Owner: Spain Dad, a baby blog URL:http://spaindad.blogspot.com Join Date: Tue, 27 Feb 2007 07:53:29 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Spain Dad is a baby blog written by first-time dad Kelly Crull. Kelly writes in English from Madrid, Spain about everything baby from the pregnancy to prenatal classes to parenting to family values to raising kids in a foreign country all from dad's pers Site statistics:Click here
Dog 2007-05-02 09:48:00 Lexi Photo by kellyandapril. Alleke met her first dog. Lexi is a beagle, and she belongs to our friends Troy and Heather. The other day we were over for lunch, and Lexi trotted into the living room to say hello. I was sitting with Alleke on the couch.I leaned over and gave Lexi a good scratch behind the ears, then sat Alleke up in the corner of the couch so she could watch Lexi. Alleke sat there like a statue while Lexi leaned across the couch cushion to sniff her socks."She likes you," I said to Alleke. Lexi looked at me and whined, her way of asking permission to jump onto the couch. I smiled, and Lexi leapt up next to Alleke. Alleke just sat there, hands in fists, staring at Lexi, while Lexi went about introducing herself--sniffing Alleke's socks, her fists, then her nose. Lexi stopped, sized up Alleke once more, then leaned in closer and licked her--once on both cheeks.I laughed. It was cute. At least until Lexi stopped, and I got a look at Alleke. She was stunne
Dos de Mayo 2007-05-04 11:17:00 DSC_1687 Photo by kellyandapril. I got this email from my mom-in-law on Wednesday: Spain (Country threat level - 3): Violent clashes occurred in Madrid's Malasaña neighborhood in the early morning hours of 2 May 2007. Hundreds of people erected barricades with burning debris, set trashcans on fire and knocked down telephone booths. The protesters also attacked police officers with rocks and other objects, while officers used rubber bullets and tear gas to control the crowd. At least 65 people -- including 21 police officers -- were injured in the clashes, while eight others were arrested. Similar violent clashes occurred on 1 May, when police officers attempted to prevent a group of youths from celebrating the anniversary of the 2 May 1808 rebellion against the invader French army. Celebrations typically occur on 1 and 2 May, which are designated public holidays in the city, and involve drinking parties, a situation that police officers attempted to prevent.I opened a new ema
Table Manners 2007-05-07 00:01:00 An unorthodox method, to say the least... Read more:Table
, Manners
Amsterdam 2007-05-10 17:22:00 T E A Photo by R@punseLL. She always sees me coming, as if she's been sitting there at the table by the window with her cup of tea waiting for me all afternoon.The front door was unlocked and left open just a crack. I stepped inside. Before I had time to set down my backpack or the book I had been reading on the tram, and before I had time to remember how to kiss a Dutch friend hello, To had kissed me on the cheek and given me a firm hug. "Steven," she called into the next room as we walked into the kitchen. The tea kettle was already bubbling. She opened the cupboard and took a cup from the shelf. Steven appeared in the doorway, set his newspaper on the table, and shook my hand. He smiled. If I hadn't done this so many times before, I might not have noticed the tears in his eyes. He was a not a man of many words, but his eyes always said what needed to be said. To lifted the tea pot from its warm nest in middle of the table and set it on the kitchen counter next t Read more:Amsterdam
Homecoming 2007-05-12 23:17:00 T-4: One Hundred Seagulls... Photo by Poldavo (Alex). I walked through the sliding door into the arrivals hall. I was almost home. I looked for the sign to the metro, then set down my bag to look for my ticket. Out of the corner of my eye I could see someone walking my way, so I looked up. She was a beautiful young woman holding a baby. She smiled.I left my bag on the ground, stood up, and embraced both of them. "Surprise," April said, "Alleke and I decided to come and meet you at the airport." Alleke smiled with one finger in her mouth. "Can I hold her?" I asked, not waiting for an answer. I kissed her on the nose, held her tight against my chest, and ran my fingers over her fuzzball head. I was bursting at the seams. I had missed my daughter. All week I had wondered how Alleke would respond when I got home. It was the first time we had been apart since she was born seven months ago. I held Alleke out so I could get a look at her. She was still smiling. Our eyes Read more:Homecoming
Sharing 2007-05-15 10:25:00 Alleke sticks out her tongue Photo by kellyandapril. Sometimes the most simple lessons we learned as kids are also the most simple lessons we learn as adults.Up until last week Alleke has been sleeping with us in our bed. We don't use a crib. We have one, but it's still in pieces in our storage space.Last week, however, we decided it was time for Alleke to sleep in her own bed, so we put a little mattress next to ours, and she's been sleeping there at night (well, some of it anyway). April and I were talking last night after we put Alleke to bed on her little mattress, and April asked me a good question. She asked why I haven't written about any of this sleeping stuff on my blog. Because as far as our lives as parents go, Alleke's sleep is front and center. It is the single most important thing on our minds these days. I sat there and wondered too. Why hadn't I written about this? As we talked some more, we realized it came down to this: I'm not very good at sh Read more:Sharing
Guilt 2007-05-14 23:28:00 When Alleke plays by herself, I feel guilty because I'm not playing with her. When Alleke won't play by herself, I feel guilty because she doesn't know how to keep herself entertained.
