fevered pitch

You have been a little under the weather for the last couple of days, lil man, running a low-grade fever, not sleeping well and generally being crankier and whinier than is usual for you. I think you are cutting some teeth on the top; you are drooling and gnawing on absolutely everything (including the handle on a cart at Target until it made you cry). We have been staying with Mammy or Jates since Daddy is traveling for work, and I am sure that hasn’t helped your sleep patterns either. You have been a little off, and I am eager to get you back home tonight and back into your routine… for one night anyway before we head to the lake for Daddy’s staff retreat. We are sure keeping you busy, lil bug!

You do a pretty good job with the new sippy cup Mammy gave you. You wear most of it, but some liquid gets in.

Just chillin’ with Papa (which was hard to do since you had a fever and it was nearly 90 degrees outside.)

This photo cracks me up, because it looks like you just said something very funny that sent Tanner into a backwards guffaw.

Tanner is about to turn five and is often impatient with how little you are able to do. He also has a hard time with some of the restrictions put on him when he is playing near you. (“Be careful. Get out of his face. Be gentle. Don’t touch his hands.”) He is waiting anxiously for you to be able to run, play, swing, say “God bless you” when he sneezes. (You were barely two months old when he sneezed near you and came to me to complain that you didn’t say “God bless you” to him afterwards. I reassured him it was not him; you weren’t saying much of anything at that time.) During this visit though he was very gentle and attentive to your needs, and you sure look up to him, fascinated with everything he does.

We took a morning walk in Jates’s neighborhood while we were staying there. It could’ve been your teeth or the fact that you had not been resting well, but you were impatient with this walk as if to say, “Hey, the burbs are not my thing. I do urban. I need fire hydrants and barking dogs, cyclists and cops. I need action, people.”

Jates read in one of her parenting magazines about how you should include even very young children in chores like doing laundry by making a game of sorting clothes. Taking it a step further, she thought she’d introduce you to the spin cycle. (not really)