If a baby's goal were to keep Mom awake, today and last night this baby would be winning. I thought he was down for a nice long nap an hour ago. I planned a shower and a nap myself. After the shower I looked in to check on him. He was staring right at me. Ack! I sneaked away to see if he'd entertain himself for a while, which he does sometimes. Nope. The problem is when he does go to sleep relatively early in the evening, as he did last night, I start doing all the things I haven't been able to do while caring for him and I get carried away doing everything when I should be sleeping.
We tried a new routine last night to get him ready for bed. A bath with lavender shampoo. Then a massage with lavender lotion. A walk around the neighborhood. He was out cold halfway through the walk and after we got home he slept for a nice long time. I think the double-whammy of lavender really relaxed him. Starting around 7:30 worked really well. We'll see how it goes tonight.
Enough baby talk! I went to the wonderful Chlorine and Estrogen party hosted by my friend Lisa at her mom's house. A pool party for women only. It's a beautiful pool with little waterfalls and lion's heads spouting water, overlooking a wide canyon filled with trees. The atmosphere was very Mount Holyoke. Relaxing female energy. I could only stay a little while but it was like a mini-vacation. There was a bunch of food, but I didn't eat, which was strange after nine months of wanting to eat everything in sight. After I left I wished I'd snagged a brownie, though.
Yesterday William and I had our first post-baby date and went to see Harry Potter and the Half-blood Prince. I was blown away. It was truly beautiful. The cinematography, the scoring, the symbolism, all cohesive and affecting. It was like painting with film. I awaited each scene eagerly, to see what striking new image would come next. One transition, as Harry looks into the pensieve, was so artful and lovely I gasped. I hadn't heard of the director, David Yates. I looked him up afterward and he's done mostly smaller British films. I was very happy to see he will direct the two-part Deathly Hallows. The tone was more understated than the other films, which made it somehow much more powerful. It's inspiring to see such a successful marriage of all the arts of filmmaking come together. I thought it was a great film. I can't remember the last time I've enjoyed one as much. For that film to emerge out of a commercial blockbuster series like Harry Potter makes it all the more surprising. It's such a pleasure to see characters one knows and likes portrayed in a new way, too, which shows the nuances instead of broad strokes. It amazes me what a difference it makes to have the material in different hands. If I were J.K. Rowling I'd be very pleased. The film captured the richness and depth of the world she created, in all its fantastical whimsy. Yates's direction of the actors, too: every character benefitted from his touch. I especially enjoyed Draco, whose role is almost without dialogue yet his journey creates an undercurrent throughout the film, and Luna, who is serene and confident, never made to seem ridiculous. The Quidditch match looked exciting and dangerous, a worthy wizard sport. That's the first time I've enjoyed Quidditch in book or film. I hope I can see the film again on the big screen.
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