Shep couldn't figure out what it said inside the little dots on his Lego board. I thought it said Lego and he wasn't convinced. He was mumbling about something, and finally I figured out he was asking me to scan it in so we could have a better look.
Impressed with his thinking, I figured the camera would be quicker (because, of course, we were on the way out the door). I was able to zoom in on my quick shot, and we we delighted to discover it, infact, said Duplo. Hooray for technology!
Ever since Bonnie had the baby, Neko has been begging to meet Joe. I managed to convince her to wait until she left the hospital, but once she heard Bonnie had come home, she was demanding a visit.
It's fun to see Neko be this age with a baby. When Shep and Ellery came home, she was interested in them, but she wasn't old enough to really understand what's special about a baby. She inspected every part of him. She checked out his umbilical cord. We taught her about the soft spot. She insisted he borrow our hungry caterpillar.
Shep was interested at first, but then quickly decided there were far more interesting things to do.
Ellery was beside herself with excitement. Her greatest baby dreams had come true. For nearly an hour she sat and squealed "Baby!" and then "Cute!"
Joe? I think he's going to fit right in.
Neko's school went to go see a former Iditarod participant speak today. He brought his sled, trophies, and one of his sled dogs.
After bath time, Neko asked if she could draw on a pair of socks with a permanent marker. The OCD in me heard a little voice in my head go, "DRAW ON SOCKS?! You can't draw on socks!" Isn't that against some kind of law?
I'm glad I didn't say it outloud, because then I started thinking about it. Socks don't cost a lot. And besides, when they're being worn, they're in shoes. No one sees them, anyway. Parenting lesson #462 learned, I handed over the Sharpie. And in about five minutes flat, a sled dog appeared before my eyes.
Mush! MUSH!
(Which is actually totally incorrect, as I learned today. They don't actually say "mush" at all." But it's too late to get into all those details.)
Because I had the kids all day yesterday, Tom gave me much of today off to get caught up on my astronomical pile of Things To Do. On the way home, he vacuumed the car, and then suggested the kids help clean the floor mats, which they did enthusiastically.
So, at what age do they catch on to the Tom Sawyer technique?
Shep came running into our room this morning, wanting to show us something. He made this "S" out of MagnaTiles.
He's not drawing yet, but he's starting to build some neat things with the tools we've got hanging around.
Shep was over at the piano, noodling away at something, so I walked over to see what he was doing.
"These two notes," he said. "Are the perfect notes for my lullaby for Daisy." And as he played them, he looked over at Daisy, who was snoozing nearby. "See? She's falling asleep."
Who couldn't use a few more superhero photos? Especially when they're superheroes that are channeling their inner dinosaur.
Our kids wake up stupid early. At about 6:15am, Shep was yelling because he didn't have enough pacifiers. I got him settled, and tried to go back to sleep. About 15 minutes later, Neko started sobbing about her chapped lips which are cracking. Lip balm applied, I sent her back to her room. I was just getting comfortable when a blood curdling scream came from the bathroom.
I won't go into details, but Shep had an encounter with the toilet lid. It was probably dark, and he shut the lid a little too enthusiastically, and, well, something got smashed between the bowl and the lid.
Did all the male readers just pass out?
It must have been excruciating. He recovered fairly quickly, but it'll probably be a week or so until things heal up.
Until then, we're applying Neosporin and trying to keep a straight face as he retells the story to anyone who will listen.
The other night, when we were out for Anne's birthday, Libby was expressing some worry about having a boy. She has Scarlett, who is nothing but scrumptious, and a boy on the way. I get that worry—it's a journey into the unknown. I had some major apprehension when I was pregnant with Shep.
But today, when Shep was walking around with Tom's ski goggles on, and stopped what he was doing to pose for a few photos, I had one of those moments. One of those moments that mothers have with sons. When they look you in the eye, and you know, that for this space of time, his heart belongs to you. He thinks you are the most wonderful woman in the world.
I know this adoration has a time span. There will be a time in the not-so-distant future where his heart will belong to someone else, and I'll have to get comfortable in my role as the runner-up.
I don't want this to sound like I love him more than the girls, because I love them all the same. With a girl there is a closeness and intimacy you have with your best girlfriends. With a boy, there is this purity and innocence.
Please let me get be a good mother-in-law, because now I totally get why that's one of the hardest jobs on earth.
