, he is happy now." Jonah stopped crying and repeated: "Happy."

a day of firsts

Today Jonah finally laerned to climb up and ride down the slide all by himself at the community center where we go. There he also introduced himself to a little girl. He was playing with a toy when she came up to him. She must have been just about a year older than him or so. I said hello to her, she said hi and then watched Jonah quietly for a while. He looked at the girl and then with a smug smile said: "Jonah." If you ask me, that was a little toddler introduction. Remarkable.

The other new thing that Jonah did today was try to draw a circle, which he couldn't physically do. But he did draw over a squiggle which he called a snake. He drew and drew over it with a brown crayon and said "Neni," which means it's not there anymore in Czech. He then called the brown area he had colored dark and a tunnel. He talked about cars going through that tunnel. That's quite imaginitive if you ask me.

Jonah has also started using articles. Now he makes such requests as: "Make a bottle" and "in the backpack" when he wants to sit in the backpack. Very cool

Jonah's friend Ira came over with his mom today. They played nicely together except the few times Jonah pushed Ira for no reason at all. He is in his cause-and-effect experimentation stage. But I sure don't like it. Still, the boys seemed to enjoy each other. They played with pots and pans, read a book together, played hide and seek, and fed each other cheerios. Jonah handed Ira toys too, which was quite an accomplishment in this hate-to-share phase.

watch out for powerlines, laptops, and more

Just read an article about radiation from laptops being harmful to children. Something to keep in mind for when Jonah is older and wants to start using a computer. Parenting a child in the computer age will be an adventure. Uncharted waters for me, that's for sure.

Another article I came across today talked about a report based on a study of the health of children living near powerlines. The study showed "clear evidence that living near an electricity line could be linked to fatal childhood diseases such as leukaemia." Additionally, the report also "raised concerns about the electric and magnetic fields inside the home caused by radios, televisions and even washing machines and cookers. It called for the Government to advise householders on reducing risks, for example by moving electrical equipment away from the bedside."

The authors, a collective of academics, medical charities and representatives of the electricity industry, urged equipment manufacturers to "investigate how to limit electric and magnetic fields."

ice cream

The other day Jonah tried ice cream, well gelato to be more specific, for the first time. We generally don't give him any sugary foods. Just fig bars, raisins, fruit and juice with no extra sweeteners. He likes all of that of course. So, I thought he would go wild for ice cream. Suprisingly, he was more excited about the scooping action than the ice cream itself. The gelato came in colorful cups with little plastic shovels. Jonah enjoyed about five spoonfulls and then was done. I was very happy about that! Now he knows what ice cream is. Several books he has mention it. He likes to reminisce about us having it together, but doesn't beg for it. Good deal.

mom learned her lesson

For the first time in a long time Jonah and I watched a cartoon together on the computer. We haven't had our TV set up since Jonah was about four or five months old, so he has only watched TV a handful of times in his life. Maybe three times total? I've shown him cartoons on a couple of occasions before when he was sick with a fever and I wanted to slow him down. But at the time he was just about a year old and his reaction was more of a non-reaction. He just sat there mesmerized. This time, we watched a Czech cartoon about a little mole. I grew up on this stuff. First, we watched Krtek a zelená hvězda or Mole and the Green Star.



When the mole cried, I got a little emotional. The film tugged at my heartstrings, okay? Hey, I grew up watching this stuff, so I got a little teary-eyed. I hid my half a dozen tears from Jonah, who looked worried about the crying mole. Nevertheless, he asked to watch the cartoon again. The second time he knew what was coming when and predicted when the birds would enter the scene and when the bunny would... This time around, though, he got so worked up when the mole cried, that he began to cry a terribly sad and loud cry. He could't stop. I was horrified that I might have traumatized him. But stupid enough to let him watch another mole cartoon the next day:



This one was even more emotionally trying for Jonah. When the mole squeezed into the glass bottle and floated around in the see, Jonah was very concerned about him. Then, when the little boy appeared and shot an arrow aimed at the mole's rocket ship in the end, Jonah started bawling uncontrollably.

