The Barcelona Spring of '06

Just a little note to let everybody know that life in Babyworld is good, getting better. My emotional maturity coupled with my bi-podal facilities are enabling me to construct an expansive universe with myself, naturally, as its centerifugal force. The faces around me are still the same, but I am getting ever-more accomplished at manipulating them. I go to the park most days and have a great time riding the little plastic ponies on the big spring coils and I love to flirt with the terror of slipping down the smooth metal slide that's attached to a cool little wooden platform that affords me a panoramic view of things. Unfortunately, in Spain they don't believe that parks and grass should mingle, so everybody gets very dusty and dirty and has to buff their shoes when they get home. I occasionally chat with some of the other kids, but mostly small talk as we go about the private business of playing. There are rumors that I'll be going off to nursery school in September, though that seems too far-fetched to give any credence to. Food has become a big adventure for me and, while I enjoy most of it, I have not seen it written anywhere that once something has entered my mouth it is required to stay there. I frustrate the one who feeds me, but it's their fault for having such a rigid worldview and not anticpating or appreciating new developments in nourishment and consumption. I also f*cking HATE going to bed. The good news is that I no longer have to take it lying or sitting down, so I don't. I stand up and grab onto the slats on the side of my crib with both hands and shake or whale on them with all my might while cackling maniacally like one of the disgruntled inmates of a 1960s "State Institution" in between shock treatments and shots of Thorazine. That gets their attention and is good for a laugh. There is also a radiator within reach of my sleepspace that makes an excellent thundering echo sound when I slap it with the palms of my hands. Lamentably, that issue has been addressed by moving me to the center of my room, from where I can now at least launch my pacifier in any of four directions.

The easter week holidays were a lot of fun and I had the opportunity to go all over the place. They started with a trip to a big plaza in Barcelona to have my palm plant blessed by a bishop or some nonsense, but I guess observing superstitions never hurt anybody, right? Well, at least the ones that they don't expect any financial compensation for rendering. We also went down to the beach in the Costa Dorada and I got to walk around on my Yayas' terrace which is about as big as my apartment and was completely empty and open because they are doing some work there. They had some rides on the beachwalk that were nice, but it's always a double-edged sword because once I start playing on them, I never want to leave. (Kind of like with the bathtub, but at least my Daddy lets me play there sometime when there's not even any water in it). A few days later, we drove up to the Empordà near L'Escala to visit my Mommy's friend Monica and her family at their new casa de campo. It was great! They had a really nice pool that has a big stone platform that runs all the way around it that my Daddy let me crawl on and he even held me while I dipped first my arms, then my face, in the chilly water. We also found an ant that was carrying his dead friend, and I tried to eat them, but my Daddy made me let them go and said something about Karma. There were also things to ride and GRASS TO PLAY ON and even a TV remote control inside, which I always have a soft spot for. En fin, I really crashed at the end of such a busy five-day weekend. Now life is back to normal, but as is often the case, things will never be quite the same and I keep learning new stuff and adjusting my life and outlook accordingly. I understand more words than I used to - stupid stuff like "pendientes," "moon," "nariz," "ears" - and like to show off by demonstrating this dubious mastery whenever I am called upon to do so. I walk around as long as somebody holds onto one of my hands with their finger, but it still seems like a long way to fall to me and I prefer the velocity of crawling. I have been accused of being reckless and daring, but I have no significant physical remnants of this behavior, so I don't foresee any problems with it. My universe, my terms.

Me and my Daddy on one of our walkabouts. 

Me and my Mommy going in for a little roughousing. 

My preferred party spot in the living room. 

Could I interest you in any of these fine watches? 

I prefer to always have an enchufe nearby. 

This one has a papparazzi "caught in the headlights" feel to it.  

Dinner time in Casa Schofield. 

Becoming bi-podal is a pretty groovy feeling. 

Enough already. 

I hate it when they catch you with your mouth full thinking that it's okay to let your guard down in your own home.  

When you are blessed with rhythm, you can make it happen anytime, anywhere. 

I can't get my foot out of this goddamn thing! 

Here I am in open field, waiting for things to develop before I determine my next move. 

I try to help around the house doing laundry and things. 

And that's my other friend from Mexico, Aldonsa. 

And the years roll by: here I am with one of my camarera friends Valeria, in the very spot where we took a picture last year when I was ten days old and making my first jaunt around the neighborhood. 

Here I am at a recent soiree. 

Just wanted to let everybody know that I have a cold stare in my arsenal. 

When in doubt, applaud. 

Me and my mommy with the big chocolate egg that means it's the day after Easter in Catalunya. 

We rode moose and tricycles all over that yard. 

Olivia was cool enough to let me use her stuff when we went up to her country house in the Empordà. 

Excessive playing can provoke dizzyness. 

Practicing my three-point stance. 

Me and my Mommy getting ready to hit the bricks and do some shopping.