Words

Anzel's words at 17-18 months 

Purple 

Yellow

Pickle

Mama

Oh no!

Uh-oh

Lola (wowa)

Ball

Da! (with sign for cat) 

Shoes (not quite shoes)

Dada (banana)

Mimi (tomato)

Cookie

Go (guitar)

Bubble

Play

Toy

Mommy

Car

Hi (hiiieeee)

Bye bye

Cuckoo

Baa baa (sheep)

No 

Yeah

Okay

We are on the precipice of a sentence. 

So long, summer! Going, going, and now it's gone!

It has been an amazing and fast summer. I want to write about everything here, but it's just too much so I'll just outline some of the highlights in pictures. 

We hope you had a beautiful summer and that fall is a magical time of color, comfort, and connection. 

Brooklyn Bridge Park

Colorado

Dinosaurs!

We spent a lot of time outside this summer - some was at the beach, some was in the mountains of Colorado, some was at the aquarium in Coney Island and a lot was in Prospect Park near our apartment. 

Colorado peaches are insanely delicious 

Jacob Riis Beach

Central Park

Creating art at home

End of summer beach time

Columbia County Fair fun

Celebrating pears in Elizaville

The summer has passed, and we have so much more to share!  New post soon about Anzel's latest moves and the fall so far. 

Summer Belly Magic💖💕

Summertime is the most amazing time of year, and now that Anzel is walking and climbing the fun is even funner😃!  He started walking shortly after his 1st birthday, and is now saying "mama," making all sorts of animal sounds, and imitating our words to our great delight. 

In Elizaville with our newly-installed   railings

Hiking and swimming at High Falls

Make Music NY festival where free musical happens all over the city - he wanted on stage 

Within the past few months I took him to Illinois twice - once for my grandma's 97th birthday and the other for his first visit to Granny G's house in Sullivan. While in Illinois, he discovered his love for corn on the cob, fell in love with Granny G's 67 Chevy Nova, and got to show off his personality to lots of the Sullivan grandma crew.

We also rode as a family on a float in the NYC gay pride parade on June 26th in honor of Liz's dear friend Ellie who passed on New Year's Day this year. Anzel completely embodied her spirit as he waved to everyone in the crowd and made all of Ellie's other friends on the float feel safe and joyful in the midst of Ellie's favorite weekend of every year. It was magical!

He's also been enjoying lots of time in various Brooklyn parks and playgrounds, and he continues to socialize everywhere we go. 

On both plane rides, he waved at every person on the plane and kept returning to the same two boys as we walked the aisle to get more and more high fives.  People joke about his potential political career, and while we want him to be whatever he wants, I truly hope that's not the career path he chooses.

Waving to the people

We've also enjoyed some time upstate and have gone hiking, blueberry picking and have hung out at Lake Taghkanic near us. Friends have joined us, and it's made our visits even more enjoyable and filled with family. 

His love for dogs and all furry creatures continues to grow, and his personality is really starting to shine. 

We've also found that his appetite for all things delicious continues to grow and grow ... Watermelon, strawberries, spinach patties, Mac and cheese, quinoa and hummus, and most other foods are eaten in great abundance, and now he walks around patting his belly and offering us a peek at the 8th wonder of the world. 

He's a regular at Nacho Macho Taco and orders rice and beans with guacamole every time. 

This kid brings such light and joy to our days, even in the midst of all of the tumult, violence, and inhumanity in the world. I truly can't imagine my days without him.

Quick update: Anzel Walking Man

While this blog is mostly about parenting and our family, I'd be remiss in omitting the recent events that have made our hearts heavy and filled with sorrow. We have been very depressed about the massacre of our community in Orlando. Dance floors are sacred space for the queer community. It's safe to be you and express yourself without fear. The function is very much like a church or synagogue. A place where people "like you" go most weekends to be with their community.  It's been horrible to imagine raising our son in our country, that now absorbs these sort of mass shootings as normal. The media and general belief that these shootings are a result of "terrorism" (if the shooter is Muslim or non-Christian) or "mental health issues" (if the shooter is a white male Christian) and not an issue of gun control, intolerance and hatred! The utter disregard for human life is frightening and access to automatic weapons WAY too easy. Raising a white male son comes with responsibility and we have much awareness of his privilege already. We did go to a vigil at stonewall last Monday night.

Another blog update after Pride March this weekend. 

On a much brighter note: The Anzel Update:

Our little baby is not a baby anymore. He walks like "eh, no big deal". Two days ago he started walking backwards just because he figured out he could. I have yet to capture backward walking on video. In fact it's harder and harder to keep up with all his doings now that he walks. 

I got him a little chair of his own which he adores! 

He also has learned to open and close most things around our home. We didn't realize the repercussions until last week. We couldn't find the TV remote for two days. I found it when I took the recycling out. He had buried it in that bin without anyone seeing. Then Cristina couldn't find her compact and it turned up in the other bin full of plastic. Finally on Sunday I made banana bread and couldn't find the potholders that normally sit on the oven door. Well, those definitely got thrown in the garbage by Anzel and was taken out by us. I wonder what else we might be missing? Maybe he's the answer to all of our clutter problems.

