Luggageless in Seattle

Our vacation to Seattle began as all such trips tend to do: a hurried and harried scramble to do laundry, pack as few as bags possible under 50 pounds and empty the fridge. The night before we left we overcome annoying but far from surmountable obstacles: Walgreen's not having a prescription, not discovering the pepperoni on our pizza until Rob got home, and Delta changing our flight from 8:40 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. without notifying us. But when all was said in done, we made the first plane and Romi, not the best traveler in the world, made it OK to Salt Lake City, where we had to pretty much walk outside for half a mile in the snow to get to the terminal, which wouldn't have been a big deal if we had our coats. Romi completely melted down on take off, to the point that the flight attendant told us we could go ahead and pick him up, which worked out great since he instantly fell asleep and slept the whole flight.

We landed in Seattle and headed for the barrage carousel, only to be cruelly disappointed when all we got was the car seat and not the two bags we had so meticulously packed. We filed the paperwork and headed off for the rental car van. Unfortunately, it is cold in Seattle and our coats were packed in our missing bags. We waited and waited and waited for the van, jumping around to keep warm. When the rental car van finally arrived, the door was broken so we had to ride there with the lovely 40-degree breeze swirling around. We eventually located the car, loaded up the car seat and headed out to meet our family at Claim Jumper, where they had graciously ordered us food so we would have hot sustenance waiting.

After a satisfying meal, we borrowed jackets and headed "home." Our rental bungalow is in a great neighborhood--Maddison Park. It's a suburban oasis minutes from downtown. Unfortunately, when we found the house, we also found it locked. Luckily, we got a hold of Inge in short order and didn't have to resort to breaking in. The house is two stories with hardwood floors. The kitchen is tiny and there are two bathrooms. It has a fancy washer and dryer and a great deck and yard if it would ever stop raining. We headed out for a mondo-largo grocery trip to Trader Joe's and Safeway, where we bought not only staples but anything that struck our vacation fancy. We lounged and relaxed and enjoyed one another's company before settling into the various beds, some of us in borrowed pajamas seeing as our luggage still had not arrived by 10:00 p.m.

The next morning came early. The house is cute and comfortable but it definitely is not soundproof. Any noise, from scraping a chair to opening the dishwasher, rings through the house like a steam train. I missed my clothes but I missed my earplugs even more. I emphatically told Rob that my Friday morning sleep-in did not count. I persevered with my special day, however, wishing for nothing more than clean underwear. We wouldn't have been so desperate for the luggage if we could have reached someone--anyone--at Delta. The baggage line, reservation line and bag delivery carrier all went straight to busy, at all hours. At 10:00 a.m., when the bags were 15 hours over due from the latest they said they would be delivered, Rob and David headed out to the airport. We knew as soon as they did the bags would come, but we also knew if they didn't try the bags would remain lost forever. True to form, just as they pulled into the airport parking garage there was a knock on the door. I spent the next hour happily unpacking, showering and changing into my very own clean clothes....hurray!

The remainder of my birthday morning was spent cooking for Shabbat. We broke for lunch and all headed to Cactus, the southwest-style restaurant that Inge had without irony recommended. Alas, it was closed for the holiday and we ended up at a Thai restaurant that I liked well enough but mom would have loved. We headed home and I had a scrumptious Shabbat/Birthday dinner of salad, Rob challah, Mac'n'Cheese ala Morgan and Hutterite pie.

Christmas day we relaxed and ate and played and ate and took walks and ate. It was nice to be together, although the kids got a bit stir crazy on the most boring day ever to be a Jew. Our house is right by the water and the views were stunning. We took a driving tour through downtown and go the lay of the land. Jo-Jo and Morgan diligently and relentlessly looked for a restaurant open on December 25th for dinner. After trying every Asian permutation they could come up with we ended up at a superior Indian cafe where we consumed even more food. Everyone loved the meal.

