Hooray for Saturday

Some of the pots and pans we bought right after we got married are getting worse for the wear.  I had seen a restaurant supply store down the street, so we all set off on a little adventure this afternoon.

There was actually not one, but two restaurant stores less than half a mile from home.  But one was closed, and one didn’t have what we needed.  So we headed home, via the park.  Peter fell asleep, and A. and I stopped to do an obstacle course and attempt to play tetherball until he woke up.

It’s amazing how visiting a playground can make you feel young and old at the very same time.  Memories of learning to sit on the parallel bars, one of the highlights of my early elementary school life, and of playing tetherball at park campgrounds filled my mind.  But sitting up on those bars today felt more uncomfortable than cool, and my tetherball skills were more than a little rusty.  My taste for feats of derring-do just seems to have lessened.  But though I couldn’t cross the monkey bars or acrobatically dismount from the highest bars, I returned home quite happy with our little walk.  Sun, warmth, and my family.  Good stuff.

Wordless Wednesday: Gustatory pleasures

And a few words—We’re back!

A Festive Fourth

I promised details about Washington, DC were next.  But I forgot that I have some fourth of July pictures that needed to be shared.  But it’s still a travel story, so there is that.

As of one week before the fourth of July, I fully thought we were going to be staying home by ourselves.  No grilling, maybe some fireworks downtown if we got our act together.  Then one of A.’s college roommates said he was coming to Chicago and wondered if he could drive up.

Then a day or two later, the parents of one of the boys’ other roommates called to ask whether we wanted to come over.  Before we knew it, we were signed up for just the kind of laid-back, family-and-friends kind of fourth of our dreams.

And it was lovely.  Despite A.’s short memory when it came to transmitting some messages from our hosts, we all got to go swimming, I got some emergency strawberry shortcake supplies out, and a good time was had by all.

Until the fireworks.  The night of the third, our across the street neighbors were setting off some ground-based fireworks.  Peter and I went over to watch, and he was intrigued by the light and sound.  Our hosts for the fourth had a box of bottle rockets.  We were only able to launch two before the sheer terror exhibited by Peter overtook the pyrophiles’ fun.  Maybe next year.

California on my mind

I’m going to play a quick catch up.  Peter and I have been on the road, having lots of adventures, and I want to get some of the memories down before they spill out of my mind.  First up, a Father’s Day visit to Father’s family in CA.

I think I’ve mentioned before our unfortunate life-planning in having a baby (the first grandchild on either side) immediately after moving far away from both of our families.  And while Peter has not lacked in the familial love department, it was high time to get ourselves out to visit A.’s side of the family in sunny southern California.

The first set of plane trips were made without too much ordeal.  Peter, like his mother, loved the Biscoff cookies that Delta served.  But there was more excellent food to come!

Cuban black beans, pork, and yucca!

First trip to the beach.  My sweet mother-in-law found a cute lightweight stroller on Craigslist.  As you see, Peter is not riding in it.  We got to the beach and put him in the stroller, heading for a restaurant for some food.  He screamed.  We walked for several blocks like that, me assuring the family that he would settle in.  He did not.  Maybe he was just hungry.  Nope, did the same thing on the way out of the restaurant toward the beach.  Maybe he was just tired.  Nope, later in the week we tried during morning happy time.  No go.  I still have no idea why.

I suppose it’s another lesson about the best laid plans.  I was all set to at least take a dip in the water—I even asked the lifeguard who taught our Parent-Child swim class whether there was anything special we needed to know for ocean swimming.  And then he slept almost the whole time we were there (after the stroller fiasco, that is).  But it was still lovely and breezy, and Peter did wake up for long enough to watch the ocean for several minutes.

Morning happy time in California.  Probably around 5:30 or 6, which is not normally *my* morning happy time.  But we decided that it was easier to just stay on Eastern time rather than switching.  Peter was happy to oblige.  Until the last two days, when he switched to Pacific Time in one fell swoop.  Notice the super-stylish shorts, high socks, and sweater combination.

Other highlights/firsts?  Meeting his paternal great-grandparents.  Meeting the giant dog (my in-laws have an English Mastiff).  Meeting the tortoise (likewise, they also have a tortoise).  Spending quality time with grandparents and aunt/godmother.

Next up, Washington, DC!

Leaping before looking

We went into his bedroom this evening to find him sitting in the corner of his crib with his legs hanging out between the slats.  This seems to be a theme of his growing:  he is able to get himself into situations before he can get himself out of them.  Babies can sit before they’re able to move from sitting to laying down except by falling over.  They scale things before they figure out how to get back down.

Why, I wonder, is this?  To give adults practice running around rescuing children from their own newfound skills?  Or is leaping before looking one of those childlike traits that we are supposed to be learning as we “become as little children” on our way to the Kingdom of God?

When is radical trust, “stepping out in faith,” the highest good, and when is the shrewd manager the one to be emulated?

All kinds of firsts

Today I walked into Peter’s room to find him sitting up in his crib.  He’s been practicing this sitting up maneuver for a while (most notably while I’m attempting to change his diaper), but this is, I think, his first real success.

As you can see from the photo above, he also has his two top teeth (the bottom two have been in for a little while).  After a couple of weeks looking snaggle-toothed, with only one top tooth (top left), the other came through a week and a half ago (the people at swim lessons noticed it for me).  It’s been catching up.

Peter’s had a runny nose for about a week now.  Nothing that seems to really bother him, except when he’s going to sleep at night.  Then he can’t fall asleep until we use the snot sucker, which wakes him right up.

Whether related to the congestion, the teeth, or neither, he’s also gotten really into making funny faces and sound effects.  Panting, nose scrunching, and tooth clicking are all in his repertoire.

He’s also getting ready to crawl.  I feel like I’ve been saying this for ages now, but I really think it’ll happen sooner rather than later.  With visits to or from both sets of grandparents and aunts in the near future, here’s hoping that we get to share this milestone.

Do you know how happy this makes me?

When you move it takes you a while to warm up to a place, at least in my experience.  Just ask my parents.  I spent longer than I care to admit claiming not to have any friends just to make them feel guilty about making me move to Tennessee right before I started high school.

But things like this help.