Imagination Station

With my high-energy, high-imagination Sylvie we have found a niche that makes her so happy. She discovered the Bigfoot series on tv and fell in love with it, obsessed over it. And then there was Infested, which is also scary, reality tv of sorts, and there is the creepy factor of course! Now we just watched "Mermaids" on Animal Planet. The show was long and drawn out but we were watching on the computer so I was able to fast forward to the good stuff. However, there was a lot of info about scientific evidence, exploring and hypothesizing, and it was great to introduce her to something "real." I think the scary factor, plus the "inquiring minds want to know" factor satisfy her inner inquisitiveness and love of a thrill.

It's so fun when we find something so fun to keep this lady interested and occupied. And while these shows are not quite "kid appropriate", watched with an adult and skimmed through they have been fun.

Unfortunately this also leads to some of the issues we've been having lately. Since our trip, Sylvie has been going through some eating issues. After time and some visits to doctors, the conclusion is that this is a psychological issue. I'm shocked and I'm not. She's a strong-minded lady and is capable of so much. The specialist thinks her fear of eating started with a choking incident and was spurred on by the anxiety involved in us leaving for our trip, a return to school after spring break, and the day to day anxiety of a new baby and friend issues. So this has all led to my little lady who refuses to swallow anything solid.

The plan of attack right now is to keep her happy and anxiety free of course, but to gently encourage her towards solids and not turn it into a battle of wills. She's compensating with plenty of Pediasure and milk. But it makes me sad that her mind is capable of not eating. So far we haven't involved any real experts but I suppose that will come in due time.

Sweet Sylvie. You sure keep us on our toes. In a brilliantly awesome way.

Baby Phases

There are a few things that Venice did that I completely forgot about until she did it! Or that I don't want to forget

-The Stretchy phase. Where you lay them down on the changing table and they stretch for a good 5 minutes before you can change their diaper. So sweet.

-The giggler. She's a pretty quiet little person and it take a bit of work to get her laughing. But sometimes, you catch her just the right way. The first big giggle came from when Logan was in the living room twirling a crinkly metallic ribbon on a stick. We caught that one on video!

Another one that sticks out in my mind was a particularly annoying morning where I had a doctor appointment and Sylvie and I were just done with the hospital but Venice needed to eat. I sat down to feed her and the lady chased us away to a "mother's room" which turned out the be a blood-letting chair in a dark cold room, not so much fun. I was annoyed and ready to just get home with a sour face and Venice was propped on my shoulder. Sylvie did a little tap dance when we got out of the elevator and the baby started giggling and giggling. It was so nice. And she kept laughing right through the lobby I had been chased out of. All the families waiting for their patients had big smiles on their faces and some lady waiting for her ride with an eye patch was just thrilled to have this bit of joy in her day. So next time someone tries to shoo us out of a public place, I'll just say "no thanks" because babies are joy.

Infested

After watching episodes of Infested with Sylvie, when there was a lot of scratching at the window last night, I woke Jorge up to go check aka 'close the window'. I knew it was rain, but couldn't handle the possibility that it was bats, ants, rats, or other such nastiness. Sylvie's gonna love horror movies someday- she loves to be scared!

Amsterdam- Anne Frank House

This tour deserves its own post. I will forever hold with me the feelings I had visiting this monument to the survivors and dead from the Holocaust. I know there are others more knowledgeable and I could do more research but I will write what I felt visiting this place. The museum itself was well-done architecturally and as an experience. They were orderly and helped us move along unpacking ourselves downstairs, and chaining the stroller in a specified location. I wore the baby in her carrier through the tour. The entry is a new piece of the building but the tour (self-guided) goes through the original house where Anne and her family and friends were hiding.

The steep staircases got steeper and steeper as you ascended and the rooms got smaller and darker, especially with the blackout curtains. They had voice-overs, movies and mementos of the time period. You really got a sense of the nervousness that Anne had coming into hiding and the sheer terror by the end. They lived in the building where her father had a business and by the end he could not even eat for the nervousness. Her employees were in on the secrecy though someone tattled at the end and there was a raid that ended everything.

They interviewed a friend of hers who did survive the camps. She was in a slightly better camp because of her citizenship status and had gotten word that her friend Anne from preschool was over the fence. This friend had received little packages from First Aid, and when she told the people in her camp she was putting together a package for her friend, they all gave what they could. She hoisted the package over the fence to Anne, but another woman caught the package and ran. I cannot imagine the generosity and the horrible nature that people had in the face of death. This would be when I started crying. Feeling the rooms and how small they were and hearing Anne's words on how desperately she wanted to go outside and experience the seasons knowing there were children allowed to be outside hurt in a deep way.