Sunday dawned and so did our determination to get out and see the city. We got up, ate yet again, got dressed and headed out. Most of us even realized we should bundle up. We found parking by the water and headed to Pike Place Market. We loved it. There was so much to see, from the original Starbucks (no, i didn't have coffee, instead I enjoyed a hot sea salt and caramel hot chocolate) to the gorgeous fruits and veggies, to the tastings of olive and vinegar. We ate lunch at the Pike Pub, enjoying a much-needed respite from the cold with air-fried fish and chips. Romi needed to crash so Rob, Gabi, David and the munchkin headed home to rest while Morgan, Steven (sans jacket), Jo-Jo (also sans jacket, like mother like son) and I fell in love with Beecher's, the homemade cheese store and hoofed it to the over-rated Macrinia Bakery. We were happy to play in the city but cold doesn't even describe it. Luckily, David came and rescued us.

Romi enjoyed the sites but he enjoyed his family even more. His cousins will go to any length to make him happy, including making up a variety of games (flying pillow, couch-bus number 8 with coins for keys, etc.). His power over these people is amazing. He can convince them to pretend to sleep when he turns the light off so that when he turns it on they all jump up singing and dancing. I can't decide what I enjoy watching more, his pure joy or their antics. He especially has his best playmate Steven wrapped around his finger, although he pulled "the lip" on his aunt and she totally caved. His favorite toy in the house is the "baby broom," although he has made quite a game out of having his teenagers swing him in a sheet. His cousins have also taught him how to use an iPod.

Sunday night we made dinner from our day's worth of hunting. We had a yummy ciabatta-type bread with parsley, sage, rosemary, thyme (feel free to sing), Kosher salt and olive oil with Beecher's Flagshhip cheese. Then we ate fresh rosemary-garlic pasta with nothing but olive oil and Parmesan. The broccoli was perfectly tender and tasty dressed with nothing but lemon. And the main course: salmon from Pike's. It was an incredible meal.

On Monday, Steven, Rob, Romi and I enjoyed the Seattle Aquarium, especially the touch pools and dome room (remember you promised to build me one Steven!). We met up with David, Jo-Jo and Morgan and had a truly lovely lunch on the water at the famous Elliot's Oyster Bar. The rosemary bread was amazing. The Gludts headed home to nap while the Salomon's explored Pioneer Square. They skipped the underground tour but found the best toy story ever, buying a ball and submarine for Romi, and yummy cookies from the Cow Chip Bakery (they brought us a "bull" cookie which I preceded to eat without informing Rob that half of it was his). I made another Hutterite pie, although I had trouble getting it to set up right. In an effort to get it to gel, I balanced it on the window sill. It made a lovely picture and an even better crash when it fell into the sink. (Of course we ate it anyway.)

We kept busy playing games like Sporcle, learning that the Greek word for bride is nymph (complete with hand motions), Trivial Pursuit (with Morgan using flawed logic to determine that there were far fewer people when Gone with Wind was released so it can't be the top ticket sales of all time) and all sorts of variations on Loose Hair, including Amish-style and Everything Bagel.

Tuesday we headed to the Seattle Center. After spending more than $20 to get into the Children's Museum Rob and I had the realization that Romi was not going to do well. He finds crowded places overwhelming in the best of circumstances and this was not an ideal venture for a new place. We spent about an hour before determining that he was not going to be happy. We called the Salomon's to check on their whereabouts just to learn that they were at the food court by the monorail. We told them to stay put, grabbed the kidlet and headed upstairs to the food court by the monorail. We looked and looked, past crowds and kids and the Winterland display, but couldn't find them anywhere. They aren't easy to miss, so we called them in confusion. Yes, they were in the food court. Yes, they were by the monorail. But where? They were by the escalator. The what?! Once we determined that they were at the other monorail station by the food court we met up. We took Romi on the monorail for a round trip adventure and gave him some lunch. On the way home we swung by a very crowded Pike's Place Market for some of the world's best Mac 'n' Cheese from Beecher's. It lived up to its reputation. Mine didn't even make it home!

