Joshua Zamrycki's Weblog

Now that April is over and I haven’t uploaded a single photo from this entire month (and I have plenty), I thought it was a good time to get the last few snapshots I took in March up on the interwebs. I can’t even think about April until I do. Must be chronological. That’s just how I roll.

We spent a wonderful day with Sophie. First, we met in a little park downtown for some sunny slide action.

Marina showed up in her ballerina outfit. She and Emily played very well together.

Then we headed back to meet George at Sophie’s house where we were joined by Amber and Andreu and their new son Mateu (who is just a few weeks older than Sebastian) and our friend Emma who offered to cook us a few of the new recipes she had recently discovered in Morocco. Again, Emily followed Marina around and learned a few big-girl games like makeup.

And then, on another occasion, we met up with Ed and Basia in a nearby garden just after a healthy rainstorm.

It gave Emily and Natalie a chance to go jumping in muddy puddles.

And I captured one of my favorite pictures taken with my new camera.

So there you go. That was the rest of March. Not all of it, mind you. I only upload about 1% of the picture I take, and not all of those make it to this blog. You can check out the rest of the photos (as always) by visiting my Flickr account.

Look out, April. Here I come…

Emily came home from school last Wednesday and told us that there had been a man on the patio during recess who was jumping. And she didn’t like him.

She was very matter-of-fact about her description of the event, which included her being very sad and crying and that she was very scared. We asked if her teachers knew about the man jumping on the patio and she said yes, they knew.

The next morning I dropped her off at school and casually asked one of her teachers who this man was. Turns out there is a young Italian street performer who lives upstairs from the school and he decided to perform an impromptu clown show through his window for the kids in the patio below during recess. Pantomime, disappearing and reappearing, face paint, and a big red nose. The whole shabang. Most of the kids thought it was rather entertaining. Some weren’t sure. Fewer still were scared of the man jumping on the patio. Emily was terrified. Violently and physically petrified.

Emily had to spend the rest of the recess in her teachers arms with constant reassurances that the jumping man would not hurt her and that everything was OK.

I have no idea where this coulrophobia had come from. We never had an issue with clowns before. But just the mere mention of that red nose sent Emily into a fit of, “I don’t like him!”.

Her teacher assured me that, if the man appeared again, she would talk to him and ask him not to perform for the children as some of them were afraid (none more than Emily). Emily and I were OK with that and I said goodbye.

Upon picking her up later that next day, it was obvious that the jumping man had come back. The teacher told me that Emily, shaking with fear, would not relax until brought back inside from recess. It was agreed that I should probably have a heart-to-heart with Emily once back in the comfort of our home. We tried talking about it and Emily agreed that some of her friends thought he was funny and she even admitted that he was “just” a clown, but logic and reasoning seemed to end there. She wasn’t happy. She didn’t want to sleep that night and she definitely didn’t want to go to school the next day.

She went to school the next day. I don’t know how I managed to convince her, but she went. She later refused to even set foot on the patio during recess. The teacher, after managing to communicate with the upstairs jumping man in spite of his pigeon Spanish, was able to borrow his red clown nose with the idea that it would be healthy for Emily to take it home for the weekend. That nose was krypotonite. She recognized that it was a ball and that it was red, but would not admit that it was a nose. It could not be a nose. I feel we made some progress.

After a long weekend of the nose haunting us from a shelf in the living room, I had her carry it to school this morning, which she was not very happy about. She handed the nose to her teacher as if it meant nothing and went on her merry way. We exchanged knowing glances and I bid them farewell. She apparently did much better at school today, though the jumping man was nowhere to be seen. There has been no mention of him this afternoon. So things are fine for now. I dread the jumping man’s next performance.

Jan was taking the dinner out of the oven this evening when Emily walked into the kitchen:

Emily: What’s that mummy? [doesn't wait for an answer] I know, it’s a pizza!
Jan: No, it’s a quiche, which is quite similar to a pizza.
Emily: Maybe it’s French then.

Emily just gathered a bunch of her dolls and toys in a big blanket and deposited them all on the couch. She was talking to them and feeding them, so I went to work on the computer. A few minutes later, she comes into the office and says:

Emily: Daddy! I’m having a picnic!
Me: Very good. Where?
Emily: On the couch. We’re eating.
Me: Can I have a picnic with you?
Emily: I don’t think so. Maybe next year.

