Two calls to Poison Control in under sixteen hours

Moving is never easy. With a 20 month toddler following every move you make it is harder than you might expect. Pavlina has single-handedly doubled the work of moving out of our beloved Cloister apartment on the NIH campus into our new tiny, but nice apartment nearby. She is accomplished at unfolding clothes, removing items from boxes as soon as my back is turned (and while feeling frisky, right in front of me), putting extra items in boxes, being underfoot, making messes to get attention, and making messes for the fun of making a mess. To be fair, she has suffered a loss of attention, crabby parents, a major change in surroundings (with more grace than either Scott or I), and she's lost her space to run, as we no longer have the wonderful, sunny hallway to shoo her out in when she's feeling rambunctious. Besides these difficulties there has been the constant issue of keeping everything in both places baby-proofed. Unfortunately, Scott and I can't keep both eyes on Pav at all times, because we both feel that she has the potential to maim herself many times on the average day.

Last Friday night we were setting things up in the new apartment. I walked through the kitchen and saw that Pav had climbed into the cabinet beneath the sink. Another part of my brain knew that the previous tenants had left a bottle of dish detergent there. The two bits of info never crossed paths in my mind, but Pav must have been thirsty because a few minutes later we heard her start to scream. I tried to rinse the bubbles out of her mouth while Scott talked to Poison Control and on their recommendation we gave her lots of water to drink to ease the inevitable vomiting and diarreah that was to come. A few hours later she was tired (so were we) but none the worst for wear. The only tragedy was that I will never be able to enjoy red velvet cake again, having seen first hand what it looks like once eaten.

The next morning Pav was fully recovered, and ready for mischief. I, however, was not. The excitement of the night before coupled with a nasty cold had left me exhausted. While reading stories after breakfast I fell asleep. An hour later I awoke to a heavy silence. It was the dangerous silence of someone trying not to make any noise. I wish I had gotten pictures first, but I was so concerned with calling Poison Control again that the camera never crossed my mind. I was also worried that two calls in less than 24 hours would flag us for child abuse investigation, but I figured not calling was definitely worse. Of course, Poison Control was very kind about the whole thing and told me that lipstick is non-toxic (makes sense, you put it on your lips) and warned of more diarreah ("it might be a funny color," she warned. "I'll tell you about funny colored," I thought). So, you guessed it, Pav ate my favorite tube of lipstick. Scott came home from work and the two of us spent 3 hours scrubbing lipstick off our bed, the carpet, the nightstand, her clothes. We still love her, just not as much as before ;).

Dinner with Family

Proof that Scott and I aren't the best at keeping in touch: We've been living less than ten miles from relatives and it took us 11 months to visit! My mom's first cousin, Janet, and her husband Walter live in Potomac, a mere eight miles from our apartment.

Walter makes a living improving polygraph tests, but his real passion is inventing. He's currently working on a censored for reasons of National Security by the Bush administration (think on that for a minute!) and recently made a machine that creates a quiet zone for the bed mate of a snorer sleep in. Although he got it to work, he doesn't consider it completely successful because the zone was only the size of a grapefruit. While that may be too small for most heads, there may be a market for those who've had a run in with an Amazonian head shrinker, or who only have hearing in one ear. Perhaps this machine could be marketed to noisy bars and restaurants for their customers to use while trying to talk on cell phones. Put your non-phone ear in the quiet spot and the person on the other end doesn't have to yell for you to hear them!

Their two daughters, Betsy (beginning her second year in PA school) and Krissy (works downtown for a non-profit) live nearby in Virginia, and were able to join us as well.

Krissy, (left, looking lovely even though she had barely recovered from a three day migraine) and Betsy (right, lovely despite a gruelling schedule at school). The two of them kept Pav well entertained from the moment we arrived.

Pavlina, Scott, Palmer and Walter. As you can tell from their intense expressions the pizza had just been delivered.

Janet and Karen enjoying the croaking of frogs from the pond in the backyard.

The only one missing from the event was Janet and Walt's son, Adam whom I've never met despite being in the vicinity several times. He sounds like an interesting person, though (takes after his dad!). He deferred from medical school to play pro-football for a couple of years and recently did a Half Ironman before soon starting a fellowship at John's Hopkins.

We had such a good time that we vow to visit again, at least once, before leaving for the UK!

Father's Day, 2008

There are many reasons why I am posting about Father's Day a week and a half later, but you will all have to read about them in future posts. My parents happened to be visiting for other reasons, but happily we were able to have a multi-generational celebration to honor the two Dads. Palmer and Scott agreed upon a day at the National Arboretum and dinner at a tapas bar. My dad doesn't have great hearing so he thought he was going to be eating with half naked ladies. Luckily the food was good enough that he wasn't terribly disappointed. A fabulous digital video camera was my parent's Birthday/Father's Day gift to Scott. The thing is tiny, fits in the palm of your hand, and also takes still images so we tested it out, and properly documented the whole day. Highlights from the Arboretum include:

A picnic lunch of sandwiches, assorted fruits and veggies, and Pav

A walk through the National Bonsai & Penjing Museum

A father-daughter picture with the oldest bonsai in the collection, the Yamaki Five Needle Pine which has been in cultivation since 1625. It survived the atomic bombing of Hiroshima August 6, 1945, even though it sat only 3km from the epicenter.

