Mattix’s first snow and other miscellany

Mattix saw his first snow on Wednesday. Do you think I got a picture? Of course not! I was frickin’ freezing! We spent the day in the National Gallery of Art. My mom is an incredible artist. She paints  for a hobby, but it’s a shame that’s all it is for her. She’s unbelievably talented. So much so that she has won awards and has been approached and encouraged to place her work in galleries, but thus far, she has insisted that if she begins selling her work, it will no longer be a hobby and therefore not as enjoyable for her. I get the logic, but her talent is so great that I think she’s cheating others. I wonder what the hell happened between she and I. The talent truly died. I have absolutely no ability to draw or paint. The best I got is tracing my hand and turning it into a turkey. With some work, I can see myself developing a bit of photographic talent, but that’s it.  And it’s probably more than some work…probably a LOT of work.

I often BEG her for a painting as she’s creating it. People come to my house and want to know where I’ve acquired my collection. I feel so lucky that it’s all from my mom (and therefore gratis)! Right now, I have my eye on an Asian inspired painting that will look amazing in my living room. I have an empty spot on my wall just for that painting. I’ve been working on her for six months. She always breaks down with me…I feel like I’m thisclose  to getting it.  Usually she’ll just show up at my house with a piece I’ve been eyeing begging for and give it to me. I’m getting impatient…  (She’s not selfish with her work, BTW. She often paints things just for me.)

Anyway, being an avid artist, my mom is a HUGE fan of all things artistic. She has traveled lots of Europe exploring the history and art, but believe it or not, this was her first trip to the National Gallery. She was enthralled. We were there from 11 to 4, including an hour for lunch (hey, I’ve gotta eat), and this was just the first of many days for her. She’s going to return a time or two more during her stay here, without Mattix and I because Mattix because has yet to develop the appreciation that she has. Go figure!

So Wednesday morning, we went down to the lobby, all ready to live like people who actually know how to take public transportation, planning to head out for the Metro. We took one step outside and thought again. I’d been eyeing the courtesy phone in the lobby…the one where you just pick it up and a cab dispatcher is on the line, ready to save you from the cold. Yeah, well, that’s what happened. It wasn’t snowing yet, but it was cold! We spent the day in the Gallery. Mattix tired out before Mom did, so we walked towards the entry at 4:00 and it was snowing!!! I stepped outside with Mattix to see what he thought. He seems far less affected by the cold than I am. I realize that I grew up in a state that reaches 115 degrees every summer, but my boy was born in the south of Vietnam, where the humidity combined with the heat puts our heat to shame. So someone explain to me how the kid handles the cold so well? He just sat there in my arms, staring at the sky with his arms out. Sooo cute. He was bundled up like the kid from A Christmas Story, complete with mittens and a hat with ear flaps. He looked adorable.  Too bad for him I only lasted about three minutes before running back into the building at breakneck speed. I’m bummed about the lack of a photo, though. I’m hoping for one more snow so I can get it. This is a photo of Mattix and my mom before we went in:

My mom had to go outside and hail a cab while I waited in the lobby with Mattix. I’m such a wus! It was absolutely beautiful. We took a cab back and we were able to see lots of the beautiful buildings here behind a flurry of snow during the drive. An online friend of mine, Susan (who I’m finally going to meet in person soon!) emailed me about seeing it on the news and yes, Susan, it was so neat! I loved it. Even though I can’t stand cold, it was so cool to be here and see it. I love that Mattix is tougher than I am as far as cold goes. It’s embarrassing. The last time I was in the snow was about eight years ago, when I met Ed’s mom. I would literally get out of a car and RUN into whatever building we were going to. His mom must have thought I was crazy, but I think anyone that has to shovel three feet of snow to get out of the driveway is nuts (Karen!).

Mattix was mildly interested in the Gallery, but was unamused with my choices for photos. I took a picture of him in front of a statue of Mercury. As you can see from the photo below, he was quite disgusted. He informed me, through a series of dirty looks, that if I was going to take a photo of him in front of a naked statue, it damn well better be in front of a naked woman.

So I took his photo in front of Venus, and he was less irritated.

Still, he had enough so he decided it was time to leave. Sensing my decision to ignore his requests, he made everyone in the museum aware that he was ready to leave. Wish I could get my way that easily.

In my defense (because I just told you that I might be able to develop photographic talent), all of the photos I’m posting while here in DC are/were taken with my brand new Kodak Easy Share! I usually use Ed’s Nikon D40, which he bought for Vietnam and gave to me in an attempt to get me to give up my old 2003 Kodak Easy Share that was the size of an old brick phone. I gave up the old Easy Share and began using the D40 and am starting to really like it. The photos Ed takes of Mattix are with a D80. I’m just not ready for the D80. I can’t handle equipment that serious yet. So I usually use the D40, but here, I have no desire to lug that around. I prefer my new itty bitty little red Kodak point and shoot that I bought just before we left, thankyouverymuch, for $100 because it’s the size of my cell phone! And it’s red! Cute! The only drawback is that often, by the time I hit the button and it focuses, Mattix has moved because it’s slow compared to the other two.  Again, I’m really lame!