He empathizes so much these days that he couldn't handle any thought of danger or injury bestowed upon our hero, the mole.

I took a long time to calm him down. Finally, I resolved to not show him cartoons for a long time to come, even if they are created with little children in mind. He is so sensitive now and he takes the cartoons seriously. Lesson learned.

name the drawing

For the first time Jonah drew something. He's been experimenting with dots and squiggles for a while, but last weekend he drew a squiggle, pointed at it and said: "Had." That means a snake in Czech. A big milestone!

hey, I'm making music here!

So, I was sitting down, jamming on Jonah's musical instruments with his little plastic mallets. I thought I sounded pretty good with my funky groove, nodding my head to the rhythm, imagining I was one of those cool performers in Stomp, but what do you know. Just when I imagined myself up on the stage, playing an infectious beat and making the audience tap their feet, Jonah walked up to me, pointed at his head and said: "Headache." Translation: "Mommy, the noise you're making is giving me a huge headache." Great. Thanks, son. Thanks a lot. I thought I was making splendid music here!

brand recognition

This morning we ran some errands. It was the perfect day for it, since Jonah was very mellow and able to sit still in his stroller for quite a while. One of our stops was at the bank. Jonah sat quietly for a long time while I dealt with the teller. The bank began to fill up with people, forming a long silent line behind us, seemingly not noticing there was a child in the room. After some time, a man wearing a bike helmet walked in. Suddenly Jonah exploded with excitement, shouting "Helmet!" at the top of his lungs. Everyone burst out laughing. It was excellent comic timing. Such a random, yet meaningful utterance from such a tiny somebody.

One of our other stops was the post office. I have only taken Jonah there maybe three times in his life and not in a while. He has been obsessed with things that go lately. These include dump trucks, diggers, bulldozers, big rigs, fork lifts, cranes, mail trucks and the like. He is so good at identifying them around the city that he beats me in the race all the time. What shocked me the most today was when at the post office, no mail trucks in sight, he noticed the post office logo, the blue and white eagle, on the envelopes they were selling. He pointed and unequivocally stated: "mail truck." I couldn't believe it. That's logo, even brand recognition if I've ever seen it. That's how they get them so young.

I remembered a long-lost friend whose two-year-old would see a Starbucks logo somewhere random while riding around in a car and say: "daddy's work" because his dad worked at Starbucks. Incredible!

tulips & dump trucks

Lately Jonah's imagination has blossomed. He is turning ordinary objects into other more fun things - small balls into berries, a push toy into a lawn mower, a stick into a car key, a parent into a horse. Heck, he doesn't even need an object to use his imagination. He can just pretend he is eating without holding anything in his hand.

Likewise, his vocabulary has been expanding with the speed of a lightning. For example, he has been learning colors lately.

Today was a fun day. We went to a tulip festival, something I've always wanted to see, but always missed by weeks. This festival was so much fun. Of course, the beautiful flowers, food, and so much for Jonah to do - mostly simple, old-fashioned entertainment, which is what we're mostly about. There were hand-powered water pumps that propelled ducks down a rain gutter, slides, tunnels, a simple wooden playhouse for toddlers, swings, and best of all - a sandbox with a dump truck and shovels it. Jonah was in heaven.

One of my favorite things to see, aside from the flowers, were the old-style steam powered tractors. The machinery worked effortlessly, with the wheels spinning silently and the wood, burning to heat water that in turn created the steam, smelled so good!

I put up new pictures in our photoalbum for your enjoyment

word games

Jonah's vocabulary is exploding. He's now even able to play with language. Today we went to our usual weekly story time at the library. There Jonah met another boy named Harry. Since Jonah learns names quickly these days, he called the boy by his name and was later able to reminisce about interacting with Harry. We were "talking" about Harry when suddenly Jonah said "strawberry." I laughed and replied: "No, not strawberry; Harry at the library." Jonah laughed and repeated: "Strawberry." I repeated my answer. He then wanted to hear the joke again: "Strawberry?" He requested to hear the same joke dozens of times and laughed hysterically each and every time. That was our first funny word game. Jonah's growing up so fast!