After napping with Romi, everyone returned home and we hung out and laughed and sorted through online scanned photos until it was time to go for dinner. We ended up at Cafe Flora, a local vegetarian restaurant that uses local ingredients. The food, while not plentiful, was certainly tasty. After Romi went to bed a bunch of us laughed ourselves silly playing Cranium. It was a lovely evening.

Wednesday, our last day of the trip, came way too soon. We had grandiose plans to finish off our Seattle vacation. We considered the locks, a harbor cruise, taking a ferry, visiting the Fremont district or Brainbridge Island. All of our plans, however, were dashed as we watched the snow flurries start. The snow didn't stick in Madison Park but word on the street was that there was quite a bit of snow in other parts of the city. So instead of braving the elements with a two-year-old and only a four-seater car for the seven of us we stayed close to home.

We began our return trip home at the ungodly hour of 3:30 a.m. Morgan accompanied us to the airport and the extra pair of hands certainly helped. We had to wait for the plane to be de-iced, a first for me. The extra procedure delayed us, but not enough for us to miss our connection in Utah. The stuck jetway did that. We sat on the plane at the gate waiting for a mechanic until the scheduled time for our departure came and went. We then spent SEVEN HOURS in the airport trying to go stand-by to Tucson and keep a 2-year old entertained. We had food vouchers and clothes for the boy and the airport had play areas, but it was all for naught and we ended up sleeping in a hotel without luggage. Delta picked up the tab since it was mechanical, but we still just wanted to be home. Friday morning we headed to the hotel lobby to catch the shuttle and it was a mob scene. There were loads of people trying to get to the airport, one British family with an inordinate amount of luggage (and us without any at all!). As we began to despair of making it to the airport in time to get through security, even without bags, a nice woman and her teenage daughter looked at us, told us they had a rental car and asked it we wanted to jump in the back. We didn't hesitate. We buckled Romi into the backseat and enjoyed an easy trip with two New Yorkers who had been stuck in SLC since that Monday. They even kindly dropped us at the gate!

We made it home safe and sound, albeit tired and grumpy. But it was all worth it. I know, because Romi is still singing "Guitara, guitata, dance, dance, dance!"

My Son, the Rock Star

Romi's newest obsession: his guitar. He plays it frequently throughout the day and lets us know when he wants it by miming a strumming action. He insists on using a pick, which is also one of the words he enunciates best. He plays and strums and picks and sings and rocks out, complete with moves. If his interests as a toddler are any indication of his future career aspirations, we should feel free to spend his college fund!

Of course, playing the guitar is only one outlet for his love of music. The other is the Victrola, and in particular a "Hawaiian"-themed song from the 1930s. He loves this ditty. Of course, it doesn't hurt that Abba also swings him around during the music.

Other than that, Romi is growing and learning and generally just a lot of fun. He dumped an entire bottle of Mr. Bubble in the bath. He got sopping wet in the recent monsoon. He refuse3s to call me Ima ("No! Mommy!" he gleefully shouts). He orders the dog around and she loves him for it. He absolutely adores his new play kitchen and cooks up all sorts of yummy treats for us. His favorite color is purple and his favorite number is eight, although if you ask him how many of anything he always says "two." In fact, when he counts, he says "two...two...two" (with the correct inflection for "one...two...three."

His potty training is pretty much a done deal, although he remembers enough about our desperate bribes to ask every now and then for a reward, which means playing with Talking Tom on our smart phones. It's an app where you can "tickle" (OK, it hits) the cat, give it milk, make it purr, pull its tail and, oh yeah, it repeats everything you say to it back in a freaky voice. What one won't put up with to get rid of diapers! Of course, letting Romi use our whamy fancy-schmancy high-tech phones had an additional downside: he hated the Etch-a-Sketch. Quite simply, it was just too analog for him. He kept swiping the screen and couldn't figure out why nothing was happening--poor guy!