I mentioned on Tuesday that Mattix took his first serious steps, which was pretty neat. I know I’ve said that Mattix was really close to walking when we picked him up from the orphanage, and he was. He was sooo close. Then he just lost interest. I know I’ve said I think that was good for him. I really do. He quit trying to make developmental progress and just focused on being a kid. He played with his toys and hung out. Well, the other day, after we were here, he got back to the business of walking. He literally picked up right where he left off. He just started practicing standing up again, got really good over a day or two, then on Tuesday night, he just walked from the couch to the coffee table. He was SO pleased with himself. He started squealing and clapping. Yeah, he clapped for himself. He does that a lot now when he’s proud of whatever he’s doing. My boy has a healthy self esteem, no?!

Oh, and I’ll confess where he is sleeping: in the closet. Sick, huh?! We didn’t bring his play yard because it is HUGE and ridiculously heavy and I had enough luggage to deal with. In fact, my mom sprained her thumb lifting it shortly before we left.  So our plan was to either use a crib here or buy a smaller play yard. Well, the cribs are too small and therefore a small, lighter play yard will be too small, too. He moves so much in his sleep…he starts schooching with his tiny booty in the air and wakes himself up when his head hits one of the sides of his crib at home. Yes, we have a soft bumper in the crib, but it’s just the resistance that wakes him up. So we were trying to figure out what to do when we decided we’d give the master bedroom walk-in closet a try. We lined it with cushions from the couch, put a big sheet down, and I’m telling you, the kid is sleeping better than he ever has! He definitely wakes up a few times, but it’s nothing like it is at home. Shortly after we came home, my adoption friend A told me she puts her daughter on the floor in her bedroom for the same reason. She is soooo right. The only reason we haven’t tried it at home is because the only room with carpet in our home is the loft and hallway. Like by blog buddy Lauren, I HATE carpet. I’m certain that there are a million little microscopic bugs living in carpet, even though I go at it with the Dyson daily. After we bought our new house, we ripped up all of the carpet, save for the loft. The only reason the loft has carpet is because my mom told me I’d better leave carpet in one room for the future little one. She was right! So anyway, we can’t let him sleep on the floor of his room because it’s wood (with an area rug). However, after this experience, I might try to find a rug that fills his whole room. Seriously. I’m going to take a photo him in there tonight just so you can see how cute he looks!

On Thursday, we went to Georgetown and had lunch and walked around. Ed’s office is nearby, so he was able to walk over and meet us for lunch. What a neat place. I had considered going to law school at Georgetown, but decided against it solely based on the weather here. I actually declined acceptance offers to a lot of law schools I otherwise would have loved to attend based on their location in really cold states. Sad, huh? That’s how much I dislike the cold. No wonder I LOVED Vietnam, esp. the south! Anyway, Georgetown is such a cool town…so many great places to eat and shop, two of my favorite activities.

Check out this shot of the three of us before we took off one of Mattix’s many layers! He looks very displeased (and I look like a man, but ignore that part, please):

Apparently, much like everything, Georgetown bored Mattix to sleep. He was so bundled he couldn’t get his arms down!

Not to worry. We unbundled him indoors:

Thursday night, Ed and I finally celebrated our anniversary!

 

We  had dinner at Charlie Palmer Steak. I don’t have words to capture my thoughts. No secret that I love to eat. And I love to eat good food.   After dinner, they took Ed and I up to the terrace so we could enjoy the view and take a few photos. It was so beautiful and SOOOO cold. I even lost the jacket for a photo. My vanity finally outdid my extreme hate of the cold. It took me 25 minutes to warm up after we went back down.  Seriously. Freezing.

 

DC is such a cool place, but I just can’t imagine having to bundle up like this every time I left the house, just to take everything off every time I came indoors.  And then there’s Mattix, who yells at me every time I put a jacket on, rips at his mittens, pulls his hat off, then gets equally annoyed at me once we’re indoors and I try to take it all off! I guess I’m lazy?

In closing, thank you for sharing your thoughts on my last post about locating Mattix’s first family. I think we have an idea of what we’re going to do. Additionally, a blogger whose posts I have enjoyed reading for a long time, Jena, wrote a very thought provoking post. I’ve actually been working on something similar for a month now, but it’s hard to get all of these thoughts out in a comprehensive manner. I hope to finish some time this week. Definitely take a look at her post.

We’re going a little stir crazy in this apartment and we have at least three weeks to go! We miss home, but of course are enjoying it here. Ed and I actually lived in a 380 square foot house for three years while I was in law school Yup, a 380 square foot house with a huge yard. This apartment is twice that size and I’m going nuts. Doesn’t take long to be spoiled by space, does it?! Actually, most of it is that we don’t have our usual ”stuff.”  And that goes double for Mattix and his favorite toys. We’re getting desperate and have made do with toilet paper rolls, tissue boxes, wipes containers, pots, pans, and kitchen utensils!

I’ll leave you with a few more random photos of that Matt Man, doing what he does best (not much of anything but being cute)!!!

Melissa, this one’s for you! Maybe Lucy won’t be the only one throwing panties up on the stage…

Getting even closer with Glow Worm