And she runs out of the office.

Happy two month birthday, Sebastian!

What a delight this little boy is. Really. I know I haven’t kept you up to date on his developments over his first couple of months, so allow me to change that.

• He’s a big boy. I don’t want to get into the bad habit of comparing our kids, but Sebastian was born weighing in at 3.29 kg while Emily weighed 3.5 kg at birth. No huge difference here. But while it took Emily one month to add 1 kg onto her weight, our new little milk-guzzler accomplished this in just 16 days. Today, Emily is two and a half years old and wears a size 4 diaper (only when she sleeps!). Sebastian is two months old and is wearing size 3.
• Sebastian’s favorite pastime is lying on his back and having a good old-fashioned kick-around. He’ll happily lie there for 10-15 minutes just flailing his arms, swinging his feet, and rocking his head. Having a kick-around on his changing table has the added bonus of placing him right beneath his most favorite object in the entire world: a small wicker boat with yarn boatmen that our friend Sarah brought us from Peru, which we currently have suspended from our bedroom ceiling light. He loves that thing!
• He seems to appreciate good music. But where Emily enjoys living room ballet sessions or learning the choreography from select YouTube pop videos, Sebastian is generally more interested in swing and calypso.

• Babies are normally able to hold their heads up when placed in a sitting position at around 4 months. Buster was dong this at just after a month. He also did a splendid job of focusing his eyesight a lot earlier than expected. He’s very advanced!
• Oh yeah, we sometimes call him Buster.
• So far (knock on wood), we are happy to say that Sebastian, like Emily before him, is a very tranquil baby. He’s not a crying baby. Not a sicky baby. Not one of those babies that never eats or never sleeps. He’s absolutely holding up his end of the Good Baby Bargain. For now.

• As laid back as he is, Sebastian is still a boy who knows what he wants. And sometimes he just wants to be held. And walked around the house. In a very specific manner. You see, I am only allowed to hold him horizontally and Jan is only allowed to hold him vertically. No substitutions or variations accepted.
• Emily goo’d and gaa’d like most babies, but Sebastian’s vocabulary is comprised almost entirely of dolphin noises. I’ve never seen anything like it. He’s doing it less and less the older he gets, but just stand by while he’s in the middle of one of his kick-arounds and you’re sure to hear the distinctive clicks and squeaks. Sounds like a dolphin. I swear. Always good for a smile.
• And speaking of smiles, the Smile Fairy finally arrived just a couple of weeks ago! It’s such a warm and wonderful feeling to look into his eyes, have him recognize me, and then receive a face full of sunshine. It’s so much nicer being greeted by a big gummy smile than a blank bug-eyed stare.

• Emily looked like me. Sebastian looks like Jan. Or so the general consensus would have us believe. I could hold a baby photo of Emily up beside one of my own and you would not be able to disagree. I felt this when she was born. It was like looking into a mirror. After he was born, I held Sebastian in my arms and I did not recognize the child before me. It was not me. That was a very strange feeling. But when he sleeps, he looks just like Emily. And his eyes are shaped like mine. And he’s changing every day. Genetics is a funny thing.
• Is Emily jealous of Sebastian? This is the most oft asked question. The answer was no. And then it was yes. Now it is no. Emily loves her new little brother to bits and is always eager to show her affection. Sometimes too eager. When Emily climbs up on the bed to give Sebastian a snuggle and a kiss and a hug, we must quickly change into smother-prevention mode. Why does she always have to get right in his face and cover his mouth? She’s adapting very well to the shared spotlight, but it was a harrowing experience during weeks 2-6. So many changes. So many questions. We really are very lucky.

What would you do if you lost your wallet? How lost would you be? How helpless?

I had an audition for a new cartoon series yesterday. Jan was across town in a park on a see-saw with “the kids” (that’s still strange to say) and I was at home, quietly “working from home” and passing the morning. The time came for me to get my act together and head out to this audition so, before walking out the door, I performed the usual inventory check:

phone: check
keys: check
Palm Pilot: check
headphones: check
wallet: …

Uh oh. After a quick flashback in my mind to the day before when we had gone to Parc de la Ciutadella for a birthday party, I remembered that I had left my wallet in Jan’s handbag. You know, for safekeeping. A quick call to the Mrs. confirmed my fears.

