The Little Dude

Gabriel drew this:

It's a car!

This is actually my teddy bear. 

(Can an almost-40-year-old woman still sleep with a teddy bear?)

 One day I turned my back for a minute, and when I turned around again I saw this:

Dude. If you can push the chair over to the counter, climb up and find your infant tylenol, then you are so ready to use the potty. Yes you are. Yes you are! Okay, tomorrow then.

And the next day he climbed up on the counter next to the sink and helped himself to the gummy bears hidden on the Shelf of Forbidden Things (e.g. electronics, coins, batteries...)

Names

My Grandma Beth was always very interested in naming trends and patterns. In her later years, she had a practice of looking up the birth announcements in the local daily paper and memorizing the list of baby names for that day. It was also an exercise to keep her mind active.

I thought about her as I saw a wave of birth announcements come through on Facebook the past two weeks - SEVEN babies born within 11 days, to my friends and relatives! I thought it might be interesting to my readers to see the babies' first names. They are all girls except one. I think Grandma would have been tickled in recent years to see a resurgence of "old-fashioned" and classic names especially for girls.

July 1: Emi Sofia
July 5: Mira Joanna
July 9: Penelope Jane,
           Samuel Li-Wen,
           Elsa Amy (big day!)
July 10: Nola Jean
July 11: Pandora Bella-Rain

I've observed that Old Testament names for boys are currently popular, especially Samuel and Daniel right now. I've never been able to get on board with the OT names ending in -ah though; to me it sounds like a feminine ending. Maybe because the first "Micah" I ever met was a girl? And the -a ending in Spanish is feminine. This is babycenter's top 100 for 2011.

During my college freshmen orientation, we were told that there were 16 Jennifers in our class of about 500, and 15 Amys. Elizabeth is a perennially popular name - there are three Elizabeths at our church here, which is not that big - my, a Lizzy, and a Beth. It's kind of nice that there are so many possible nicknames and variants of Elizabeth. Lots to choose from.

I've heard parents of girls under 10 right now named Olivia and Sofia that when they chose those names they had no idea how popular they were going to be, lamenting a bit being part of a big trend. It's hard to predict. It seems to me that naming trends reflect something in the zeitgeist.

I love my name. I hope our kids like and enjoy their names for the rest of their lives.

Guest Post from Gaza

Preamble
It's Monday, I seem to have developed a head cold, and at 10 a.m. it's so muggy I'm sweating just sitting in the shade. So I'm going to give you a brief update on the state of things in the Phantzi household, and then give it over to Terry for a glimpse into his exciting life as a demi-god of Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation for an international development organization. (Sounds dull, but wait 'til I post the story of his crossing over from Israel into Gaza!)

We had a pretty good weekend here, although I've realized that the hardest parts of the day for me are 1) putting G down for nap, especially since V no longer naps in the afternoons, and 2) putting the kids to bed at night. I have yet to figure out a way to do this that doesn't end in my shouting at them to just lie down and go to sleep already. Sigh. But the spaces between were good. We played a lot. More Phantzi little yarns about that soon. Over to you, Terry (with tangentially related photos from a family visit to his desk in Tirana last year):

***

There are many important skills that a good evaluator should have - they have to be able to design a process that combines generating good data with feasible capacity and logistical constraints.  They have to be good at seeing patterns in the data and being able to synthesize these patterns into useful conclusions and recommendations.  They have to be good at writing a comprehensive yet comprehensible report.  They have to be a good facilitator and so forth.

However, I think that the single most difficult skill an evaluator must master is to be able to sit one's butt in a chair for six hours interviewing people with the same questions over and over while keeping an expression on one's face that implies that they really care about what the people are saying. 

