We celebrated Grampa's birthday today.
Gramma, Grampa, and Aunt Patty came to our house. Then we all headed out to Buca di Beppo.
Aidan enjoyed crawling around under the table and going from his seat between Patty and Mama to squeeze in between Gramma and Grampa across the table.
Grampa and Aidan sang a German drinking song..
and Aidan learned to toast with his sippie cup.
Then we all came back to our house for carrot cake and presents.
Happy Birthday, Grampa!
Aidan likes music (even if he doesn't like for his parents to sing). We've talked about this before. But what was unexpected what Aidan's penchant for improvisation...
At school today, I guess they must have been singing "You are my sunshine..."
So while he was getting ready for bed, Aidan was singing to himself:
"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine..."
And Mama and I looked at each other with that "This is soooo cute; this just makes it all worth it; maybe it wasn't so crazy having kids afterall" look.
Then he kind of hummed the next few bars as he climbed up onto his bed.. and again Mama and I looked at each other and had to squelch a little laugh at how cute this is...
And then we heard it...
"Please don't taaaake, my cheese and grapes awaaaaay."
What was that?
He repeated it...
"Please don't taaaake, my grapes and cheese awaaaaay."
On a hot day, there's nothing better than a melty ice cream cone...
... though bumps in the road can pose an unforeseen hazard.
It's dinner time, and Aidan is playing chase with Aunt Laura.
Daddy: "Hey Aidan, you want a grilled cheese sandwich?"
[Yes, yes, I know. nutrition nazis, please withold your comments]
Aidan: "Yes."
Daddy: "Good. Okay..."
Aidan: "Yes. But first it needs to cook. So I'll chase Laura while you cook it, okay?"
Aidan and Bryce started school today.
Aidan, of course, is an old pro at this.
Bryce, though, for whom this is relatively new, was cool as a cucumber about it. When we dropped him off, he happily plunked himself down in front of his favorite toy (one he'd seen briefly and played with when we visited last week at the Open House) and didn't take a look back when we went to leave.
When we picked them up, the teachers reported that Bryce was a little "teary" in the latter half of the day-- but he didn't take a nap, either, so that probably had something to do with it.
Aidan continues his M-W-F schedule on Friday-- Bryce returns to school next Monday for his M-W schedule. We both hope Bryce starts taking advantage of naptime soon. :)
Bryce is big on pointing at things these days.
He wants to go in the kitchen, he points toward the kitchen.
He wants you to follow him into Aidan's room, he walks down the hall, turns, looks at you, and points toward Aidan's door.
He wants a cereal bar on the second shelf of the cabinet in the kitchen, he stands under the cabinet, points in that general direction, and grunts.
Well, it's not really a grunt. It sounds more just like he's blowing air through his sinuses somehow.
Who needs sign language, right? When you've got a chest full of air and a functioning index (and expressive) index finger?
So yesterday morning, Bryce wakes up in a kind of fussy mood. I try to pat him to put his head back down.. try to snuggle him... Sometimes this works and he sleeps another 90 minutes (and as you may know, those 90 minutes are gold!).
But when it doesn't work, the attempts at getting him to sleep only agitate him more.. and he kicks his feet more violently.. throws his head back and cries and howls with such ferocity, you might be led to think I was pouring sulphuric acid on his palms...
That's along the lines of what I got from him yesterday morning at about 7:03am.
(I feel foolish complaining, really. If this were his brother, this would have been playing out at 5:45...)
Speaking of his brother, from the kitchen, I hear Aidan ask his mother "What's wrong with Mr. Duck?" (remember those names? You thought he'd forgotten them by now? Oh how wrong you are!) "I'm going to go find out!"
So here comes the thundering herd of Aidan's feet down the hallway and he vaults himself up into bed and leans across my chest. Bryce is now sitting bolt upright, watching Aidan's entrance.
Aidan asks "What's wrong, Mr. Duck?"
And Bryce looks innocently back at Aidan from behind his big red pacifier.
Then points that accusing index finger squarely at me and grunts... twice. I guess the second one was for emphasis.
Bryce spent some time yesterday practicing climbing the stairs...
And he's getting good enough at it now that I was able to take some pictures.
Word from the coast is that everyone's houses survived!
Some damage, of course, but even Grandma's house in Long Beach-- in an area that the reporters down there indicated was totally destroyed-- is still standing.
Amazing!
If you can believe it, Ruth and Jackie's house is still standing.
Amazingly, they were on the opposite side of one of the levees that gave way.
As Ruth's brother David put it, "they were spared."
They went to a local hotel (I think) to weather the storm, afraid that their little trailer would be turned over in the winds. But it wasn't. And it isn't flooded either.
Unbelievable when you look at where they are on the map of New Orleans...
So now, they have a bathtub full of water and canned goods.. but not much else.
No word yet on whether they'll be required to evacuate. Not sure if Metairie is under the same orders as the residents of downtown New Orleans.
Just a moment ago, the phone rang with news that Ruth and Jackie, Amanda's cousins down in Metairie are ALIVE!
Amanda's still on the phone, so more details will be forthcoming!
For a must-read account of how it all happened down there, take a look at this blog called Eye of the Storm.
It's amazing stuff.
Two local news reporters down on the MS coast, hunkered down with some beef jerky and beer-- they start out cracking jokes and having fun... and now they're giving some of the best reports of damage, with pictures, neighborhood by neighborhood, that we've read anywhere...
Since we've been getting a lot of emails from all over asking about Amanda's family, let me take a quick minute to give an update:
The family in Long Beach and Biloxi-- Grandma, Aunt Martha, cousins Melinda and Adam and family are all reported to be safe, though we're afraid that, like so many down there, they have lost everything.
Still no word, however, on her Great Cousins Ruth and Jackie in Metairie, outside New Orleans. Given their age and what happened to Metairie, we can only hope that they made it to shelter in time. But there's not much hope of getting word from that area for quite some time...
Needless to say, we've been praying for all of them up here non-stop since last weekend..
If you're reading this, you have no doubt already been introduced by my sons to the wonder that is "The Wiggles."
And no mention of the Wiggles-- that Australian super-group, the adult men who dress like four members of the kiddie Starship Enterprise's bridge crew-- can go without reference to their whimsical (if not thoroughly sodden with drink) compatriot Captain Feathersword.
Bryce's latest craze is to play Captain Feathersword's 'Blow Me Down' game.
He looks at you, smiles coyly, then purses his lips and blows at you.
If you're smart, you'll pantomime being blown over by a huge gust of wind.
Then pick yourself back up, look back at Bryce, and blow back at him.. and watch, with amazement, as he sighs and flops himself down onto the floor, giggling all the way...
This scene can repeat itself time and again for hours...