It felt good to decompress in the cafe after that experience, and watch normal life carrying on outside the windows. Venice was particularly interested in the street sweepers. What had looked a bit dingy suddenly looked clean and pretty outside. I am so glad I was able to visit this memorial to Anne and get a sense of what horrible things people are capable of when they allow hatred in their hearts. I hope someday to show my children what happened with the Holocaust in my own words, with the books we brought back and teach them acceptance and love. Coming into Amsterdam I, as a Catholic white kid who grew up in the sheltered suburbs, was a bit put off by the prostitution and drugs that were allowed. But seeing it in a different light, I understood. Through the visit to the Anne Frank house and some articles I read in the magazines there, I saw the government overlooking these things as more of an idea of acceptance and openness rather than condoning them.

I will always have a special place in my heart for Holland, for Amsterdam, for all things Dutch. It's a beautiful, intense place to visit, and I loved every moment of it. Coming back home took awhile to get back to reality, to want to re-join daily life. Experiences can change us and help us grow. I hope this helps shape who I am and who I want to be. Thank you Jorge for being brave enough to dream big. No, dream huge. And grab life by the reigns and jump on this wild ride. Thank you Mom, Dad, Lilia, Paco, Josemanuel and Reena for taking care of 2 pieces of my heart at home so we could go experience this great wide world and we could know they would be safe and loved.

From Amsterdam to Paris

Saturday morning we packed up our room and were doing some last minute things when I snipped my sweet girls' fingernail when she moved and we had a pretty bloody cut. Babies never sit still so it was a big mess and nerve-wracking as we had a train to catch! We used the tape from a lint brush and taped the cut and gave her a million kisses and found our way to the train. With time to spare we found a box of bandaids to purchase and some juice to restore our blood sugar levels that had plummeted as our poor baby was so upset and hurt.

On the train Jorge locked the stroller to the luggage rack, that was a good thing we had read as advice- to buy a stroller lock. We didn't use it often but when we did, it was perfect to have it on hand. We packed lightly for our weekend away. Which was great for getting around, but not so great when I was feeding Venice and felt my sweater getting wet. Her finger bandaid had popped off and she had soaked my sweater in blood. After we rearranged, changed and re-bandaged, I broke down in tears.

After we recovered we got a chance to enjoy the train and it's amazing view and it's tiny foods and drinks. It was a lot of fun to be riding through the countryside seeing Brussels and windmills and farmlands from the train seats.

We took a taxi in Paris to the hotel and my heart fluttered seeing Paris once again. In all its glory. There is NOTHING in this world that matches seeing Paris in the Springtime. After Amsterdam, it had a completely different vibe, a new feel. And the hotel room we got for $30 a day on points was absolutely stunning. Huge rooms and 2 bathrooms, and a price tag of $2400 a night if we hadn't used points- they upgraded us! Wow. With a windowseat of granite it wasn't the same as our windows we threw open to the street traffic below in our hotel two years earlier, but it did let us see our new temporary french world.

We made our way to the Champs de Elysees. It was busy, bustling with people. Beautiful trees showing off their foliage and bright white light gleaming off bright limestone buildings. Cars showing off their bright colors. And the Arc de Triumph boasting the heroism of men of the past. Because they could. We were spectators and this was a stage but we were a piece of the show as well. One giant production.

We decided to go to see the Eiffel at the Palace instead of down by the chaos of the Eiffel visitors where I had felt insecure by all the scam artists. And we hadn't been able to get tickets to go up ahead of time. I loved our view, with the sun setting a bit the tower was gorgeous and is always a sight to behold. We took some lovely pictures and crashed at a few cafes that day. On our way through the neighborhoods we enjoyed a salad that was more like a meal with some lettuce under it, pretty glass bottles of Evian, and some cappuccino to keep us going. Jorge and I both enjoyed the cafe culture. I tried to sketch but Miss Venice wasn't going to let us get that relaxed. She did however love the cafe culture as much as we did. She fits right in to Paris let me tell you. Maybe see should have named her Paris. :)

We stayed up watching the Simpsons in french and listening to Venice relive the day with her babbling and discovering the wonderment that is her toes. She loved her "Hilton" teddy as well. We slept in and with the time change we barely made breakfast, but by then I was starving. We checked out and made our way to the Louvre and then the train for the return trip.

The Lourve was amazing and being the sillies that we are we wanted to see the Mona Lisa in person. And so we did! It was lovely and amazing that this relatively small work of art was captivating everyone in the audience while this audacious, enormous, painting behind us stood unnoticed.

It felt like a complete trip by then, we could have headed to the airport and my cup would have been full. But in true Barrero fashion we got a "pilon" a bonus day or two. Just an extra little taste. For the couple who had our "pilon" child, one last baby to snuggle and enjoy, we got our pilon on vacation as well.

The train ride was also a bit difficult with ear popping and an electrical failure where we sat on the tracks for a bit, but it was just as lovely and the meal made it so much fun. When we said goodbye to Paris it was definitely a "See you Later,...." We both love this place!