"dick"

One of Jonah's favorite activities these days is digging in the garden (and on the beach in the sand). He is obsessed with it. He used to ask if he could go "dee" with a "shoffa." Now he has improved his pronunciation of "shovel" and added the final consonant to digg. Except it's not a "g"; it's a k sound. He walks around the house repeating it when he reminisces or urges me to drop everything and go "dick, dick, dick, dick."

sentences & impersonations

Just last week Jonah said his first toddler sentence. He was "reading" one of his favorite books, which features construction vehicles such as dumpster trucks and diggers. He said, "Baby go outside." I know I posted here a long while back, claiming that Jonah uttered his first sentence, but now I realize that was just happenstance. He is now forming toddler-style sentences frequently. Yesterday morning he helped me do the dishes and while at the sink, he played with the coffee pot, narrating: "Coffee make daddy."

Also recently he put on Tim's shoes, put a bag over his shoulder, and began walking around the house talking in a loud and whiny pretend voice, the same type of voice he uses for make-belief phone conversations. I wonder if he was impersonating daddy. It sure seemed like it.

names

Jonah has been learning people's names. And not just people's. One of his favorite books features a little boy character whose name is Matt. Jonah learned his name right away and now refers to the book by saying "Matt." Just yesterday when Tim left for work, Jonah said in his soft and high "goodbye voice": Goodbye, Tim. Wow! In New York, Jonah learned all his new friends' names right away too and now we reminisce about these friends still.

New York trip

Jonah and I had a wonderful time visiting my sister and her partner Adam in New York. This was our first inter-state trip alone, without dad. Jonah did great on both flights - he even slept! - which were both 100% full! Since Jonah was a lap child, I didn't get much sleep myself. But the flights were non-stop and only about 6 hours long.

As soon as we walked in to my sister's place, Jonah felt right at home. It was amazing how comfortable he felt with my sister. He called her "baba", the same as my mom, and was totally trusting and affectionate with her from the get-go. My sister even babysat Jonah for a few hours one afternoon and Jonah barely missed his parents. How great is that!

One of Jonah's favorite things to do in New York was play uncle Adam's drums and piano. Pics here. The other hit was Prospect Park, a huge and pretty park only two blocks from my sister's house.

What surprised me was how quiet her Brooklyn neighborhood was. Hardly any cars passed by. Most of the surrounding houses were one or two-family houses, no bigger than two-stories. My sister still does her shopping the old-fashioned way - in little stores. A deli, a fish market, the butchers..., because that's the way the neighborhood, which not long ago used to be predominantly Italian and is still full of old-timers, works.

We saw some friends with kids, which was also very fun. Jonah played with a 3-month old, a four-year-old, and my cousins, who are teenagers.

I got to meet Carmen, who, as per my earlier post, asked me to write for antiracistparent.com. She lives in New York and is great!

Well, that's it for this installment of Adventures with Jonah. More soon.

in New York

Jonah and I are in New York, visiting my sister and her partner Adam. I'll post more about the trip soon, but just checking in to report that we're having a fabulous time! Jonah feels right at home here.

I'm published in this month's issue of....

Oh my goodness! I can't believe my piece is among those published in the March issue of the Erase Racism Carnival hosted by racialicious.com, an excellent blog about the intersection of race and pop culture that read frequently. The Erase Racism Carnival is is a collection of blog posts dedicated to creating a world free of racism.

You can read this month's issue, including my piece, Tracing Race: one immigrant's journey from race awareness to anti-racist consciousness here. I will be hosting the carnival in June on my other blog, white anti-racist parent.

