the busiest bee

After much anticipation, Dad and Ella are finally here for a visit. Ella (my sister, 10) is Cael’s new hero, and watching him follow her around and want to play with everything she touches is a quick trip back through time to when Tim was Cael’s age and I was Ella’s. There were some wonderful moments of play followed by the more memorable long stretches of torture. Lots of “mine mine mine’s” from both parties. I distinctly remember all the grown-ups looking on at our mutual plight in amusement, sipping their wine, knowing looks, and the bursts of laughter, maybe some crumbs of pity thrown out or a stern word. Mostly laughter. You would think, with these memories, that I would have more empathy. But no, I am just as bad as my parents were (and still are, who do you think I am laughing with?), poor Ella.

necessity is the mother of...

Cael is trying to get me to come into the TV room. I assume he wants me to watch ‘Cars’ with him. “I’m making dinner right now, Cael,” I tell him, “but you go ahead.” After long babbling pleas of protest he wanders off. A few minutes later I notice that the sounds of ‘Cars’ have been replaced by the theme song to ‘Chicken Little’ and I run in to see what had happened. Cael had removed the disk from the player, picked out a new movie to watch, managed to get it in, and even more amazingly, figured out how to get the DVD to play.

halloween

Cael screams when we stuff him into his costume. He and his dad go to a costume party, but without Judd on the actual day I can’t bring myself to repeat the tragedy. Instead I hand out candy at a friend’s house while Cael plays happily with Lightning McQueen (also know as ‘Re’ and “Fass’, or ‘red’ and ‘fast’) and Doc Hudson (or ‘Bluue’).

Cael is a Pokemon character and Judd his a Pokemon master. I think it is every parent’s fantasy to be the master of their children. But what else is Halloween for but to dress up in ways that are a complete and utter fiction!

the floor swimmer

Cael and I crawl around the kitchen floor to demonstrate to Isabel the finer points of this particular form of travel. She pushes up as high as she can, inching backward and around in a circle until she backs herself into a corner. They seem to agree that this is the best form of entertainment so far today.

po’[;/cfdd - Cael’s first contribution

The past few days: Isabel is eating baby food with much enthusiasm (Cael is trying to feed her too- tonight peas were ‘gently’ shoved into her mouth); Cael picked out a pumpkin for himself and his sister at the pumpkin patch; Isabel has 2 teeth; Cael is afraid of his Halloween costume; Judd made yummy pizza, yummy scones, yummy soup, and more yummy soup; I am working on a quilt for Cael; Mom is still in Italy; I found a present for Ella that she will love and my dad will hate!

and then what happened

For the two weeks Judd is at work, I take mental notes of the changes in our children and the routines we have had to tweak in order to keep up with them. “He can get out through the basement,” I will warn him, “so we have to make sure to keep the baby gates closed.” Or, “He can climb onto the table now so we have to keep the salt and pepper on the counter.” And then, “The cutting board is no longer a safe place to keep knives, or for that matter neither is the counter because he can pull a chair over and climb up.” Every new skill comes with a new adjustment, and Judd has to relearn every time he comes home. This time it is, “Don’t rely on the baby gates anymore. He just jumps up and down on the lever and shakes the gate until it opens.” Nice.

bad monkey

Cael wants to pee in the potty again. I am thrilled and he is proud. He runs around the house naked for a little bit- which should be fine because he just went, right? A few minutes later I find him in position, knees slightly bent, carefully aiming for... the dog bowl.

When can we come for a visit, Bev?

friends

Grace comes to visit and Cael is so happy to see her that he runs up to her and applies diaper rash cream to her butt.

easy out

Cael pitches and I hit. His aim is getting better, but he aims for my face, so the bat is up in self defense. In between hits, Cael runs over to me and gives me a big hug, sometimes even a kiss. Then he gets back in position and hugs the ball. Tonight he is sleeping with both.

Today he practiced the words ‘bad kitty’ over and over.

Isabel rocks the excer-saucer

Isabel is performing her ‘Salutation to the Sun’ pose, arms up up up, head back, followed by the ‘Old Macdonald Sway’ with a drool drool here and a coo coo there, here a drool there a coo, everywhere a drool coo... Now it is time for her 5 minute poo.