Obama Gains a Nobel - and the Attention of Our Son

Gabe and I, being public radio professionals, have a habit of leaving the radio on during almost everything we do.

So usually, after I pick up Ezra from Najiba's and have a little small talk about his day (did you play outside? Yeah! Did you take a nap? Yeah! Did you have fun? Yeah!), I flip on WBEZ. Usually Ezra keeps on babbling to himself in the back - mostly nonsense interspersed with words he knows. But last week was different.

"Congress is getting back to work on crafting a $1.1 trillion budget," the newscaster said.

"Congress!" came a small voice from the back seat of the car.

"Car bombs shook Baghdad today," the newscaster went on.

"Baghdad!" Ezra said.

"That's right, Ezra! Congress! Baghdad!" I couldn't stop laughing. Before this, the radio had always seemed to be white noise to him.

"President Obama will leave tomorrow for Oslo, where he'll receive the Nobel Peace Prize," the newscaster continued.

"Obama!" Ezra parroted.

This one took the cake. Ezra was just a tiny 3-month-old when Obama won the presidency. Obama made history, and for us, having a baby born that same year felt awe-inspiring. It's incredible just to know he'll grow up in a world in which traditional racial barriers are crumbling, and people really can achieve anything if they put their minds to it. And now Ezra's old enough to say his name.

"Yes, Obama's our president. Who's our president, Ezra?" I kept asking him. But he didn't seem to be grasping it. Still, after we got home he kind of wandered around muttering, "Obamama."

Then, later I told him it was the first day of Chanukah.

"Tonight we'll light candles, and then you'll get presents," I said.

"Obama!" he replied.

Hmmmm. Took me a second before I realized presents = president = Obama. Maybe he really was paying attention after all!

Anyway, we had a great Chanukah party last night, complete with latkes and matzoh ball soup (thanks, Gabe!). Mikaela Block and Isaac Mulcahy (and their respective parents, Mara and Nate Block and Rebecca Bohrman and Dave Mulcahy) came over and speaking of miracles... the kids all managed to stay in their booster seats for the entire meal without throwing a fit or pitching food or otherwise going bananas. They were entranced by the candles and even more so by the gelt. (Ezra's perfected a really irritating whine when he wants something, along with a plaintive, "Yeah? Yeah?" He may have incorporated "Obama" into his vocabulary, but "please" is still elusive.)

Mikaela generously lent Ezra her pretty ribbon barrette. And Ezra's Chanukah present (a $10 tent from Ikea) was a big hit.

We also had a delightful time decorating

gingerbread cookies the other day with Emelia, her mom Kelly and her friend/babysitter Caroline. It was deliciously sticky and yummy! And Caroline and Kelly captured some really sweet pictures, including Emelia deciding to unzip Ezra's sweatshirt.

And we just had to include the following video. It captures maybe the sweetest moment of parenthood yet. Usually Ezra is so much on the go that getting him to give hugs or kisses is kind of a struggle. But blackberries seem to be the key to his heart.

Love,

Ashley, Gabe and Ezra