We have to watch every move he makes now. Most of what he does is crazy cute so not boring to watch. 

He's also really starting to say words. "No" has been uttered but isn't in high frequency use. There's a sometimes "mama" and "Baa baa" everyday. It's what a sheep says FYI. (Also means dad in Chinese). We have learned why they teach babies animal noises, it leads to speech development. So I got him an old Fischer price toy they still make called the  "Farmer Says". I had this as a kid and loved it a lot. 

Anzel continues to become more and more social. He loves people more than any New Yorker we've encountered. He continues to wave and make eye contact with everyone he sees. We are still struggling with child care because we know he thrives in day care with lots of other kids. For now we have found a Nanny share in the neighborhood with a very cute two year old girl. It has been only a couple of days thus far but will be helpful for us this summer. 

Happy Summer Y'all. 

Toddlerhood has arrived!

It's a new dawn, it's a new day, and we're feelin' tired!  In the past month we have both been working frantically at our jobs due to short-staffing on my end and the desire to pay for daycare on Liz's end. Among the wrenches that have been thrown into the mix include the fact that two weeks ago our daycare kicked us out with less than 24 hours notice to find new childcare due to them having too many kids and not enough staff. Not our fault, but definitely our problem. So, we have been scrambling to make it all work in the midst of trying to keep it all together. 

But we DID experience our first Mother's Day, and the bright light is that we have a beautiful healthy boy who is funny, snuggly, and seems to be resilient enough to withstand our craziness😊

Happy MOM Day, Liz!

On May 15th, Anzel turned ONE!  The plan was to have a picnic in Prospect Park, but the day was weirdly windy with possible thunderstorms, so we found an alternative space at a local ice cream and coffee shop. We had the whole backyard to ourselves, both grandmas came for the weekend, lots of friends came out to celebrate with us, and we had an amazing musician play a show for all the kids (and adults liked it too).  Aunt Mary made some delicious banana cupcakes and a special smash cake just for our boy.  While he didn't really smash it, he did manage to get icing all over and has enjoyed eating it all week long!

And just as quickly as he has turned ONE, he has entered toddlerhood. He's taking about 8-10 steps at a time now, shaking his head NO when he doesn't want something, and is starting to show signs of separation anxiety (screaming when a mama puts him down or leaves the room).  And in between those moments, he's dancing, chasing Lola and Dharma, playing endless games of Peek-a-Boo, and laughing hysterically at our antics. 

These past few months have been a roller coaster ride, and we couldn't have done it without all of the support from our family and chosen family.  So, thank you to everyone for keeping us from losing our minds!

Zelbot is turning ONE

Countdown to the year marker of being moms is soon to be marked by our first Mother's Day followed a week later by Anzel's birthday. It seems so unreal that this little dude is ours, but I guess he's chosen to stay with us after getting to know us a bit. Honestly, I think much of his decision was based on his love for Lola (which is one of his first words ... WOWA). 

Over the past year, we have gotten to see Anzel's first loves develop and thought we would share his top 10 list:

Music - especially when he can dance or bang out a sick drum beat with hands or chopsticks

Peekaboo - this guy belly laughs when you disappear and reappear, and now he does the hiding and expects you to laugh - admittedly, most people can't help themselves

Nature - all things outdoors seem to fascinate, energize, and calm him all at the same time. Watching him explore nature is awe-inspiring. 

Swinging - park swings make him smile from ear to ear and squeal with delight

Puppets - weather it's Clifford the Big Red Dog, a sock duck, or his little human-like puppet friends, he starts "conversations" with them and finds them endlessly amusing

Other kids - our dude gets right in there and introduces himself by playing, touching, and grabbing other kids immediately. Making new friends everywhere he goes!

Lola's bowls - it's like Lola's food and water bowls have Anzel magnets in them and he can't resist the powerful force. And now when he gets close, he hears us say his name and he does a little finger wag at himself. 

FOOD - I cannot overstate this guy's love for food. Hummus, jumbalaya, yogurt, beans and rice, sweet potatoes ... you name it, he eats it.

Animals - dogs, cats, goats, and other furry mobile creatures make him giggle and screech. He just wants to touch, play, and snuggle with them, which most animals haven't been that into honestly. 

FAMILY - the joy on his face when we spend time with grandparents, cousins, aunties, uncles, and friends is unsurpassed. Clarke's beard, Mary's snuggles, Tamika's dreads, Mamere's songs, Grumpus's cane, Granny G's pigs, Mason's cuddles, Aunt Catherine's kisses, and his mamas' crazy singing and dancing. He's loving it all, and we are so grateful to have so much family surrounding us. We couldn't have made it through this year without all of your love and support, and Anzel is going to be an amazingly lucky human to know each and every one of you!

I'm turning ONE in two weeks... Can you believe it???