Hide, Hide!

It is absolutely no exaggeration that it is Romi who has gotten the entire family through these past six weeks. He brings with him love and laughter, enjoyment and energy, and is simply the best distraction. As of late, he has taken to tattling on his parents. If either one of us does something he doesn't like, he goes in search of the other parent, points out the offending parental unit and makes a face. He has also figured out that sometimes Ima and Abba need to be talked into what he thinks is simply a fabulous idea. He encourages our consensus in his plans by getting a twinkle in his eye, smiling the most beatific smile ever, and vigorously shaking his head yes. And yes, of course it works.

Romi's most enduring new trick is "hide." When one of us is going after him or he doesn't want to get dressed or simply decides it is not time for a clean diaper, he says "hide, hide" and runs to find someone to pick him up and hold him. He snuggles up, burying his face in your neck and assumes he is safe. Recently, he opened the broom closet to see the vacuum (with which he has a love/hate relationship), yelled "hide," and when he couldn't find someone to hold and hide him, he opened the bottom drawer in the kitchen, bent over and put his head in it. "Hide" has also expanded to protect inanimate objects. A few weeks ago, Rob tried to confiscate a bar of soap from the Romster, who took it and ran off through the house. When he finally found me in the kitchen, with Abba in close pursuit, he yelled "hide" multiple times while simultaneously picking up my shirt and stashing the bar of soap under it. And yes, of course it worked.

Heather always says the force is strong with Romi, which is most obvious in the absolute power he has over his cousins. But every once in a while, he must also use his cutest-baby-in-world wiles to get what he wants. I wasn't feeling well one day and told Rob I was going to return to bed to lie down for a few minutes. Romi, however, had other plans. First he came and asked me to get up (no, he didn't actually say it, but he has ways of making his wants and desires known). When that didn't work, he brought me my glasses. I thanked him, took the glasses, put them on the nightstand and stayed in bed, so Romi took it to the next level and delivered to me my slippers. I explained that I was staying put and closed my eyes, trying to relax. It wasn't long before I felt a gently tugging only to look down as Romi ever so slowly and carefully pulled all the covers off of me and the bed. And yes, of course it worked.

You Did What?!

I admit that Rob and I aren't the most traditional of parents. We let Romi play in the front seat of our cars (supervised, of course), let him eat with a fork and knife since he was one (come on, it's a butter knife...do you know how hard it is to hurt yourself with a butter knife?), gave him nuts before the age of two (a truly punishable offense in this day and age), and let him play with plastic bags.

OK, we don't really let him play with plastic bags, but he did manage to get this one off the kitchen counter and of course we took it away and told him not to play with them, etc. etc. etc., but not before we took that really cute picture.

Romi's vocabulary is definitely expanding, although "no" is still the tried and true favorite word of all time. I tried to get him to say Ima by bribing him and going through the painstaking process of telling him to say "E" and then telling him to say "Ma," which did not result in him calling me Ima, but did teach him to say "Ma!" every time I said "E."

Romi's paralyzing tortoise terror has abated but he still has a healthy fear of the four-inch wide reptiles that roam our backyard. He has taken to carrying around a large oatmeal container, although we have no idea why. (When he wants oatmeal he simply gets out the saucepan.) He dances to most music, eats tomatoes as if they were apples, insists on inserting any and all car keys into a screw hole of his Cozy Coupe and still loves babies and water.

Speaking of water, a Shabbat or two ago, while Abba was schluffing, I got the brilliant idea of filling the water gun and showing him how to use it. He caught on pretty quickly, using his thumb to pull the trigger. His aim was mediocre, but his joy was boundless. All too quickly I got bored of going into the house to fill the squirt gun, so I got the brilliant idea of using the condiment squeeze bottle to fill the squirt gun. Of course, then the Romster wanted the condiment bottle. And when I got tired of running into the house to fill the condiment bottle, I decided to use the hose. I know, I know, I'm a slow learner. As all of you experienced parents know, I ended up soaking wet, with a naked and dripping but very happy baby on my hands. Well worth it!