Needless to say, I'm kind of beat right now.  Just did three KIIs [Key Informant Interviews] with ADP [Area Development Project] staff from North Gaza.  I didn't actually get to leave the hotel because when the ADP manager had come to get me in the morning, I had said, well, since you're here, why don't we do our interview here and then go to the office?" - his interview took 3 hours and while we were doing it - a demonstration started in front of the WV building related to something about the PLO.  It was pretty mild as demonstrations go and the staff weren't particularly worried, but security protocol said that you can't take a foreigner around a demonstration, so I wasn't allowed to go to the office after all.  So I ended up doing all three interviews here at the hotel.

I feel a little stir crazy right now.  Have to type up the notes,but thought I would pause to drop you a line.  Actually, I paused to go upstairs and take a nap, but now I'm back and ready for putting my notes into matrixes.  Yippee! :)

Owl

This is a belated Father's Day post.

When was it? Weeks ago, I'm sure. I think it was in the middle of our trip to the US.

Some of my best memories of growing up were playing with my Dad. When he would patiently take on the role of Prince Charming in our endless Cinderella/Snow White/Rapunzel recreations, or build a pretend Christmas tree out of a clothes rack while playing "Pi" (Pioneers), or when at bedtime I'd say "Daddy, let's talk," and he'd sit at the end of my bed and we would just talk about whatever was on my mind, usually random things I'd seen in my poring over our World Book Encyclopedia. I always expected him to know the Answers - especially what will the weather be like tomorrow? (That one was easy, I understand now - we lived in the Amazon - so that would be... um... HOT!) :-) 

I love watching Terry with our kids. I know they are building memories for the years to come.

Owl the goofball:

Making it safe to take little risks:

A firm foundation for fun:

Intrepid toddler wrangler:

Literary events:

Purveyor of popcorn in the park:

And Duty Free! (I feel like there's an awesome pun in there somewhere but I'm too hot and sleepy right now to think what it might be):

Love you, miss you, come home soon!

***

And this post would not be complete without mention of my Father-in-Law, aka "Grandpa Owl"! You've been a supportive and encouraging voice in our lives through the many changes and transitions of the past couple years. Also: thanks for washing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen every evening while you were here in December! It did not go unremarked. Hang in there: we'll be seeing you soon.

Blue

Can you tell I'm making up for lost time with the blogging? 

It's easy when you have such adorable subject matter!

A.M.

 Some mornings when Gabe and I wake up long before everybody else (not, obviously, when Terry is out of town as he is now) I take him out so his morning exuberance won't wake them up. We go down to the street, buy some bread or byrek (phyllo dough stuffed with cheese and/or spinach, onions, tomato, etc.) and then go to a cafe where we can eat and I can get some coffee.

He likes to help me put sugar in my macchiato, and then spoon up the foam and put it in my mouth - or sometimes his own! I think in these photos he was pouring the coffee dregs into the cup of cold water that you normally get along with your coffee.

We usually make a mess. Which is why we are big tippers!

Dy

This is what Gabriel does when you ask him "how old are you?"

(Oh, and I bought that shirt for Valerie, but she refuses to wear it - and those are her outgrown shoes... being the opposite sex doesn't save him from hand-me-downs!)

Field Notes

So Terry is away on an evaluation trip for the coming two weeks; he left Saturday night and will be back next Friday. So far we're coping pretty well; V keeps saying things like "Where's Owl? He will come back very soon to see us." On the other hand they got lots of Mama-time on Sunday and slept fairly well last night, so we're good on that score. 

Here are some excerpts from Terry's first e-mail recounting his trip, in his own inimitable voice: 

***

[Someone took him out for ice cream in downtown Jerusalem]…it was all open walkways, cool old city streets and modern malls built in a very outdoorsy grape-viney fashion.  So a cool combination of modern convenience coupled with Arabic architecture and Jerusalem history.  Plus awesome views.

In downtown Jerusalem there's this beautiful open, green space and lots of casual walkers enjoying their lives - and just over the hill out of sight are the Palestinian settlements clustered behind high fences of razor wire.  Downtown are the Jews and the Israeli Arabs and out of sight are the majority of the population crammed into these little barren hillsides - and getting more crammed as religious Jewish settlers encroach bit by bit on the "good bits" of the Palestinian territory. 