Sippy Cup 2007-05-21 17:45:00 Alleke just started drinking from a sippy cup by herself in the last two weeks. Read more:Sippy
, Sippy Cup
Plate 2007-05-24 18:27:00 "I don't think you've quite grasped the concept," I said. I smiled and set down my fork.Sitting on the table in front of Alleke were a hunk of bread and a piece of banana, both of which she had carefully picked up off her plate and set there. As for the plate, she was holding it with both hands like a steering wheel, busy chewing on one end. Read more:Plate
Mustache 2007-05-23 16:04:00 Alleke's feet Photo by kellyandapril. Alleke loves to stand up next to the couch, so this afternoon when I needed to get some work done, I set her down next to the couch, put a book in front of her, and walked away.I was in the kitchen putting groceries away when I walked down the hall to see how she was doing. She had worked her way from one end of the couch to the other (with the same caution and deliberation, I suppose, as someone trying to walk on ice).A folder lay on the floor with papers scattered all around, and in Alleke's hand was a pen. She turned to look at me and smiled. The pen was in her mouth, of course, and she was sucking on it like a bottle, with the inky end in her mouth. But the best part was the crooked little mustache she had drawn just under her nose.
Smoking 2007-05-28 04:19:00 our breakfast place, originally uploaded by kellyandapril.Every Sunday morning April, Alleke and I go to the same place for breakfast. The place reminds me of Edward Hopper's Nighthawks. It's on the corner with tall glass windows and booths inside. Middle-aged men serve coffee at the bar and clean tables after the regulars who stop by to read the paper.This particular morning all the tables were full, but the couple at the back signaled for us to come over. They stood up, put on their coats, and took one last sip of coffee before leaving. I sat down, put Alleke next to me on the bench, and dug through the backpack for a toy. April ordered our usual from the bar. When she returned, we began our routine of talking and eating and losing track of time--talking through everything that needed to be talked about from the week before and the week ahead, including planning our social calendar for the week, deciding who was going to clean the bathtub, and noticing how much Alleke had Read more:Smoking
Alberto and Yolanda 2007-05-31 05:05:00 We've always had good landlords. There was Mrs. Baker, the widow, who didn't want to live alone and actually begged us to make noise and have house parties and play the guitar more when we were home. There was Damian and Encarna who rented us their six bedroom apartment near the beach for half the price only because that's what we could pay, and they liked us. And there was Alberto
and Yolanda, the yuppie couple, who rented us their small, but well-located apartment in the center of Madrid. They didn't give us a break on rent (in fact, they made quite a bit of money on us), but from the day we signed the contract, they made us a part of their lives. Alberto and Yolanda are the ones who got me thinking about landlords this morning. When we first met them and looked at their apartment, we didn't speak Spanish, so our friend Jesús had to do everything for us. He set up the appointment to see the apartment. He took us there to see it. He translated our conversations. He rea
Baby Walker 2007-05-31 05:41:00 In case you've ever wondered what it would look like to see a baby on a pogo stick. Read more:Walker
