mary tsao: journal: best baby ever

2004 . . . 2003 2002

9.14.04

last week i managed to get it together to go into the city with emily and see the san francisco symphony give a free concert at yerba buena park. it was really fun. the best part was that emily seemed to understand that it was a "sit-down" event and she was content in her stroller for the entire hour. amazing! she sometimes even clapped at appropriate moments. i was glad that i had dragged my big pregnant butt out of the house.

doing things with babies or children is always hit or miss. will they behave or not? will you be proud that they are your offspring or embarassed? will you get to stay until the end of the concert [theatre event, party, restaurant meal, playgroup outing, etc.] or will you be forced to leave early because your kid is having what parents refer to as "a total meltdown?" and when the stars and planets are properly aligned, your kid is behaving, and you see people looking admiringly at your child you can't help but feel proud, as though you actually had something to do with your child's decision to be well-behaved.

i was particularly proud of emily's stellar behavior at the symphony concert because i wasn't exactly in kid-friendly territory; san francisco is filled with people who refer to parents as breeders and who don't appreciate the disruptive natures of the annoying creatures that we breeders have selfishly decided to bring into this world. so when emily proved that day to be the world's most perfect child, i could sense childless couples looking at us and thinking things like, "maybe having a child isn't so hard as i thought..." or "what a darling baby! so much better behaved than my brother's brat..." or "i'm sure my baby will be as good as that but of course will also be able to identify the music by that age, too..."

yes, it's moments like the one at the concert that convince me that emily is the best baby ever; she's going to be a tough act to follow, baby brother. excuse me, i have to go now. i hear tearing paper and i think it's my perfect child ripping up my address book.

pregnancy update: i saw the doctor on monday and everything is good. i passed my gestational diabetes test and she said i'm "nowhere near" anemic, which is great.