Brightwood Lights

As I mentioned in a previous post, DC has not always been my favorite city. However, as I have lived here longer and longer, I have found more and more to love about life in the District. I frequently think that I should make lists so that I never forget what a wonderful place this is. So here goes– List #1. In no particular order, here are the highlights of our great neighborhood.

1. Rock Creek Park. Technically, this may not be in “our” neighborhood, but since it is only a mile away and since it is where I have logged hundreds of running miles, I think it counts. RCP is a national park and is an amazing forest within Washington, D.C.’s city limits. (Thank you for your tax dollars, which help maintain it!) With dozens of hiking (running!) trails; beautiful streams, trees, and wildlife; a nature center adjacent to horse stables; and some historical sites to boot, RCP is the perfect escape from city life. Some of the animals I’ve seen on runs in the park include hundreds of deer (some quite bold!), foxes, blue herons, and a hawk. I love witnessing the changing seasons and experiencing a bit of nature on a a regular basis.

2. The Takoma Rec Center. We live literally a 3-minute walk from the Takoma recreation center, which includes outdoor basketball & tennis courts, our amazing playground (see below), a kid-sized & Olympic-sized swimming pool, a community center, a baseball field, and a soccer field. It is such a privilege to have all of this at our doorstep, and we try to make good use of the open spaces and the facilities on a regular basis. I swam throughout both of my pregnancies and continue to frequent the pool to cross train on non-running days. (The rec center also offers a wide variety of classes and boasts a fitness center, but I’ve never availed myself of those amenities. Still-nice to know they’re there.)
**Incidentally- if you click on the link for the rec center, it takes you to a picture from the website for. . . Caleb’s employer. Yep, this gem was one of his company’s projects, though Caleb himself did not work on it.**

3. “Our” playground. I know there are many wonderful playgrounds all over the world, and there are several wonderful parks within walking distance. Still, I love the one by the Takoma Rec Center for several reasons. First, it is about a 7 minute walk from our house, so we can go any chance we can. Second, it has swings, which not all playgrounds do these days. Third, it is surrounded by beautiful shade trees, which are a must on those hot summer mornings! Fourth, it is a true cross section of the world. I have met au pairs from Thailand, Germany, and France; nannies from Honduras, Peru, St. Martin, and Costa Rica; moms from Mexico, England, Liberia, China, and Latvia; day care workers from Jamaica and the Dominican Republic; and Dads from El Salvador and Cuba. (Of course, there are plenty of born-andbred Americans, too.) What a mix! Finally, fifth, our playground is a community-building center. I know countless people in our neighborhood only because our kids play together regularly, and I treasure that connection to the community around us.

4. Walkability. In addition to the above-mentioned amenities around here, we also live less than a ten minute walk from a major grocery store, a pharmacy, a post office, a shoe store, three or four dry cleaners, several carry out restaurants, a few sit down restaurants, a variety of banks, a thrift store, a dollar store, multiple churches, and a public library. We can also access public transportation without problem, as we live steps from a bus line connecting us to the Metro (which itself is less than a 15-minute walk). We enjoy the convenience of having a car because we have kids but believe that if we were childless, we could easily get by with bikes, our feet, and public transportation. Even with kids, we occasionally go for days without using our car.

5. Coolidge High School. Living across the street from a large DC public high school is certainly a mixed blessing, but we enjoy being able to use their recently resurfaced track and football field (for playing soccer with Simona) during non-school hours. We also get to watch their drum line, football team, and cheerleading/dance squads practice, which is cheap entertainment to a young preschooler!

6. Our neighbors. Last but not least, we enjoy our neighbors. This is a predominantly African American, working class neighborhood, and many of our street’s residents have lived here for decades. Living in such close proximity to others- sharing walls, parking spaces, and sidewalks with them- can sometimes be difficult, but it creates shared space and shared experience nearly non-existent in the suburbs. We have been awakened by the police knocking on our neighbor’s door to deliver tragic news, and we have shared another neighbor’s joy at finally receiving a wheel chair for her disabled son. We have helped and been helped in snow removal and car repair efforts. Kids have spent lazy afternoons having a tea party with Simona on our porch or coloring with sidewalk chalk outside our house. Sometimes we feel like we live under a microscope, but we believe that sharing life with those around us has helped us feel connected to our street and neighborhood.