Panadería (Part II) 2007-06-04 17:41:00 This is the second post in a series of two. To start from the beginning, read the first one."I'm running out to get some bread," I yelled down the hallway towards the kitchen where April was making lunch. I picked Alleke up off the floor where she had been busy kissing a Care Bear, grabbed a set of keys off the bookshelf, and let myself out of the apartment. I wanted to see these bread shop people for myself. I had been to their shop before, but my conversations with them had revolved around baguettes, loose change, and possibly the weather. I was just another customer in line. But, I had never been to the shop with Alleke in my arms. April said these same bread shop people had watched Alleke for an hour plus while she drank her coffee and read a book. They even offered to take care of Alleke any time April needed to run an errand.I found it hard to believe they would actually watch Alleke while April ran errands. People have a way of saying nice things like that, but not mean
Panadería (Part I) 2007-06-04 05:44:00 Baguettes Taste-Off Photo by ComeUndone. "I found a babysitter," April said as she walked into the dining room where I was clipping Alleke into her high chair. "Really?" I said, looking up from what I was doing. April set a tray of food down at the other end of the table. "You'll never guess who," she said, smiling.I shook my head. "I have no idea." April bit her lip, the way she does when she has a secret. "Okay, so I went down to the bread shop this morning because they're always really friendly there, and they love Alleke," April said, taking food off the tray and setting it on the table, "and when I got there, the owner, or the guy I think is the owner, asked if he could hold Alleke. So I let him. Then the other girls at the shop wanted to hold Alleke too, so they held her. They told me to just sit there and drink my coffee and read my book. So I did. They ended up playing with her while they worked the whole time I was there.""It was crazy," April added, rollin
Carmen 2007-06-08 04:56:00 We have been looking for someone to take care of Alleke on Monday nights, so we can have a regular date night. We were hoping to find someone who speaks Spanish as their first language to begin speaking regularly to Alleke in Spanish. Meet Carmen
, our new babysitter. She's in her 30's. She's from Colombia originally, but has been living in the UK and now Spain for quite some time. She works during the day as a nanny, and she loves kids. This week we asked Carmen to come over so we could get to know her a little better and to introduce Alleke to her while we were around the house.Of course I apologized to Carmen at the front door, even before I introduced her to April, and even before I had anything to apologize about, because we are new parents after all, and I just knew we were going to spend the next two hours explaining all kinds of unnecessary details to Carmen about how to sanitize Alleke's bottles (the ones she doesn't use anymore), the exact position we use when we pu
Nose Picking 2007-06-10 06:04:00 DSC_2506, originally uploaded by kellyandapril.Sleep UpdateWe've been putting Alleke to sleep in her own bed now, but usually around two o'clock in the morning she wakes up, and we move her into bed with us so she can eat.An Annoying HabitThis past week Alleke has been waking up at odd hours in the morning. She'll be completely awake for an hour or so, so while we sleep, she plays (flapping her arms and sucking her toes and humming). When she finishes, she falls back asleep and wakes up later at her usual time.Surprised This MorningAs a result, this morning Alleke must have been awake at six thirty to play because I woke up with a tiny index finger up my nose. Read more:Picking
14.3 seconds 2007-06-16 06:38:00 This morning Alleke held my fingers and walked from the couch, through the living room, down the hallway and past the kitchen to the guest bedroom where April was sorting baby clothes in 14.3 seconds.