By the way, the founder of racialicious and host of the carnival this month approached me about becoming a columnist for another site she runs called antiracistparent.com, a blog for parents who are committed to raising children with an anti-racist outlook. I said yes! Please cross your fingers for me. I am scared, but thrilled!

love to reminisce

Jonah now has the ability to reminisce about things he's done and people he's seen. He especially likes to do this in bed before he falls asleep. He not only wants to list the objects, people, and activities he's remembering from the day gone by, he wants to discuss them (with his limited vocabulary of course). I have to respond to him, repeat what he says and expand on it or admire his ability to extrapolate.

Example:

J: Fih, Fih, Fih..
me: Yes, Finn.
J: Fih, Fih, Fih...
me: We saw Finn today.
J: Meh, Meh...
me: And his mama Megan.
J: Hamma, baw.
me: You played with a hammer and balls at their house.
J: Dee.
me: You played with a digger too.
J: Dee, dee, dee.
me: The digger had a shovel.
J: Shofoo, shofoo...

It's amazing to see his cognitive ability expand.

on the coast with family

A week ago we spent a wonderful few days on the coast with Jonah's Montana grandparents and aunt and uncle. (Yes, during this trip Jonah learned to finally say his aunt's name - Jenni. He says it ALL the time now!) The house we rented was brand new and beautiful. The weather, not so much. But we had a fire every day and a nice time despite the rain and gusty wind outside.

You can see some of the pics from our trip here.

playing with friends & pretending

Jonah had the best time ever last Saturday. We had a get-together at our house and his best friend Finn was one of the guests. While the adults ate and chatted, the two boys played together. They were able to interact and have much more fun than ever before. Jonah can communicate a little bit better and is becoming less self-absorbed as he gets older. His imagination is expanding too. The two of them chased each other, played peeek-a-boo, read books, drew, and jumped on the bed. What a great feeling to see Jonah enjoy himself with a friend!

Yesterday Tim, Jonah and I went on a walk in a beautiful area with wide open fields and old trees along side of a river. Jonah found a large wood chip that reminded him of a fish. He called it "fish" and threw it in the field. Then he pretended the field was a lake and fed wood chips to the fish in the lake, saying "papat", which means "to eat" in Czech. He played this game for quite a while. It was amazing to see his imagination at work.

Today we went to the playground. There Jonah shared the slide with another little girl. At one point he stepped on her hand while they were both climbing up the ladder. The girl said something to the effect of "ouch", but Jonah seemed oblivious, too focused on getting to the top of the slide. I stopped him and told him in a language he could understand that it hurt the girl when he stepped on her foot. About half way home, he recalled the incident, repeating "au" (Czech version of ouch) in a slightly whiny voice and "baby." He remembered stepping on the girl's hand and was discussing the experience with me. He seemed concerned. I told him that I don't think it was too serious and not to worry, just be careful next time. I'm not sure he understood that, but it was interesting to see him processing something that happened in the past and that seemed significant to him.

the great imitiator

Jonah has started to repeat words and phrases he hears us say. The other day I said to a driver whose driving I was not impressed with, "Are you kidding?" through a windshield. Jonah said, "kidding?" It made my day.

Today he repeated a long phrase after me: "airplane in the sky."

This week he began to imitate some sounds he hears. When assembling and disassembling the potty, which he refuses to use, he made a peeing sound: "chhhhhh" and looked at me, following up with the words "pee pee" and "kaka". So he definitely gets what the potty is for, he just won't sit on it.

He also imitated the chirping, or more like screaming of birds outside, saying "pih-pih" (short for pipinka, or bird in Czech) and the barking of a dog in a house down the street, then saying "pey" (short for pejsek, or dog). Very cool.

He still occasionally pretends to talk on the phone in a very loud, theatrical, whiny voice. I wonder who he gets that from. And he feeds animals, pictures of babies (as well as real babies) and objects pretend food and water. Children are amazing.

