Law, Partially

We expected this trip to the Netherlands to be special, and it was. Our first family trip to the Netherlands, almost two years ago, opened our eyes to the joys and practicalities of family travel with small children. On this trip, I learned yet even more about the joys and practicalities of travelling with children -- this time, doing it without Mummy's help, while she stayed in London to study. I had no expectations for this trip except to have fun. Like diners at an authentic sushi restaurant putting their experience in the chef's hands ( omekase ), so we were all putting ourselves into Gugu's hands, she being the veteran Dutch traveler. Along for the trip with Bob, Gugu, and me were Uncle Kevin, Lincoln (on his first European trip), and Nainai. The itinerary would include Delft, Rotterdam, flowers, and Amsterdam. At the table in our Delft apartment, a little Dutch boy waits for his family to wake up. The street and canal out the window is Hippolytusbuurt, one of ...

Having a toddler is also a lot of fun. And London is a big fun city to explore, for toddlers and dads alike. Every morning, we talk about busses. Bobby earnestly asks if we can take a bus. On most weekdays, we tell him that we have to go to school but maybe during the weekend we can take a bus. He then says " Mummy take bus " or " Baba take bus ." If one of us leaves early, he says it's for us to take the bus. Luckily, he rarely complains much (knock on wood) about having to go to school and how it prevents him from taking the bus. On the weekends, we plan our days around how we can ride in public carriage. Some weekends, we take the bus to parks we could walk to, or we take bus rides to parks in adjacent neighborhoods, especially Stoke Newington , which is just a very nice little village with a big park (Clissold). Today started early and terribly. Who knows what time the little guy woke up, but he woke up his baba at six to tell him he needed help with t...

Sometimes, changes in a growing child happen in such small increments you hardly notice them. Sometimes, a change is as stark as black and white. And sometimes, along the evolving pathway, you note a benchmark against which a change becomes noticeable, whether gradual or not. The Christmas holiday marked a number of milestones, some we hope we can move past and some that we will cherish. It jolted our London routine, and now, back in London, we're still living in the aftermath. Thank you, Santa, for this bounce house (and for a fun cousin). Flopping face first into the new year like... It's natural and common that we prefer the happy memories. So when someone shows a camera to snap a photo, we all smile and pretend like we're really happy, regardless of how happy we really are at that moment. Social media is now infamous as a tool for us all to present only the happiest aspects of our lives, not to mention spin them so it all seems better than average. As I w...

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...

Bobby is a good time lad. He has fun at home and on the road. While Dad’s been at work, the boy spends his days crawling around in the grass at the nearby park and crawling around our apartment’s carpeted floors. Today we took him to a brasserie, Noble Rot, where he had some lamb and guinea fowl – and lots of water, also some Cheerios and pureed leeks to top off. We've witnessed a record sustained heat wave in London over the past week. Londoners keep telling us to savor this weather because the sun rarely shines for a full day, let alone several full days in a row. Because the sun doesn't have the habit of shining, buildings often don't have air conditioning, including our apartment. Luckily the heat broke for the weekend. Bobby had a nice nap in his carrier while we perused the shop windows of Lamb's Conduit – yes, that's the street's name where you find Noble Rot – in the crisp afternoon air before heading in for dinner. Dinner at Noble Rot The staff ...