'Cause I've Always Wanted a Monkey

Somehow or another, Romi actually turned two. (If you ask him how old he is he puts up an index finger on each hand. No, he doesn't really get it, but it's awfully cute.) I know there are many parents out there who can't believe their baby is graduating, getting married, turning 40, etc., and I get that, but I'm still freaking out that my baby is two!

And along with two comes all sorts of new things. Romi has completely and utterly mastered the word no, which he says with his very own special accent. He even has many different versions of it. There's the regular, everyday, single-syllable "no" to use for mundane things. Then there's the emphatic repetition "no, no, no" for the more important stuff. And finally, for the truly horrific, there's the long, drawn out "noooooooooo." Funny thing is that I think they are all wonderful.

As of late Romi is really into babies. He can say the word "baby" and points to them anytime we see one. He loves to look at pictures of babies and has a baby doll. Of course, his favorite baby is Jacqui, our dear friends the Hoffman's six-week old daughter. He kisses her, touches her head, taps her on the nose and tries to generally love her up. We hope she's strong enough to survive Romi's love and devotion.

Romi has also taken to covering his eyes. He does so when he doesn't want to do something so we can't find him, to play hide and seek, and when he's afraid (especially of the tortoise, which is about 4-inches long and terrifies him). It looks like this:

He likes to drag our stuffed bear Bermanese around by the dog leash, and he loves it when Abba and Ima fight over him (and I mean that in a truly physical sense of each taking half and pulling). I began giving him rides throughout the house on a towel, which gets us the best smile, but I did get a bit annoyed when he decided to read on the trip. He still loves the car, school, his shoes and animals. He is obsessed with his chickens and they are actually far less afraid of him then they are of Rob or me. He lets us know when he has a dirty diaper (potty training here we come?) and his undying love of asparagus has been thrown over for a new obsession: mushrooms (he prefers them sauteed but will also pick them off everyone's pizza to eat). I tried to give him cotton candy at the Keep On Truckin' festival, but he refused to eat it and insisted on an apple. The things that give him the most joy in life are watching his parents ham it up for him, getting all three of us under the covers, and tormenting his beloved mother with a stuffed monkey.

I love two.

Chickens, Snow, Auntie and Romi's Tush

My friends all find it funny that a few weeks ago, early on a Sunday morning, Romi locked me out of the house. I'd probably find it amusing too, if I hadn't been in my robe. It was about 6:30 a.m. and I was trying to let Abba get a much-needed break from the 5:00 a.m. wake up call that is the Romster. Romi likes to sit on the washer and dryer and play with buttons and knobs and the car keys, but I won't leave him up there unattended and it gets a bit dull so I figured I'd read the paper. However, when I went out to get it, leaving the main door open but the iron security door closed, he reached up those cute little fingers and threw the deadbolt. And it was cold outside. When he just looked up at me through the door I was pretty sure I'd soon be knocking on our bedroom window to wake up Rob, but after two a couple of tries my Little Manster managed to let me back in--cold, but no worse for wear!

Romi has been up to quite a bit these last few weeks. He is a busy hamster. He recently helped Abba wash the car, which he absolutely loved, probably because if it has to do with water, he's in. He worked hard, soaping up the car, rubbing and rinsing and, of course, getting drenched in the process. He especially liked it when he was inside and Abba pointed the hose at the window. Rob couldn't hear him from outside the car, but it was obvious what he wanted when he kept pointing at the window!

