We were lured to the museum by signs advertising The Secrets of Tomb 10A: Egypt 2000 BC. As a nice twist on the usual pharaoh exhibits, this tomb belonged to a governor who had, nonetheless, lavishly decked out a small chamber by an ancient riverbed with things for his afterlife. The museum did a wonderful job displaying and describing the artifacts. My favorite item from the governor’s tomb: a canopic jar (a special container used to store the mummy’s intestines) which had little feet. Gruesome and voyeuristic, perhaps, but also fascinating. Sonya found her first museum experience enjoyable.

Of course, we toured the other galleries at the museum, too. Below you see Sonya in Picture Gallery with Views of Modern Rome, 1757, oil on canvas, by Italian painter Giovanni Pannini.

Then Sonya completed Torso of a Young Male, marble, sculpted in Athens, Greece as well as a Drinking Cup in the Shape of a Fist, silver, made by Hittites somewhere in Central Turkey around 1400 BC.

Drex inadvertently managed to book us historic accommodations here in Boston: Omni Parker House, the longest continuously-operating hotel in the United States. It opened in 1855. In a pamphlet about the hotel, we learned these interesting trivia facts about the even more historic Parker’s Restaurant inside the hotel:

Sonya and I, despite spending so much time together, since her newborn size-1 diaper days, we have very few pictures (less than ten) of just the two of us. Because I managed to break our smaller point-and-shoot camera, and it no longer focuses properly, we are a DSLR-only family. Although our fancy-schmancy DSLR camera takes wonderful photos, it requires more prep. Since Sonya and I frequently play in the kitchen, I initially had the camera set up on a Gorillapod on the counter for easy access, but lately I’ve just been trying to take the arm-out-reverse-shot with increasing success, although holding out a DSLR at arm’s length with a squirming baby can be tricky. Luckily, we have an excellent warranty on this camera in case I drop it like its predecessor.

True, the photos are often blurry and off-kilter, but they have a certain charm of their own, quirky and spunky glimpses into our everyday life. They capture the feelings that I hope Sonya will remember from our early days spent together: just hanging out, reading books, preparing food, baking cookies, folding laundry, playing dress-up, taking short naps, taking long walks, practicing French, making noise and messes and dancing and singing and creating. Like Wild Things.

The Number of Kids We Want has gone back up to whole integers as Sonya has started to sleep more or less through the night (meaning, more hours some nights, but less hours on other nights, depending on her mood and a number of our superstitions). I love her so much, and motherhood is rewarding in ways I never imagined. Even big poops and fussy late afternoons. All. Worth. It.

Sonya and I are both discovering. Things about ourselves. Things about the world. What makes us happy. What brings us comfort and makes us feel safe. What terrifies us.

Dida (a.k.a. my mom) specifically requested some pictures of Sonya in her purple tutu so that she could show her colleagues at work tomorrow.