WEEKEND OF A LITTLE NEWYORKER

dear Leonardo,

it’s a bittersweet Monday morning at work (how unusual!) after a beautiful though chilly weekend with you and your Grandma. I am trying to focus but I keep on re-watching the video where you are walking across Whitney museum, and it makes me smile and tear up at the same time. I miss you beyond words when I am not with you. and no, it doesn’t get better as you grow.

in case you wonder how a 10 month old New Yorker spends his days now, I wanted to recap on our past weekend. you were always an early bird, with your normal wakeup time around 5am, but for the past couple days something doesn’t let you sleep even until 5, and we are all waking up way before sunrise. I go to your room and we cuddle and play in the darkness, and then I put you Baby Einstein to watch while I can doze off a little to its soundtrack. around 7am your daddy and grandma wake up, and we have a hearty breakfast for champions: fresh OJ and kasha with fruits and berries.

Saturday mornings now are all about your swimming lessons at Greenpoint YMCA. this past weekend you were swimming with daddy while your mommy played a role of a proud cheerleader with a camera, watching you both from the bench. after the swimming pool we usually walk somewhere in Williamsburg to have early brunch. this time it was at Freehold – spacious and kids-friendly restaurant-loft, where you were crawling freely and practicing the newly acquired skill: coming up and down of a step. (I must say you mastered it! but my heart still stops for a second when I watch you doing it) after the brunch your daddy went to work (he always work on weekends) and we drove home together. you fell asleep in a car and I didn’t want to wake you up when we reached home, so I stayed watching you sleep (and photographing your pretty face) for good 40min.

because of your extended nap we were almost late for the shoot we had scheduled in the afternoon – last week you were selected to be part of 100 babies shoot for the anniversary cover of Earnshaw magazine. we left the stroller at home and opted for a baby-carrier to be more mobile. the subway ride was actually fun! people on the train were chatty and in a good mood, smitten by your chubby cheeks and blue eyes. we all sang Happy Birthday song to a 10yo girl who was sharing a ride with us. I love when this things happen – real New York experience, you feel the energy of this city that always surprises you.

at the magazine office there were several babies, all a little bit older than you and walking, but somehow you were taller than most. they gave me a turqoise onesie to change you, and the makeup artist applied some moisturizer on your cheeks and tamed your hair that got electrified by a winter hat. the shoot went quick. 5 minutes on a white seamless paper until photographer got the shot – nothing new to you, except that this time it was not me photographing. on the picture you looked serious and composed – you new look since you turned 10mo. after the shoot you socialized a little with other little models and chew on few magazine copies while I photographed you for this post. when we were out on the street I also tried to do some selfies together but I noticed that your eyes were closing, and surely enough you were fast asleep until we reached the subway. so I took my time, and did some window shopping, enjoying the walk around East village together with you. we got daffodils for your Grandma and Japanese pancakes for our lunch, and headed home. story time, hot bath, cuddles – and you were off to bed by your usual 7pm.

on Sunday I took you and your Grandma to Whitney museum. you slept during the car ride and woke up just on time for an art crawl (no pun intended). we started at a cafe on the top floor where I shared my butternut squash toast with you. despite the cold (that day it was supposed to snow!) we took photos on the terrace outside and submerged into modern American art. third floor of the museum was an open space with few paintings and beautiful live music. I let you crawl freely, and you were having a blast, attracting more attention than art in the room. few were photographing you, couple people came to me to ask your name, no one could pass by without a smile. at some point you grabbed your stroller and started walking with it all across the floor, your Grandma guiding the way. it was the longest walk you did so far, distracted by music and art and people around. when you reached the other side of the room one of the floor guards offered you his hand, and you walked a little more together. no wonder that after this much exercise you fell asleep, while your Grandma and I went of a walk around Chelsea. we were home just on time for dinner (soup with chicken and rice) and bedtime routine.

my little New York is growing so fast, and I am growing more and more fond of you.