We're back

Whew, it's been busy. I've been back at work, "part time." Between a new job, finishing a book proposal, advising and editing NYU students and, oh yeah, Thalia, Avenue Oy has been sadly neglected. But Thalia just made her debut on someone else's blog, and I wanted to share. She's the one in the space-age red stroller. Don't worry--Bryan's there, he's just hiding behind the guy in the shorts.

We went back to our internationally famous corner pizza place, DiFara's, on reopening day. The Department of Health had shut Dom the pizza man down for a couple of weeks because the place was sprinkled with mouse droppings. Uh, ya-ah! Of course DiFara's had mice, that was obvious. More than once when I was standing at the counter waiting for slices, I'd see flour-coated mice scurrying around the base of the oven. So what? Like I said to the reporter from Brooklyn Courier-Life who was there to cover reopening day (hey, DiFara's closing for two weeks is big news!): "If you really want to be sure you're not eating at a place with mice, then eat at home and don't go to restaurants. This is New York--you're going to have mice in restaurants."

OK, on to what you're really here for: pictures of Thalia June. I'm just going to let Bryan's cellphone camera carry on the conversation from here. Enjoy.

kicky

That's what we called Thalia in utero: Kicky. She's still living up to the name, flipping over from her back to her belly by throwing her legs up and then over. Two weeks ago, it was all about turning over to the left. Now she's a devoted right-side flipper.

Grandma Sandy came to visit last week. Grandma Sandy--send us pix! Grandpa Bill came over bearing New Rochelle bagels, whitefish, lox and sable for our deprived Chicagoan. The food orgy continued at Adelman's, the fantastic kosher deli on Kings Highway and 19th. They deliver to our place, too, so next time you're over ask for the Adelman's experience! Pastrammmmi...mmm.

As you can see I--finally!--got a postpartum haircut. What a relief. Thalia likes to hang onto my hair these days, but I've resolved to keep it long.

She's singing to some plastic butterflies right now, the ones hanging over her playmat. Thalia's getting to be as talkative as her parents, which is dangerous!! She also makes fists, like a boxer:




Bryan has been working at the bar a lot, and late, but yesterday he and Thalia had a wonderful day together while I was out on various business. We capped the day off with one of the best pizzas I've ever had--olives and red onions from DiFaras. The crust had a delicious almost caramelized burnt mottling, and the sauce and cheese were sublime. We live 2 blocks from the pizza mecca--what a joy. Did I mention that breastfeeding hormones make one very, very hungry?

I start a new part-time job next week that I'm really excited about, doing communications work for a great organization in Brooklyn that advises local groups about urban planning and architecture and influences city/state policy on housing, planning etc. Going to still do journalism (and continue at NYU) but I'm looking forward to being an actor in one gig, an observer in another and a teacher in a third. Oh yeah, and a mom! Now Bryan and I just have to make time for all of it.

Uptown

Thalia and I took a subway ride last night to Harlem, where we had dinner at my friend Karen's lovely new apartment. Here is our gracious host, with subway-lagged baby (it's a long way to Edgecombe Avenue!)



Liza and Ivan joined us. Ivan doesn't seem to remember Thalia from the other two times he met her, and he got a little jealous when his mom held this strange little creature. But then he made a peace offering of his sippy cup and all was well again.



Ivan helpfully showed Thalia some advanced baby skills, such as how to play with electrical cords and heat-generating appliances.

Meanwhile, Bryan is still recovering from a hell of a week. A pipe burst in the apartment above his bar, and he spent days in the cold getting it fixed and then cleaning up the bar. He took refuge and held business meetings in the 773, an unreconstructed old man bar a few blocks away. I took Thalia there after our Flatbush new and expecting parents (and babies!) meeting.

She hasn't been carded yet.

Now reading...

It's been 11 weeks, 5 days, and I thought: how long can a girl go without reading? So this morning Thalia and I read "Babies Everywhere," a lovely gift from a colleague that celebrates babyliciousness (and thankfully avoids sentimentality). She was really into it. Then when I put it down, she started looking at my chest, and of course my first thought was, "She's hungry." Then I realized something else was going on:





She was looking at the picture on my shirt, depicting a warrior squirrel and what I like to call Droog Girl (the bowler hat suggests "A Clockwork Orange," no?). Thalia is looking everywhere, now, checking out her environment, though she slept through her first visit to a museum, yesterday. We went to the Museum of American Folk Art, to see the Martin Ramirez exhibit. That girl loves her Bjorn.

Cabin, no fever

It's been super-cold in NYC, and Thalia hasn't left the house since Saturday. She doesn't seem to mind, and she's been getting her Vitamin D in liquid form.

I think Thalia might be a lefty. She's not exactly reaching for things yet, but when I dangle objects in front of her it's her left arm that tends to hurtle up.

Bryan got her a CBGB's onesie.



The club may be gone--didja know Bryan organized one of the last shows ever there??--but the merch lives on. Thalia was there, in utero, to see the Avengers. She kicked a lot in her amniotic mosh pit.

Luckily it's a medium, because Thalia is outgrowing her newborn clothes. Also note the fetching double chin.

Why hello!

By popular demand: the new Katz Swirsky blog! We'll bring you all the family news that's fit to print (and lots that's not).

Let's get right down to the important stuff: new Thalia pictures. This is from a couple of weeks ago, on a visit to the Cornerstone.


Yes, she's underage. Yes, she visits the bar all the time. And yes, she drinks (milk) there.
Here we are in Florida, by the pool. Ahhh.


Bryan and Thalia have a staring contest at least once every day.

She attracted attention everywhere she went, including her bedroom:



Thalia slept through the alligators and rare birds and Florida's newest attraction: the Miami condo forest. But she had a great time with Grandma Fran, who carried Thalia slung over her shoulder while she went about her business at home. We new parents have a lot to learn.