Fancy Dinner- De Kas

Jorge's boss had recommended a beautiful place to eat where they grew their own food and had a set menu. We made reservations and anticipated a wonderful splurge on a fancy dinner. We rode a cab there as it was in a remote location and the cab driver was confused but I spotted the greenhouse. He said his GPS showed a cemetery crazy huh?

So in this gorgeous setting with a neat swing set nearby we entered the pretty greenhouse lit up with twinkling lights and candlelight reflecting off of the glasses every which way. And Venice decided she was not happy. So after a bit of shuffle I changed her and nursed her in the bathroom. The plan had been to use a bottle but she was not so happy with that idea. Well she was still not happy when we re-entered the restaurant. So I basically ate one-handed and nursed her the entire meal. But it was delicious! Halibut, olives, a delicious soup, everything presented beautifully and fresh and uniquely prepared.

What a lovely meal even if it was a bit of a hassle for poor Miss Venice.

Amsterdam- Museums and Apple and Vondelpark

We figured out the trams and made our way to the Museum campus. We chose to go inside of the Van Gogh museum. What an amazing intense life experience he had in a short amount of time. Multiple countries, different phases of joy and sorrow, and his paintings are just so beautiful.

We stopped in a cafe nearby which really represented the typical European small cafe. I loved the greenhouse type seating on the street- bright and out of the wind. I got a banana pancake and was feeding the baby. The waiter/owner was standing nearby drawing in customers and keeping an eye on those sitting outside. After a few bites he came over and said "no no, you can't do that...." and I thought maybe there was some special way to eat a banana pancake in Holland. Nope, he was worried about me eating with one hand so he cut my food. Yes, he reached over and cut my pancake for me. Hilarious. It was also our intro to Danish Iced Tea. Con gas if you're speaking spanish- with bubbles in english. Carbonated iced tea! Not my fav but Jorge thought it was great. The banana pancake was great by the way. I also got a taste of itty bitty teeny tiny bathrooms. This cafe had a bathroom upstairs. With one door leading to a 3 foot deep room maybe with a tiny sink and another door leading to the toilet. I had to squish us through there and change baby girl on the toilet. So strange and yet I expected it so life goes on.

The museum campus was interesting. There are a few new buildings under construction so of course we took 100 pictures. One of the buildings had a multi-layered screen system like Jorge's office has been trying to design and keep. It was really neat to see it in person. One of the buildings isn't even done and had already gotten a lot of weathering on the panels. Looks like the weather there is harsh like ours. We got to see the Iamsterdam sign and a neat gift shop for the museums so we camped out there and made some purchases. Baby girl was pretty content until we got into the Diamond Museum. I had seen it online and it was part of our pass, so we decided to give it a try. After a bit of discussion on what to do with the stroller, we parked it in their coat room and carried the baby. The museum was little and pretty and hot so baby girl got upset. But we did manage to see a gorilla skull encrusted in diamonds of all things. Bizarre. The diamond museum was fun and we headed out after that.

One of our adventures was the Apple Store. It's in a neat area near the Heineken plant so we found ourselves here a few times through the trip. It had just opened recently so there were a lot of lookie-loos and we didn't look out of place capturing photos of the spiral stair. They also did not have a changing table in their bathroom even though it was huge, so that was a small nightmare with screaming baby echoes and a cleanup job on my part, not to mention a baby outfit change. Ikes. They did a great job remodeling and we loved chatting with the upbeat employees at some point about the upcoming newest version of the iPad that they were receiving that night.

We ate at a cafe across the street called Cafe Americain I believe. Outside there was plenty of people-watching and a pretty fountain. The ladies in front of us were the most fascinating to me. They were in their 50's I would say and were celebrating something. Lots of photos and they were so happy. There was champaign and fruit and tea sandwiches and everything just looked to pretty and lovely. Jorge and I each got some unusual dishes of monsieur toast and I got an omelette with dutch cheese. Not a huge fan but it was fun to taste. Venice was captivated by the activity and got a few sweet "hello's" from strangers.

Vondelpark! Wow what a place. It's busy, intense, and something along the lines of Central Park in size. Surrounded by mansions, neighborhoods, and different areas, it was the type of place you stop speaking and just take it all in. I later read there was a special market where people would buy their food, everyone seemed to be picnicking on this lovely day. The bridges were picturesque and yes there were definitely some hippies and some smoking. And bikes, bikes, bikes.

We spotted a gentleman with a bag with Intertoys written on it and I asked him where the store was, I had read that was a good store but didn't have the info with us. He pointed the way and it took awhile but we found a shopping area and eventually did make it to Intertoys. Oh what a fun place! It took awhile to pick and choose, but it was fun and we were sufficiently loaded down with "stuff" that it was time to head back to the hotel and relax.

This is a modern example of the beam and hooks you find everywhere. It's a traditional detail and we saw it in use a few times. The staircases and entryways are so steep and narrow through the area that you cannot get furniture or good up and in. So you hoist them in through the windows from the outside, using the beam and hook and some rope. Amazing.

The building details were amazing