"dee"

For a few weeks now, I've had Jonah "help me" with the dishes regularly. He's obsessed with the dishes now. He pushes a chair up to the sink and begs me to help him up to do the "dee". Usually he just stands there and pours water from a cup into a bowl or something akin to that. Today he really got into squeezing the life, I mean water out of the sponge. He looked like a weight-lifting olympic competitor, straining to squeeze as hard as he could. Yes, the dishes are a new passion. Now if I could just get him excited about something like dusting!

favorite sentence

My favorite phrase of Jonah's these days is "Come on." He enunciates the first syllable with such gusto. The other day he even said, "Mama, come on!" We both laughed.

Yesterday I was driving and trying to verbally hurry up someone in front of us, "Come on, slow driver." Jonah was sitting quietly in the back. About a minute later, he surprised me with none other than my favorite phrase: "Come on." It was perfect comic timing.

beach

Just got back from a Valentine's Day trip to the beach. This was a surprise present from Tim. What a fabulous idea. Our room was truly luxurious - a spa tub big enough for the whole family, a gas fire place, and a kitchen! And all within a half a block from the beach. The weather was a bit yucky, but we didn't care. I put some more pictures from our getaway here.

friends

Jonah loves his toddler friends. Ira just turned one on the 13th and Finn, whom Jonah played with earlier this week, is nine months older than Jonah. Here is a pic of the two of them looking out the window.

Jonah is a year and a half!

as of yesterday - the 11th.

my bad

Remember my anti-racist parenting post a while back? Well, I learned a lesson. When Jonah started crying at the store last month, I thought he was crying because he was scared of the cashier who was black. Last week we went to the same store and our cashier was a white woman about my age. Again, I had to step closer to the credit card machine as she pushed the shopping cart behind the counter to get the groceries out of it, thus separating Jonah, still in the cart, from me. And... Jonah began to cry. The separation seemed too much and he was scared. The same exact scenario played itself out again today. Again, the cashier was a young white woman. So much for projecting racialized reasoning onto my son. Interesting the way my adult mind connected things like that. Shouldn't be so quick to judge. My bad.

perfecting the skill of persuasion

Jonah's been making requests for a long time. They started off as a set of urgent "mmm's" that over time transformed into one word pleas like "vo" for voda or water, "bread", "apple", "up", "down", and more recently "shy," his toddler pronunciation of "outside." The latter is more advanced because it's more of an abstract concept. When he first started to ask me to take him outside, I didn't understand him. To make sure I got the point, he went to the door and tapped his palm on in a few times, repeating "shy, shy, shy" with an upward inflection and a sense of urgency. "Oh, go outside. You want to go outside." I got it. That was just a few days ago.

Today Jonah took my breath away. We were lying in bed, just resting since Jonah's been sick with a nasty case of a cold - fever and all. Out of nowhere he said, "I" the first syllable of the name of one of his two best friends Ira.

I was confused, thinking that maybe he was saying "eye", but then again he doesn't know that word, so I let him repeat himself a few times. "Ira?" I finally asked him. Sure enough, his face lit up. "I, I.." he kept repeating. Then he got up off the bed, started for the door and said: "baby." I asked him if he wanted to see Ira. Jonah repeated Ira's name. I said, "Oh, you want to go play with Ira." Jonah repeated, "play."

Next, he gave me a quizzical look and said "car" almost as if it were a question. Just to make sure I understood his point he brought me his shoes, saying the word in Czech then in English. Finally, he said "call" and "phone." I couldn't believe it. He just spoke in a toddler-style paragraph. Unprecendented in Jonah's life. I felt terrible, because I had planned to go to 'indoor park' with Ira and his mom, but Jonah was (and still is) sick, so we had to cancel our plans and stay home. It broke my heart to not be able to take Jonah to see his friend, especially after such an amazing first oratory!

bike

Jonah got a used tricycle yesterday. He was beside himself. Love at first sight, to say the least. He calls it a bike and still doesn't know how to ride it, but he likes pushing it, examining it, standing on it, and petting it. Come summer, I imagine he will be zooming on it around the neighborhood pretty well.