As we were driving back from the airport (an hour's drive) I kept thinking "why?  HOW is this type of thing allowed? - it's insane":  I told that to a passing Israeli and he said "oh, you're right - we never realized.  Okay, we're fixing it all now.  Sorry about that".  I felt good that I could make a difference - all it takes is an external consultant coming in and pointing out the obvious :)

Okay, that didn't really happen.  But it should have…

  

In terms of environment, it's a lot more deserty than I expected.  Well, we know the Middle East is desert, but still.  Driving back from the airport - I kept thinking "hot and rocky - with lots of olive trees everywhere".  However, the olive trees are a lot more scraggly and toughened than the ones we see in Albania.  Kind of like they are dug in and holding on by the skin of their rootlets in a hostile environment.

There's also more open space than I expected.  There are a LOT of people in Israel in terms of population density, but they are heavily concentrated to make better use of limited resources - it's cheaper to maintain people clustered tightly together in terms of services.  So you'll have these barren hills and then "poof" a thick cluster of apartment blocks of a settlement...and then "whoosh" back to barren hills again. 

  

There's LOTs of light.  That clear desert sky and light that's really cool.  Also, because it's desert, it's hot during the day, but at night it gets cool and comfortable.  So the time we were out for ice cream - everyone was out walking around and hanging out as the cool of dusk set in.  I really like that kind of scene.

Food wise - it's awesome - everything Arabic - humus, olive oil, pita bread, cheeses, falafel, etc.  So I was pretty happy on that score too.

Walking around the old walls of Jerusalem was kind of cool.  Lots of history there and I kept imagining Christ from the Mount of Olives (where WV headquarters are) saying "oh Jerusalem...." I can't remember the rest of it, but something like "you're great, but you suck". [Ed. note: Luke 13:34 [NIV]: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!"]

***

 So that's Terry's Impressions of Israel/Jerusalem for you. Further updates as events warrant!

Pool Time!

Pooh in her happy place - potato chips! 

 Single ladies of Tirana, please take note:

 These are Shpresa's boys - they're so good with G!

Apologies to the random people who got caught in my lens...

Birthday Boy: 2 years old!

Aw, Little Dude!  

How was it you were ever so small?

Look at those tiny little fists... that nose... oh sleeping baby!

One turn around the sun, 

Once again the heat of summer,

Here you were: one year old.

My sweet little boy!

 You are SO. MUCH. FUN.
You are playful, mischievous, friendly and a flirt.

You are cuddly and sweet;  sa i dashur the ladies say.

You are curious, delighted, full of laughter and enjoyment of life.

 You've been places!

 You love to monkey around. 

You're way more coordinated than any other kid you're age that I've met.

You are a budding artist!

And comedian!

You love music and dancing.
You have a natural sense of rhythm and exuberant response to music.

Happy birthday to my favorite son. We are so blessed by having you in our lives.
I love you more than I can say. Hugs and kisses, Mama.

Happy 4th!

I almost forgot, happy 4th of July to US readers!

The Swing of Things

Can I just say, jet lag SUCKS. I don't think I felt quite right in my body until Saturday, our 7th day since getting back, and I woke up with a complete sense of well-being from head to toe. I almost didn't realize how weird I felt until the feeling dissipated.

Valerie, though, is still struggling to get back into her rhythm. During our second week in the US she dropped her afternoon nap completely, and slept soundly and well every night. But coming back here, working through jet lag, she's been napping every afternoon and then waking during the night for at least 4 hours. So starting on the weekend we've been trying to keep her awake all afternoon. At MCC it was easy, we'd just take her to the Toy Room and she'd be happy as a clam (where did that saying come from, I wonder? Has anyone ever actually measured the happiness of clams? How would you tell?) Here it's such a deeply ingrained part of her routine to go to bed when Gabriel does (especially when Shpresa is here) that it's been hard to create a new routine. 