There you have it– the reasons I love our neighborhood. I will periodically be posting more lists about “What I love about DC.” Stay tuned!
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Other udpates: Simona has fallen and hurt her other top front tooth, so we’re waiting with bated breath and hoping that it will not also need to be pulled. Andreas is taking more and more unassisted steps, so we think he will be fully walking in the next week or so.

Andreas celebrated his first birthday on December 26. It was a simple affair; we were in Georgia, so Oma and Opa got to be there for the big ONE. Simona enjoyed helping him open his gifts, and the guest of honor enjoyed playing with his new toys and new wrapping paper.

His first cake was fun all around. I enjoyed making it, though I must say that it didn’t turn out quite as I had envisioned! He ended up with a round, snow-ball looking creation (chocolate cake & coconut icing), while the rest of us enjoyed similar-looking cupcakes. (Hey- I never claimed to be Betty Crocker!)

Simona got to blow out the candle and lick the icing off of the #1. She also decided to bite off a bit and quickly learned that candles look prettier than they taste!

Andreas, for his part, started off skeptical, dipping his finger into the icing and cautiously licking. He quickly progressed from handfuls of icing to diving in face first, fulfilling his obligation to show enormous enthusiasm for his first birthday cake. Guess the funny looking snowball cake still tasted good!

A is crawling FAST, climbing and pulling up on everything, and starting to vocalize much more. (He even took his first few steps on January 2! But because he’s such a good crawler, he much prefers that mode of transportation.) He loves looking at books and pictures, making lots of little cooing noises while pointing at various pictures. I’m pretty sure he knows what the word “Katze” means (cat), and he definitely can identify various people. I whistle to him while I change his diapers, and he usually tries to whistle back at me, pursing his little lips and making sweet noises. His big sister can make him laugh at the drop of a hat and is by far his favorite person to watch. He loves baths, being chased, banging on things, and fruit. He hates vegetables, being scolded, and being strapped into his car seat. We are working on his sleeping habits- he take short naps because he’s such a light sleeper, and he STILL wakes up in the night pretty frequently. This is a huge contrast to Simona, who literally has slept through A stepping on her face.

His eyes are doing very well, though he still has three little granulomas (the bumps visible on his left eyelid) that lead to plenty of questions from strangers. He will need an additional surgery in a couple of years, at which time the granulomas can be removed. More important, though, is that his December ophthalmology check up went very well; he was right on track for visual development for a one-year-old. His ophthalmologist noted that he had made at note in the chart at his first appointment (at one month old) that Andreas would likely need glasses by his first birthday. We’re fortunate that’s not the case.

Hard to believe a whole year has gone by already. Your little dimples light up our house, and your laughter is contagious. We are lucky to have you in our family. Happy Birthday, Andreas!

Dear faithful blog readers,
We wish you a merry Christmas and hope that this has been a meaningful season for you all. We are celebrating with family here in Georgia, though I use the word “celebrating” loosely. Caleb and I spent all day yesterday sick in bed. By the evening, Caleb was well enough to attend the candle light Christmas Eve service with my parents, while I stayed home and enjoyed an hour of listening to the Messiah by candle light. We are grateful that we had family around to take care of the kids while we were sick. (Thanks, Mom & Dad!) Today has been a quiet day around the house, but we have tried to find time to focus on the “reason for the season” in spite of illnesses.

So wherever this finds you, we wish you and your families a wonderful holiday!
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UPDATE: As you can see, we have updated the “look” of our website. The content has not changed (besides some recently uploaded photos); however, it is much more user-friendly on our end. Which makes updates a bit easier for us.

Credit for the photo at the top of the site goes to our good friend Brett.

Hope you enjoy it!

. . . ONE front tooth.