children's museum

Last weekend we took Jonah to the Children's Museum. What a great place to play! It has a pretend supermarket for children to play in, a "water room" for experimenting with water, a construction room, and so much more! My friend's band was playing and that was fun too. I want Jonah to be exposed to lots of quality live music. Summertime is best for that since there are a lot of concerts in parks then. Here is a pic of Jonah playing in a manmade stream. He loved that and so did Tim, wishing he could have such a toy for himself!

anti-racist parenting 101

I've been thinking a lot about how, as a white parent, I should go about raising my child to be a person who harbors no racial prejudice, and whats more, becomes a person who fights racism when he's older. It's easy to forego thinking about race and racism as a white person. That is, afterall, one aspect of white privilege. I do have the choice to NOT devote any energy to this topic. But precisely because I am white and aware of the existence and gravity of racism in this society as perpetuated by whites, I feel compelled to do something about it. And with that urge to challenge the racism instilled in me and my immediate surrroundings comes fear.

The safest thing is to think and read about the topic. Then it's inside my head for just me to mull over. And yes, the learning phase is an important and ongoing phase. But, there comes a point when one has to take action, whether it's through discussing the issues with others in or outside one's circle or in other ways. That is where things get scary.

My biggest fear is feeling shame, rejection and hurt. As we grow up (and I'm talking about white people here), we learn what is socially acceptable and what is not, which of course varies somewhat depending on our communities, but overall, any discourse about race is pretty much taboo. But, I should hope that this is true, we are naturally curious about all kinds of people, especially as children. However, our curiosity is often squelched because it's just not socially acceptable to, for example, ask out loud about people's skin color or hair texture. So, we get instantly hushed or shamed. That is not a good start. Immediately we learn that certain types of differences, in this case "racial" differences (racial in quotes because "race" is really a biologically unfounded social construct), are taboo. Something to perhaps ponder silently, but to never speak about. This is how any discourse on "race" is extinguished from the start.

What I just described is the level of communication where a parent can start. Instead of shushing a child who is naturally curious about people who look different from him, the parent can encourage the dialogue and explain to the child that yes, people have different degrees of pigmentation, etc. and make sure the subject doesn't get tagged as taboo in the child's mind.

The other way that a mother of a toddler can begin the journey of anti-racist parenting, is by exposing the child to peole that look different in very ordinary circumstances - play groups, books with photographs, etc. I am, of course, already worried that I'm failing in this regard. I do go and socialize with random groups with Jonah, but he does not see people that are all that racially different. This is just because of the way our city's demographics happen to be. But I do question my choices of the places where I take Jonah. Do I choose the places according to my own comfort level with the families that frequent these particular community centers and libraries?

The children with which Jonah interacts are mostly white and Asian. To illustrate my fear that I am failing anti-racist parenting 101, let me share with you a brief anecdote. The other day we went to the store and our cashier was a very dark skinned black man. At the point when I separated from Jonah and stepped closer to the credit card reader and the cashier pulled the shopping car with Jonah in it slightly behind the cash register to begin unloading the groceries, Jonah suddenly had this freightened look on his face and began to cry. The man gave Jonah a sticker and told him he was his friend. Jonah stopped crying and became more comfortable. But it was interesting to observe my own reaction to the situation. I was pretty certain that Jonah became scared of the man because he looked so different from the other people he was used to seeing. I noticed feeling paralized and unsure of what to say or how to react. Should I have said, "Oh Jonah, don't worry. Look at this nice man. You don't have to be scared of him." Of course, Jonah is too young to understand a sentence like that, but he can understand emotional tones. Instead of saying anything, I let the cashier deal with the situation. How lame of me. That's what white people tend to do. Stay paralized and let people of color navigate the uncomfortable situation for them. And that too is racism.

So, now I've publicly processed this encounter and will hopefully be better equipped to react next time.

That's it for my first installment of my thoughts on anti-racist parenting. If you'd like, read more about anti-racist parenting on a website which I frequent Anti-Racist Parent.com.