Yesterday, however was a triumph! Shpresa took both kids - with help from her boys, whom my kids adore - to a pool nearby where they played from like 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.! She packed a picnic lunch and snacks and some toys and off they went. They staggered in just before supper - Valerie took 2 steps into the apartment and threw herself on the floor waiting for someone to take her shoes off for her - Gabriel stumbled over to me holding up his arms and crying "Gak gak! Gak gak!" - neither of them took a nap (G for the 3rd day straight, but he did take one today then). They had so much fun. SO much fun. Valerie was telling me all about the dolphin fountains and elephant slide. It's a little pricey for them to go every day but I think at least once or twice a week for the rest of the summer would be good! 

They slept so well and so long last night, I wish they could go every day. And I got so much work done, too. with the apartment to myself all day! I missed the little boogers, though. 

(Despite what the conjunction of text and photo implies, I didn't knit at all yesterday - this is a sock I knit during the sessions in Akron - a gift for a friend here who's about to have a baby. I'm making matching baby socks too.)

Great Aunt Gin!

These photos are not great, but our moments with Aunt Gin were spectacular. Yes, I'm still talking about our trip to the States :-). Aunt Gin received mail-order packages for us in anticipation of our visit, then organized two family get-togethers for the weekend we were there. She opened her box of toys saved from when her own kids were little and let our kids run all over her house and yard. She cooked delicious food that the kids both ate with gusto, and even watched them for a couple of hours, along with Great Aunt Sheri, while Terry and I went out for a "dinner" alone! (We went to a fast food chain, so I won't call it an actual "meal" with actual "food.") This was possible because both kids took to her immediately and enthusiastically. The words "Aunt Gin's House" were right up there with the magical "Toy Room." The people Valerie warms up to right away are few and very far between, and Aunt Gin is one of the lucky few. Thank you so much for sharing your home, food, toys, hat collection, and heart of gold with us while we were near.

Saying goodbye right before boarding the van to the airport

Bug

Playing tractors with second-cousin H. at Aunt Gin's house!

This is Gabriel's birthday week! Wow! Two years have gone by so fast. But I should save some mushy-mama-ness for the actual birthday post.

I just love this little guy so much.

A couple stories - one afternoon in Akron, he woke up from his nap, sat up, looked at me in that very serious sleep-dazed way one has just after waking, thumped on his chest and said "Bug! Bug!" Pause. Look around. Think. Then looked at me again and averred, "Bug!"

Since watching Kung Fu Panda, Valerie named us all after characters in the movie: Gabriel is the Bug (Mantis), I'm the Bird (Crane), Terry is the Turtle (Tortoise) and she named herself Fox (really a red panda, but he looks kind of like a fox). It was funny to me that he has embraced his nickname and alter ego. Although he will refer to himself as "Gabe" or "Gabe-uh!" he most of the time now corrects me when I call him that and says very firmly, "Bug."

He's talking a ton these days, mostly in English although he knows a lot of words and phrases in Albanian too. And, like his sister, still uses the Spanish word for water - agua.

Coming back from the US, we had a layover in Rome, and on the concourse by our gate there was a little cafe with a play area for kids. Genius! Every concourse in every airport in the world should have one of these. Coffee and a play area. It was so good for the kids to be able to run around like maniacs after enduring 9 hours confined to their seats (or the near vicinity thereof). They were so sleep-deprived and manic, but it was so good for them. There was a little girl there whose mom told me was about 2.5, but much closer in size to V than to G. Valerie called her "the mouse" as they chased each other around. At one point the girl came over to our table and took a drink from Valerie's cup. Her parents immediately jumped up saying "no no no no!" G was startled, then looked at me and very earnestly and seriously said "Mouse! Agua! Val-Val!" Pause. "Da-da Noooooo!"

I fear he may be dropping his afternoon nap already (second day in a row today). "Fear" because the mid-day lull is so nice. But if he sleeps better at night as a consequence, I won't complain too much.