Yup, our little Simona’s first tooth is out. I wouldn’t quite say it “fell” out, seeing as how there was a nasty pair of plyers involved, but out it is.

Back in September, while we were at a playground in Leipzig, Germany, Simona fell while climbing on a rock at a playground. Her lip bled, but otherwise we couldn’t see much visible damage. She complained of her tooth hurting for several days, but after about a week she seemed fine again. We mentioned it to her pediatrician when we went in for Andreas’s 9-month check up, and he took a look. He also saw no visible damage and told us to contact a dentist if she started complaining again or if we saw any changes.

This past Friday night, while reading her a bedtime story, I noticed that it looked a bit gray. Caleb was at the store, and I forgot to mention it to him when he got home. The next day, he noticed it himself. So, on Monday morning, we left a message at our dentist (who fortunately also does pediatric dentistry and is wonderful with children). When we got in touch, they gave us an appointment for 8 AM this morning. Simona was very brave and did a great job with our dentist, who could see that the root was becoming infected. She wanted it out right away, so she sent us straight to an oral surgeon whom she recommends for pediatrics. (She doesn’t do procedures like that on children under 5 in her office.)

The oral surgeon’s office was very quick. They didn’t want Andreas in the room, so I had to bring the carseat into the office, strap him in, and leave him behind the receptionist’s desk while I went in with Simona. Not much later, we had two crying children and one tiny purple treasure chest containing Simona’s very first tooth.

We weren’t anticipating our first visit from the tooth fairy quite so early, but, like everything else in parenthood, you just can’t predict these things!

We are in the phase of life during which many of our peers are starting their own families.  In the past twelve months, all three of my closest friends in DC, several other long-distance friends, and I myself have had babies.  Needless to say, I have devoted much time and energy to thinking about babies and childbirth.

Between S & A’s childbirths, I read and researched the topic extensively out of a mixture of curiosity and self interest.  Some of what I read included the books Pushed, by Jennifer Block; Birth: The Surprising History of How We Are Born, by Tina Cassidy; and Ina May’s Guide to Childbirth by Ina May Gaskin.  I also watched The Business of Being Born, visited a few websites discussing and debating childbirth and maternal medical care, and even researched some public health statistics on childbirth.

My research and personal experiences have lead me to two conclusions.  First, I believe that the process of childbirth matters.  The techniques and procedures used by medical professionals who attend deliveries are of life-and-death consequence for mother and child.  And statistics bear out the fact that, though childbirth in the United States is much safer than in countries without advanced medical technology, it is not nearly as safe as it could or should be.  Better birth matters because those statistics are not just numbers.  They are actual lives of actual mothers and babies who matter and who deserve the best possible chance at health and life.

My second conclusion is that the discourse surrounding childbirth rapidly deteriorates into a pointless debate between the “natural birth” and “medical intervention” camps, to the detriment of women and babies’ health.  In the fight for access to improved health care, women seem to have lost the forest for the trees.  The insistence on a certain “birth experience” for the sake of ensuring the safest, least painful outcome for mother and baby is worthwhile.  The quest to make childbirth a homey, comfortable experience, though, is not only futile but can also be extremely risky.

I would argue that improved maternal/fetal care is not only desirable but also attainable.  Both the “interventionists” and the “naturalists” are doing what they believe is optimal and that both desire the best possible outcome for mother and baby.  I acknowledge that other factors can cloud medical professionals’ judgements: profit, convenience, fear of lawsuits, etc.  But I seriously doubt that any person who works in labor and delivery does not care when a mother or child dies or is seriously injured.  Both “camps” can learn from one another.  This requires humility on both sides, along with an acknowledgement that childbirth is and likely always will remain a dangerous prospect.

Finally, I would urge a healthy dose of perspective.  One of the dear friends mentioned above did not have the happy, healthy outcome we all desperately desire.  Though her loss was not caused by her daughter’s birth experience, it did offer the poignant reminder that anyone whose pregnancy outcome is a heatlhy mother and child have first and foremost an obligation to be grateful and secondmost a reason to do all possible to ensure that other mothers have access to that same outcome.