Sylvie + Summer = Fun

I’ve been enjoying a few days of calm and quiet while my daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter are up in New York City.  Once the initial shock wore off, I started spending my time on purely self-indulgent pastimes, including reading for pleasure, shopping for summer clothes, sipping chilled rosé, as well as catching up on some writing.  Reflecting on the joys and challenges of multi-generational family living, I’ve concluded that there’s one irrefutable fact: Sylvie plus Summer equals Unimaginable Fun.  Please allow me to share a few examples.  

First of all, there’s the language development, which allows her to utter completely adult-sounding sentences, with appropriate intonation, such as “Be quiet, children!” or “I’m feeling a little cranky,” or “Don’t worry, Mom,” in her little girl voice.  It can be hard for me not to laugh out loud.  

Her pronunciation hasn’t quite caught up with her syntax.  She still has trouble pronouncing certain consonant clusters. For example, “sp” comes out as an “f” sound.  So if she wants to wear her “farkle” shirt, we know what she means.  I recall Elisa calling a spoon a “foon” when she was around the same age as Sylvie.  

Along with Sylvie’s other grandparents, Teri and Dave, I took care of Sylvie earlier this month while Elisa and Christian took a much-needed childfree vacation.  Three adults to one almost 3-year old is the proper ratio, by the way.  We spent a fun day at Zoofari, where our animal-loving granddaughter took a solo camel ride, fed the baby goats milk from a bottle, and had a close encounter with a flock of parakeets.  We were surprised that Sylvie found the small birds much more intimidating than the camel. 

We were all together for Fathers’ Day, and Sylvie insisted on going out with me for an early morning donut run although she was still in her pajamas.  She was fascinated by the custom-decorating process at Duck Donuts. Her choice was strawberry icing and rainbow sprinkles – I mean finkles. 

Sylvie has inherited the foodie gene and she has some definite ideas about what she wants to eat. Not long ago, she decided on spaghetti for breakfast.  Of course, she wanted to prepare it herself.  As the water came to a boil, she rushed off to get her swim goggles because the steam was bothering her eyes.  Once the whole wheat pasta was drained, she mixed it with butter and jam for a creative Sylvie-style breakfast dish.  Interestingly, Bonne Maman cherry preserves, which was Elliott’s jam of choice, is Sylvie’s favorite.  

The chef at her stove

She loves to eat, whether at home or out of the house.  And whatever is on someone else’s plate is always fair game for Sylvie.  She calls it “sharing,” of course.  I now know not to expect to eat my entire dessert.  

Sharing dessert at The Swiss Bakery

Fortunately, she’s an adventurous eater.  Among her favorite foods are artichokes (a must-have on pizza), spinach, chocolate, and sushi.  I’m looking forward to teaching her how to use chopsticks.  

At home, the whole family has gotten into the cooking and baking act.  Christian is determined to master the art of making French bread.  He has become quite accomplished, and Sylvie likes to help, of course.  As a result, I’ve been eating way too much bread, since I find a warm crusty baguette totally irresistible.    

Elisa and I are more focused new recipes for main courses – a tasty fish stew (so good with that French bread!) and salmon on sesame-ginger soba noodles are two winners we’ve made recently.  Salmon in any form is always a hit with Sylvie.  

In addition, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the simple pleasure of eating an ice cream sandwich poolside while Sylvie munched on a dripping popsicle.  Simple pleasures don’t get much better than this.  In fact, I treasure all the small moments of the day:  puddle jumping on rainy days, writing on the driveway with sidewalk chalk, watching the deer nibble the bushes in the backyard, and chasing fireflies.  

And then there are some rare quiet moments, when Sylvie gets tired and just wants to cuddle in my arms or curl up next to me on the sofa.  Finally, I love reading her bedtime stories, even when I’m exhausted.  And now that they’ve been out of the house for a few days, I’m definitely ready for them to come back home for more summer fun.