Czech party

Yesterday we were invited to a gathering of Portland Czechs. A couple new to the area with a two-year old girl organized the party. So many Czechs came out of the woodwork that my eyes almost popped out of my head. I didn't even know there were so many Czechs in our neck of the woods. Lots of them with children too. We are now talking about starting regular parent/child get-togethers. What I would like is for the adults to take turns playing Czech children's games and leading a Czech sing-along with the children each time, but a lot of the mothers just want to socialize and let the children play free-style. So, that's what might happen. The only trouble with that is that the older children already use English, not Czech, to speak to each other, which sort of defeats the purpose of Jonah joining the group. The idea is, afterall, for him to hear Czech around him, especially coming from other children. We'll see what materializes.

snow!

It snowed here today and the snow actually stuck! That meant I didn't have to go to work today; a strange notion for most, I know. But we here in the Pacific Northwest don't know what to do when it snows. The whole city stalls, people drive like idiots, and it just make sense to stay home and drink hot chocolate... We did hit the backyard today. Jonah didn't seem to excited by the snow, but I did share with him the excitement of sledding on the littlest hill in the world, right in our backyard. I must say I enjoyed the sledding much more than he did. After fifteen minutes of running around in the snow, Jonah was ready to go home. Grandma Zuzi came over while Tim was at work (bad weather can't stop him from going to the old office) and was over all day.

latest favorites

Lately Jonah's been obsessed with bubbles. Bubbles of all kinds - blown bubbles, soap bubbles, bubbles in drinks... He loves to watch them and touch them. At the library, where we went for toddler story time for the first time in weeks recently, he kept going up to the librarian asking for bubbles. She does start and end story time with bubbles, but he was so insistent she keeps on blowing more, it was funny.

The other things Jonah has been enjoying lately are drawing with pens and crayons, brushing his teeth, ripping paper (and if it's toilet paper, opening the toilet and throwing the pieces in there), flushing the toilet excessively, opening and closing pens, and sticking keys in keyholes.

He recently started pretending! He pretends to talk on the phone. Yesterday he used an object in a creative way for the first time, pretending the end of an (unplugged) extension cord was a phone. A true milestone.

Notes on our trip to Prague - Pt. III

Jonah is such a great traveller, I must say. He did very well on the plane - and twenty hours is a lot of travel time for an adult, let alone a little guy! He slept anywhere between three and four hours on both trips, to Prague and back. Not much, but when we got to our destinations, he adjusted to the nine-hour time difference better than Tim and I. My worst fear was that Jonah would have a screaming/crying meltdown on the plane or that he wouldn't sit still and would want to run around like a little devil. Neither one of my fears came true. Sure, there were a couple of times I thought, "Here we go" when he started to bawl, but those were very short lived, thank goodness. The most surprising thing was that Jonah was content on our laps and in our arms the whole time on the plane!!! He traveled as a lapchild, afterall - meaning he didn't have a seat of his own. With all the flying we've done to Montana, California, and Europe in the past year, Jonah has become a seasoned traveller. I think he would do a better job hosting a travel show than Rick Steeves who sucked last time I heard his show on NPR. That's it: Travel for Toddlers with Jonah B - awesome idea!

As far as transportation goes, Jonah even enjoyed the tram and subway rides in Prague. So much to look at. And the Czechs actually erased their scowls for a brief moment and smiled at him. Quite a power he has.

Since our trip, Jonah's been obsessed with planes, finding pictures of them everywhere and pointing up at the sky, saying "pain," meaning "plane." I think our next trip will be to New York sometime in the spring to visit Auntie.

notes on our trip to Prague - Pt. II

Because my childhood in Prague feels like another life almost severed from the one I lead now, as many immigrants' childhoods spent in the "old country" probably feel, going back I always look for the things that have stayed the same and that help prove in some tangible way that my childhood wasn't just a fantasy.