Splashing feet at the National Capitol Columns

A tremendous diner at Jaleo, Bethesda's best topless (tapas to the rest of us) bar:

No, that's not really sangria Pav is dipping her binky in (I think!)

All in all, a great day was had by all. We were very lucky to get to spend the day with my parents since the flooding in their home state nearly kept them from traveling. Although we were all safe and dry, our hearts were with all of those still affected by flood waters.

Midwest Flood of 2008 :(

Farm in Johnson County
Houses along the Cedar River
Our favorite restaurant, Mekong, the long skinny building

with the slanted roof in the lower right corner

I'm not sure what to say about the flooding in our hometown, except that it is very odd being so distant from it. Although my head knows it is best for us to not have to deal with the inconvenience of modern life colliding with Mother Nature, my heart feels that we should be there experiencing this natural disaster with our family and friends back home.

We could have helped sandbag the University of Iowa buildings that Scott and I know so well from our courting days. We could have helped Scott's parents clean out their house after the Evansdale, IA storm sewer backed up three feet of water into their basement. We could have helped clean up the new berber carpet that recently replaced the ancient shag in Gram's basement after it flooded because of the heavy rains. And we could have rescued my parents when their car died after flooding while visiting Gram in Grant County, WI.

To all affected by the flood: we send our thoughts your way.

Great Falls National Park

We've had an impressive heatwave the last several days with temperatures in the high 90's and humidity so high you can see moisture in the air. All in all, stepping outside feels like walking into a giant dog's mouth. So, to celebrate the early arrival of summer Scott and I decided to take a hike. We drove to Great Falls, a National Park 15 miles from DC and strapped Pav into her favorite perch--The Backpack:

She really and truly loves this contraption, and for that reason (and many more) so do we. Not only is it ultra-portable (we don't have to wait for elevators in the metro!), but it protects her from sun, rain and bugs and allows her to steer by grabbing and pulling Scott's ears. We get stopped by admirers all the time, in fact a trio of women asked to have their picture taken with Pav in The Backpack as we were leaving Great Falls.

We hiked the River Trail, with great views of the Mather Gorge...

plenty of rocks to scramble over and steep hills to climb...
...and lots of moss. I love moss.

Then, on the way home, we detoured through some nearby neighborhoods looking for a pool party to crash. Unfortunately we couldn't find one, so we settled for a cool dip in the bathtub. 'Twas a fun way to spend a sweaty evening.

Pav, So Grown Up, but So Far to Go

Sometimes I forget that this little person I spend my days with is just a babe. Other times it is painfully clear that she has so much growing up to do! Take the last couple of days as an example.

Normally when Pav is quiet it can only mean bad stuff is going on, but Monday morning she quietly entertained herself for half an hour reading "Harry the Dirty Dog" on our bed. Scott was working from home that morning and I had to call him over to check it out:

Then compare to this afternoon. When Pav woke up from her nap it was clear from one whiff that she needed a diaper change. So I suggested this to her and get this response:

"NO!"

Run and hide, run and hide...

I don't think I'll ever understand her reasoning on this issue (and trust me, it is an issue for us). Why wouldn't a clean dry diaper be worth the minute and a half of laying still it takes to do a change? Oh no, she'd rather just keep playing, smelly or not.

It is one of the joys of parenting to have a child remind you of the small pleasures to be had in life. An example is the love Pavlina has for eating cherry tomatoes.

Stick one in whole,

Pop, let juice run down chin,

zesty!

Who knew eating vegetables (yes, botanically tomatoes are fruit, but Pav doesn't eat many vegetables so we count what we can!) could be so much fun?

Friends, We'll Miss You All

This is a sad time for us. A lot of our close friends from the Cloister are leaving to go back to their medschool lives in locales as varied and far away as Hawaii, California, New Mexico, Utah, Rhode Island, etc. While we are very excited to stay for another year and continue to explore DC, it is hard to be the ones left behind. Here are some of our happiest shared moments from the past year:

Maka and Pav nap together in her crib

Josh, Jonah, Pav and Heather snack in the hallway

Pav's 1st birthday party

Michelle, Jonah and Tim: three good-lookers at the Christmas Party

Ali and Pav play in the hallway

Jonah teaches Pav to play the guitar

Kiara and Pav watch Maka's song and dance

Kaelene, Kiara, Maka, and the Easter Bunny

Pav and Jonah chuckle about driving in sunglasses at night

Pav enjoys the Firestation tour arranged by Rachelle, mother of Lizzie and Andrew

Ashesh, Scott, Shashank, and Matt on Graduation Day

2007-2008 HHMI Scholars with Tom Cech

It has been wonderful getting to know each and every one of you this year. We love you, and will miss you all greatly.