We have recently had the pleasure of some company, and Romi was just thrilled to see his grandmother and auntie. He looks after my mom quite well and if I serve him something on his plate for dinner, he makes certain she gets her fair share too, even if it's something she doesn't like or want (like couscous). Although he's smart enough not to share too much of his new favorite: asparagus. And, of course, Romi will do things for Grandma that he will do for no one else. She loves to see him naked (which resulted into two accidents on our carpet while she was here) so whenever he gets out of the shower, he immediately runs to find Grandma so she can kvell over the naked baby. And when she asks him to get over to her so she can pinch his tush, he turns around and backs up so she can do it. For us, he won't even pick up a toy.

When his auntie came to visit the two hit it off fabulously. She taught him how to splash in the bath (thanks Jodi) and they had many long conversations, often about a bee-in-the-car incident on the way back from Mount Lemmon. Speaking of Mount Lemmon, I was more than excited to take Romi to the snow. We loaded up clothes and gear and sleds and headed up the mountain. Granted, I hadn't been on a sled since my infamous accident in D.C. 14 years ago, but I was willing to give it a try and I wasn't about to deny Romi the opportunity. Turns out I didn't have to worry. After weeks of trying to find the perfect day and then us driving all over the top of the Catalina Mountains searching for the perfect sledding spot, Romi absolutely hated the snow. He liked the sled ride, but after five minutes kept he just kept asking to get in the car. He was quite insistent, so while I do have video of both Romi and his auntie on a sled (no, really, Jodi went sledding!), we didn't stay long. Good thing we live in the desert!

As for the latest news, Romi is getting used to the baby chickens. He was quite wary of them at first and while he still doesn't like to touch them, he is growing more and more fascinated every day. His new favorite past time is to have us take all three chicks out of the brooder so they can roam the sunroom. He isn't petting them yet, but he loves to watch them run around.

From left to right: Buffy, Heather and Loretta

Gung Hay Fat Choy

Romi never fails to continue to amaze, entertain and delight his parents. Fortunately, we were able to share the wealth at the end of the year with Nana and Papa, who came to stay for a week. Romi absolutely loved having his grandparents around and found a reliable playmate in Nana. He soon discovered that he could literally lead her around by a finger, and found many an occasion to drag her into the living room to play. It was a wonderful visit...we can't wait to make it permanent!

Romi and Nana playing on the couch

Romi's bag of tricks is rapidly expanding. He knows a plethora of body parents, can pick out his loved ones by name (including the dog and himself) and can do a pretty credible "moo" when asked what sound a cow makes. He likes to clink glasses when we eat, clears his plate, and still loves doing the dishes. He's getting smarter about holding on to what is his and has taken to putting valuable cookies in his mouth and not his hands to avoid them being stolen by Miriam. Depending on the circumstance, Romi remains either as cautious or as brazen as ever. He's still a pretty careful kid, watching his keppie (head) when crawling around, checking things out, and taking his own time to warm up to strangers. But when it comes to slides or swings, he's a crazy man. He recently had the opportunity to show of his daring-do at Ellis' birthday party at Pump It Up, where he went down the big slide the first time with Abba but quickly abandoned him on the second trip, independently turning around and racing down, hair waving in the wind, smiling all the way.

Our day out in Phoenix with the Ellentucks and Hoffmans

One of my favorite Romi stories of late is a few weeks ago we were on a walk, Romialicious in the stroller on a beautiful warm desert day. He fell asleep in his stroller and I continued on, enjoying the exercise, until Romi clapped three times in his sleep and woke himself up.

As of late, Romi hasn't been feeling all that well, and his mood and behavior have reflected that. Lucky for us, Grandma headed into town and he was mid-cry when he spotted her walking into the house. He was instantly transformed into a smiling, content little man, just thrilled to see her. We celebrated Chinese New Year with Grandma and our Cleveland cousins in Scottsdale. Not only was it a lovely visit, but Romi got the traditional long noodles, and oranges to ear and a red envelope to mark the occasion. A great way to start the year of the tiger!