The audition was in 25 minutes. I was at home with no money, no train ticket, no Bicing card, no credit card, no ATM card, and no ID. I had to get to Poble Nou (a 20 minute train ride, or a 45 minute walk). I rooted around the house to see if I could find a secret stash of cash anywhere. Nothing. Not even any change in the couch (Emily!!!). So that meant no metro, no bike, no cab, and no time to walk.

In a fit of desperation, I grabbed my passport and ran out the door with the intention of begging the teller at the bank to let me take out some money with a form of ID other than the one I used to open the account. As I flew out the front door of the building, Mario, our doorman, said, “See you later!”. I stopped in my tracks. Gears turned in my head. I turned on my heels. And I hit Mario up for a 20 euro loan, to be paid back with interest, I promised.

A cab brought me downtown to Poble Nou where I arrived just a couple of minutes after the scheduled audition time. The cartoon centered around some vegetables in a fridge. I did a hyper-nervous Piglet-like voice for an insecure radish and an over-the-top Mexican accent for a cocky chili pepper. The clients were in stitches, I thanked them for their time, and I was back out on the street just 30 minutes later.

I have since hidden emergency funds in an uber-secret location in case I ever find myself in a similar situation. Mario has been paid back (with a bottle of cava as interest) and I’m waiting to hear if the cartoon is picked up.

The best way I can assist my lovely wife in raising our two wonderful children is by keeping the big one out of her hair. Combine this with the amazing spring weather we’ve been having (save last week’s monsoons) and you’ve got an awesome day at the beach and another reason to post some rockin’ photos.

I love it when Emily and I get some alone time. And we hadn’t been to the beach for at least five months so she was particularly excited when I told her where we were going. The sun was bright, the sand was warm, and a gentle breeze was in the air. I’m really looking forward to the time when we can start playing volleyball together, even if it is only bumping around on the sidelines. But this year’s trips to the beach promise to be filled with stone and shell collecting, building sand castles, chasing seagulls, and running away shrieking from the gentle waves lapping the shore.

I love this next photo. All I did was stand her on a bench in preparation for the ceremonial pre-shoe desanding of the feet and I told her to smile. Out of nowhere she starts striking these hysterical poses! It was so unlike her and I even think this photo itself doesn’t look very much like her. But I still love it. It’s got attitude!

And then we walked back to the metro to head home. Along the way, Emily became obsessed with hide-and-seek. Here she is doing her best to be inconspicuous.

Our good friend Nadia came to visit us a couple of weeks ago. They live just on the other side of the mountain so we don’t get to see them as often as we’d like. I will briefly tell you about the day so that my narrative may serve as a weak excuse to show you some sweet photos that I took.

We started the day at our place. Nadia’s two girls, Chloe and Meritxell, are just on either side of Emily age-wise and are the sweetest things ever. They both enjoyed cuddling and getting to know Sebastian.

It was an absolutely gorgeous day so we all headed on down to the park. Emily spent most of her time with Chloe, digging in the sand and racing down the slide.

They would race down the slide and then sprint to the other side of the park where Chloe would climb up a fantastic blue curvy metal ladder and Emily would deftly scale the treacherous rope ladder.

Meritxell spent most of the time on her own, sitting in a quiet corner of the park watching sand fall from her hand to the ground as if she were contemplating the very essence of the Earth beneath her. Then she went down the slide about 300 times with Nadia, shrieking with excitement each time.

We ended our time together by having lunch at this tiny little hidden restaurant that Jan showed us, where you walk through the run-of-the-mill dining room out into a nice secluded outdoor patio for picnic-style dining. The kids were too busy running around and playing to eat too much of their lunch but the parents enjoyed a nice meal with surprisingly child-friendly service.

The ice cream that the girls wolfed down was all that kept them awake before we said good day and headed home for a late and much-needed nap. A good time was had by all.

Now that I’ve got my new camera (and I’m loving it!), I have so many more quality photos to share. Expect a few more of these little photo-event summaries in the week to come.