in 2004, the family that i nannied for was expecting a new baby. they didn't know if the baby was going to be a girl or a boy, but 3-year-old jack, with his amazing memory, recalled from a dinner at a chinese restaurant weeks before his parents told him the exciting news that 2004 was the year of the monkey. so, the baby (who ended up being will), throughout its time in utero, was known as "the monkey baby."
when i got pregnant josh and i checked the zodiac excitedly to learn the name of our in-utero baby, only to learn that 2008 was the year of the rat. the rat baby? awesome. despite josh's best attempts to tell me all the virtues of rats (they're smart, resourceful, they work together), all i had to say in response was "they carry disease."
i was less than thrilled that our poor baby was getting such a crappy zodiac sign. but some sources call it the year of the mouse, which was easier for me to accept. i don't like mice in my house, at least not in a cage, but they are much cuter and less offensive than rats. and in fact, we do call bebe "little mouse" or "growly mouse" quite often.
when i got pregnant josh and i checked the zodiac excitedly to learn the name of our in-utero baby, only to learn that 2008 was the year of the rat. the rat baby? awesome. despite josh's best attempts to tell me all the virtues of rats (they're smart, resourceful, they work together), all i had to say in response was "they carry disease."
i was less than thrilled that our poor baby was getting such a crappy zodiac sign. but some sources call it the year of the mouse, which was easier for me to accept. i don't like mice in my house, at least not in a cage, but they are much cuter and less offensive than rats. and in fact, we do call bebe "little mouse" or "growly mouse" quite often.
several years ago, while visiting my sister in new york, we spent an afternoon at pearl river mart (if you've ever been there, you know how easy it is to spend an entire afternoon there!), and josh and i bought these cards, which have been on our bedroom door in our last three apartments. he's the tiger and i'm the dragon.
last winter, when i was staying with maggie while doing some research, we went back so i could get a new card for the door to the baby's room. it was actually the one thing i was superstititous about -- all the other baby preparations, i reasoned in my irrational, neurotic moments of worry that something would go wrong, could be for any baby, for the baby we would ultimately bring home even if something were to go wrong with this pregnancy. so i had no problem setting up the nursery, washing clothes and diapers, etc. but the year of the rat card could only be for our baby if that baby were born in 2008. so it stayed on a shelf until we brought our little mouse home from the hospital.
pearl river mart also had baby tshirts, kimono style, with the zodiac animals embroidered on them. while buying the card, i got one for the baby, who has just recently gotten big enough to fit into it.
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