Law, Partially

We had a good life in the Lower Holloway area of Islington. Bobby's nursery was very close, and many kids living in our building also attended. His best friend lived in the same building. There were many cafes, all of which knew how to make babycinos (ingredients consist of foamed milk and some chocolate powder), including one on the ground floor of our building. Some of the last few babycinos at the New Zealand-style cafe, Sacred, on the ground floor of our building; since the hamburger restaurant across the square closed, Sacred became a de facto hangout for the local gangs of small children. King's Cross was two stops away on the Piccadilly. This area north of the station was an old intermodal port, where goods could be transferred from train to ships on the Victoria Canal. The big brick building was grain storage but is now an art school with various restaurant chains on the ground floor. Next door are former coal storage buildings that now house a high-end s...

Celebrating the start of fall and the big boy's birthday falling just after, we decamped from north London for British places even further north. Nainai flew in from Cedar Rapids to adventure with the FD Linges. Months earlier, Christine and I had planned a route, booked a car, homestay lodgings, lunches and early dinners at restaurants, and seats on a scenic train route. We booked with Nainai's discerning consumer preferences in mind. We hoped to make this her best trip ever. We planned to chase down her ancestors in Nottinghamshire and Beatrix Potter in the Lake District; she also had Scotland on her list of places to visit, so grant that wish we did. Although she lives far away (at least 13 hours by plane, plus train (i.e., Piccadilly Line)), Nainai is an important part of Bobby's development. Bobby often talks to her over video chat, and Mum and I often put our child development questions to her. Usually we just need reassurance that his seemingly illogical behavior i...

This summer, Bobby made his second trip to the Tate Modern. The occasion was to view a biographical exhibit of Picasso's works from 1932. Bobby, in this year, Picasso was painting to stay relevant after having already achieved fame but also dealing with the dissolution of his marriage (caused, of course, by his infidelity) -- why is this not resonating more with you?! Turns out, the day became not so much about a series of paintings as the timeline of life, including Picasso's and our own, as well as everyday lessons in parenting. Successful adventures with our young boy require us to get right the timings of naps, meals, and snacks. This particular Sunday, we messed it up. The ideal museum trip -- at least when you want to meaningfully observe the works and read the descriptions -- requires the boy to sleep in the Ergo Baby carrier while Baba soaks in the museum. Otherwise, the boy would prefer to run through the museum, or if he's super tired and irritable, just throw a...

If you were to exit our apartment building, the first business you would find would be Ley Ley's , a hamburger restaurant that serves beer from the local microbrewery, Hammerton . Bobby is a fan of their french fries and cheeseburgers. Were money and calories no concern, we would go to Ley Ley's every day. In addition to the delicious food, we've been having fun watching the World Cup there this summer. Bobby, cheering on England, in their 6-1 win against Panama. Bobby likes cheering when everyone else was cheering, but he was also cheering when no one else was cheering. I think he gets excited when he sees any team kick the ball far. He often points to the TV and exclaims, "Ball!" Soccer, as you may know, is very popular in Europe and the U.K., and England is competing in this summer's World Cup, Russia 2018. Bobby hasn't had much screen time since he was born. Now he's older, and we've been together watching sports on TV, especially so...

It was the best of times. It was the blurst of times. Ten years ago, Christine and I met at a Mumbai train station but were nearly thwarted that same day by a pack of aggressive monkeys. Now we have a little monkey of our own.  I documented our initial encounter on this blog  without a thought of what lay ahead. The comments to that blog entry are pretty funny : you should read them; my mom was worried I'd catch Bubonic Plaque from the monkeys that were hounding me that day. What Christine most remembers from that day is that I planned to jump from a train speeding into a station but was ultimately thwarted by my own ill-conceived plan. (For more info, click  here .) Nonetheless, we celebrated this fateful milestone in London yesterday with Indian food for lunch and wine and cheese for dinner. At a restaurant with white table cloths near our temporary apartment, Bobby tried dal and chicken tikka masala -- he seemed to like them! This kid won't be eating fish sti...