The Beach 2007-06-15 03:00:00 We were in Castellón for a few days this week (the city where Alleke was born), and Alleke got to go to the beach for the first time.She wasn't too sure about the water (see the video), but she did like eating the sand (see the pictures). Maybe this was her subtle way of telling us we need to make her diet a little more interesting. Alleke also got to see some of her Castellón friends. Here are some photos of them together.Jitu, Margo, Alma and Fatuma Read more:Beach
Spilled Milk 2007-06-18 04:35:00 banana, originally uploaded by kellyandapril.I cut off a piece of banana and set it on the table in front of Alleke. April and I were talking between bites, but we stopped to watch Alleke carefully reach for the banana and put it in her mouth. It was like watching that carnival game with the mechanical arm that the person has to control with a joystick to pick up a stuffed animal. Alleke held the banana in her hand like a prize and licked it. Then she held it out, so she could look at it, and squished it in her fist. Banana pushed through the cracks in her fingers like Play-Doh. Some of it fell on the table in front of her, and some ran down her arm. Alleke giggled, dropped the rest of the banana on the floor, and clapped her hands.I smiled and shook my head. Somewhere along the line it had unofficially become my job to keep the table clean. After meals I was usually the one to bring the dishes to the kitchen, wipe off the table and the high chair, and pick up the food off the
No Proof 2007-06-21 11:57:00 I have no proof Alleke can crawl. All I know is I set her down on the far side of the living room to play, I sat down on the couch to write some emails, and five minutes later she was at my feet playing with my shoelaces. Read more:Proof
Portable Baby 2007-06-21 04:39:00 Baby Sling, originally uploaded by kellyandapril.Earlier this week we helped our friends Phil and Lydia move into a new apartment. At one point I was carrying a couch cushion past the kitchen, and I had to laugh because there among the open cardboard boxes was Alleke sitting on a blanket playing with toys while April emptied the fridge into a suitcase.April and I have always said we wanted our kids to be a part of our lives. So, we've gotten in the habit of taking Alleke with us wherever we go--even when that means sitting her on the floor with some toys so we can help friends move.As a result, Alleke spends a lot of time out of the house and on the move, so we've had to think intentionally about how to create daily routines that she can do the same way almost anywhere. We've had to make her life portable.Here are a few ways we've tried to create some consistency in Alleke's routine, so we can easily take her with us wherever we go.We use a baby carrierWe have a stroller, but Read more:Portable
Swing 2007-06-20 08:31:00 Update: I found this video a little hard to see, so for those who are interested, I've uploaded a higher-quality version. You may have to wait a minute for the video to load before you can watch it.
Total Immersion 2007-06-25 16:26:00 Putting a baby to sleep is like learning a second language. It's a lot of hard work, and if you have to do it, you will, but if you don't, you won't.When I first moved to Spain, I was surprised to discover how many English speakers had been living in the country, but had never learned Spanish (some had been in Spain for up to thirty years). As April and I settled into life in Spain and began learning the language ourselves, however, I began to see that learning Spanish was more than just learning words and then putting them together in sentences to communicate with the people around us. Learning Spanish meant giving up much of our culture and our social life, at least for a significant amount of time. We wanted to learn the language, but at times we held on so tightly to our own culture and friends because life in English was easy and familiar. We didn't have to learn Spanish because there were plenty of English speakers like ourselves in the city.Over time, I've discovered th Read more:Total
Sweet Potato 2007-06-28 23:38:00 "What's she doing?" I asked.Alleke was sitting in her high chair, which was fastened to the end of the table. She was bent over the metal pole that runs the length of the high chair and holding onto it with both holds."I think she's trying to bite the pole," April said, looking closer.Alleke sat there, completely still, which doesn't happen that often, and I could hear her teeth grinding like a mortal and pestle. I grimaced. "That can't be good," I said. "Alleke, honey," April said, trying to get her to stop. Alleke looked up, noticed we were both watching her, then went back to work, like she was one of those portrait painters at the park who has to concentrate with everyone crowded around and watching over her shoulder. I noticed the sweet potato sitting on the table in front of Alleke. It looked like a lump of red clay. I wondered why Alleke thought it was a good idea to try to eat a metal pole instead of a sweet potato.I remembered the tangy, bitter taste of rust and metal Read more:Sweet
, Potato
, Sweet Potato
Turning over a new leaf 2007-06-28 02:47:00 I read a story to Alleke every night before she goes to bed. Sometimes we read more than one - if we have extra time or if I feel like untangling the words on the pages of a Dr. Seuss book - but no matter what, we always read a book called Playtime Peekaboo!I'm not sure why we read this particular book. Maybe it's because it happened to be the book sitting on the coffee table the day I decided to read Alleke her first bedtime story.Anyway, let me explain how the book works (It's hard to find kids books these days that are just words and pictures on pages. Now I'm surprised if a book doesn't sing me a lullaby or let loose a paper butterfly fluttering in the room when I turn the page). In Playtime Peekaboo!, every page has a flap, and hiding behind every flap is a toy - like a stuffed elephant or a wooden train, for example. When you open the flap, you're supposed to say, "Peekaboo," and you see the toy.The best part is most of the toys have some fabric on them, so they're fu
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