The city, its foundation at least a thousand years old, still stands, of course. Some of the same stores and restaurants are still there and have been for decades. The old trams still run, and men with mullets and man purses can be seen still after twenty years, thank goodness. Those are the things that make me feel I'm home.


The others are the little things - the dumplings; the old Trabant cars (we used to have one - a brown two-door hatch back; see picture); the awfully sugary deserts, such as rakvička (the little coffin similar in flavor to divinities, in other words pure sugar) or punčák (pink rum-flavored punch cake); the fabulous spreadible cheeses; the tasty fresh rolls of many varieties; the ladies with their terrible hair colors; the supermarket cashiers in aprons that look angry at the merchandise; the sales people and wait staff with condescending attitude (one thing I could do without!); and the toilets with a little dry landing area and a flush handle on a rope that one pulls down (one of Jonah's favorites in Prague). Those are just some of the things that scream, "Welcome to your homeland!"

a man of his word

Tim and I just made a list of all the words that Jonah regularly says and came up with more than seventy!!! About a fourth are in Czech. He must be a genius :)

life back to normal

Now, after our trip, it's at last back to our Portland routine. I work Monday through Wednesday "swing shift" and watch Jonah until after lunch on those days as well as all day Thursday and Friday. I got used to spending our days as a family and now Thursdays and Fridays seem so long by myself with Jonah! I find myself at a loss for what to do sometimes, especially with the rainy and windy weather and Jonah's runny nose (better not hang out with other little kids now). Plus there is no one to cook for us. My grandma or dad fed us in Prague. We just had to take care of breakfast every day. Now I'm spoiled.

Today I took Jonah to the Rhododendron garden for the first time after a long time. He was so excited, running around in his snowmobile suit, chasing ducks and geese and wanting to touch their feathery butts. We fed them some and they, as they tend to do, got awfully close. Too close for my comfort, but not Jonah's, no sir. Overhead, more than a hundred wild geese circled and practiced their formations, each flock weaving in and out of the way of the next. It was the most mesmerizing site.

notes on our trip to Prague - Pt. I

Tim said to me that his favorite things about Prague were the following (in order):

- my grandmother :)
- the sights
- the food

I have to agree. I would add trams to that list as well. I love riding the trams!!! Especially the ones with heated seats in the winter!


The strangest thing for me when I go back is hearing Czech all around me in all kinds of situations. I understand the language perfectly, but I hardly ever hear it spoken, especially by people other than my family. So my head always spins hearing kids on the tram discussing computers, old people complaining about the holiday tv-programming, security at the airport comparing notes on naked people in movies, a mother admonishing her children for being late, a sales person on her cell phone pouring out her frustration about how no present she got anybody for Christmas was right. So many situations, such varied vocabulary... and I haven't heard much of it in decades, but it all comes back when I'm there... a strange phenomenon to be sure.

doctor's appointment

Barely off the plane and right to the doctor's office it was Tuesday for Jonah's belated 15-month appointment. He got measured, weighed, and poked - ouch! His thirty-plus word vocabulary impressed the doctor who informed us he's well ahead of the six-word average for his age. My head bobbed with pride like a peacock's upon hearing this. This doctor, by the way, stole Jonah's name for her own son who was born last summer. I guess I should think of it as a compliment. Jonah's weight is a little low, but nothing to worry about too much apparently. His height is about average, I gather. No more shots for a very long time, I hope.

back from Prague

We are now back from our adventure in the Czech lands. I will write more about our trip as time goes on. Just wanted to let everyone know that we had a nice time. Here are the pictures. Please note the two sub-albums on the second page. One is of pictures of a Jewish cemetery in the town of Roudnice nad Labem, where a sizable Jewish community thrived for centuries and where some of my ancestors lived and are buried. Jonah's namesake Jonas Topfer, the oldest relative we have been able to trace on my father's side, is very likely buried there. He was alive seven generations before Jonah. The other sub-album is pictures of some of the friends and relatives we spent time with on our trip.