Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkk!

Things that will make Jonah shriek:

• A piece of hair touching him in the bathtub
• An ant crawling on the floor

The piercing nature of the wail may lead one to expect some catastrophic event has transpired.  Nope.

Happy Easter!

I may have failed as a Catholic parent this Easter.  I never want Easter to be just bunnies, eggs and candy.  But how do you explain to a toddler what the celebration is about?  Does he understand death?  Is it silly that death is so taboo in our culture, or a good idea to avoid the topic with a sensitive little mind?  I offhandedly gave Jonah a couple soundbites about God, Heaven and Jesus but it certainly wasn't a theological conversation intended to foster deep understanding.  But you never know... sometimes a little phrase can stick with him.  Last weekend, Grandmama asked Jonah if he would come to her house to help find the eggs the Easter Bunny hid.  All week we've been hearing Jonah excitedly explain, "I go Mema's house, she need help finding eggs.  I help Mema find the eggs!"

Easter was a lovely day of Mass (we arrived just in time to get seats in the vestibule, right behind Jonah's friends.  They were all a little more rowdy than usual... maybe from the candy???), egg hunts (which included a full boisterous and theatrical narrative worthy of a Tony Award) and family.

How embarrassing!

[Bedtime]
Jonah:  I need George.
Mommy:  Here you go. [Hands Curious George to Jonah]
Jonah:  Oh no!
Mommy: What's wrong?
Jonah:  There's poopy coming out his bum!  He need a diaper change!
Mommy: I'll get him a diaper.
Jonah:  He need monkey diaper!
[Mommy diapers Curious George]

Gourmet Fist!

Elliott found his hands!  He makes little batting motions at hanging toys - intentionally, albeit rather clumsily.  Even better, he now enjoys sucking on his fists, at least until something with milk comes along.

Baby? Shower

Elliott enjoyed the pleasure of being the only guy at a cousin's bridal shower yesterday - and a cute one at that!  His even littler cousin Ruby came, too, so (at least at our table) the conversation was far more baby than wedding!  Sorry, kids, the wedding reception will be adult only.  I wonder what we will talk about???

Kitty in the Tree!

Jonah's imaginative play has just flourished recently.  His favorite game is to play firefighter.  He dons the helmet and runs around the house with a long cardboard tube (his hose).  And what does he do with his fire-fighting super powers?  He saves kitties from trees!  On walks, he frequently points out all the kitties stuck in trees along the way.  It's quite amazing our neighborhood is always so full of them!

How far is too far to walk?

Tuesday my car needed to go to the shop, about a mile away.  Since Daddy had abandoned me with both kids for the day, I thought perhaps the three of us could go together to drop off the car and walk back the rest of the way.  The library was on the way, so we planned a stop there.

Elliott did just fine, but he wasn't walking.  Jonah walked a bit until he came down with a mysterious foot ailment that required him to be carried too.  Apparently 1000 feet was too far for a toddler.  It was a long trip back with three bodies on two legs.

By the time Daddy finally returned home, I was looking forward to leaving him with the kids and dinner to cook while I took a relaxing stroll to recover my car.  But when Daddy asked if I needed him to go get the car, it took me by surprise and I didn't know what to say.  So I told him: one of us goes and gets the car, the other cooks dinner.

Daddy said he would get the car and left with Jonah for the walk.  Apparently Jonah did a great job walking, being careful when he crossed the street, staying close to Daddy, and not taking too many detours.  He was so excited he stopped a random stranger with a torrent of words that hardly made a sentence.  Apparently a mile was not too far at all.

When they got back, I had Daddy cook dinner.  Thank you for getting the car, but you chose wrongly!

Two Months Gone!

Elliott is now two months old!  He measures 23-1/4 inches long and weighs in at 13lb 3.5oz.  At 16.5in, his head is above the 90th percentile curve!  Prior to the visit Daddy and I had a friendly wager on his weight.  Daddy guessed 12lb 2oz, Mommy 13lb 4oz.  I suppose by TPiR rules I lost!  We retired all the 0-3mo clothes and most 3mo.  His belly button sticks out, but I'm told it's an umbilical hernia that will resolve itself, not a permament outtie.  We're still waiting and hoping the kidney clears, too.

Elliott is doing everything a baby should!  He sleeps well in his moses basket and has even given me a couple full nights until 6am, though not consistently.  Still, I seem to be past the anguish of constant sleep deprivation.  With only one middle-of-the-night feeding around 3am, I'm getting full sleep cycles before and after.  Elliott eats efficiently, and quite frequently in the early morning to make up for lost time.  During tummy time he can pick up his head and chest, but only a few seconds at a time.  Full head control is  a work in progress, and I suuport his head most of the time.  (I think both my boys are a little delayed in this respect, owing to the additional weight.)  Elliott smiles occasionally and tracks movements with his eyes and head - particularly Mommy's.  He found his tongue and will mimic me in sticking it out.  He also figured out how to suck his fist, though it seems to be a disappointment when no milk comes out!

Back to the old grindstone...

I started back to work today.  I wasn't as eager this time around, but I still had a little twitch wanting to check in on my custom clients and other projects.  It's only been 8 weeks, but I'm only working part-time from home through the end of June.  It isn't so jarring since I'm not sending Elliott to daycare or commuting to the office yet.  Instead, I'll just have to be even more organized with my time during the day, and be particularly productive on Jonah's school days.  And at the end of the day, I had designed and drawn a building!  How satisfying.

Back to Back!

At his cousin's baptism today, Elliott had his first opportunity at our family's tradition of "back-to-back".  As kids, this meant standing beside the cousin closest in age to compare height and take a photograph.  Cousin Jonathan is only 10 days younger, and looks to be only half Elliott's size!  Boy, do I envy mothers of newborns with small heads!

Jonah spent most of the ceremony running through the back door, shouting about wanting to use the potty again.  Really he wanted the reward of playing on Grandmama's tablet.