growth chart update

Your visit to the pediatrician on August 14 gave us these new measurements for you:
height: 41 inches
weight: 21 pounds, 10 ounces
head circumference: not noted, but still gargantuan

yuppie duds

The three of us drove down to Chattanooga to have dinner with Daddy’s friend, Monica, and her family. Her son, Grant, was born four days before you, and it was nice to see you with someone your age. It’s helpful perspective for me too; when I think you are just a brat, I can see that other kids your age refuse to eat, throw fits and food and whine a bit. Healthy. You were whiny in the car ride down; I’m pretty sure it’s because Daddy had a conference call. Then at mile marker 132 traffic stopped, and we were detoured through windy and hilly backroads to avoid the back-up caused by a vehicle fire on I-24. Apparently it takes 10 hours to clear such an accident. TDOT and THP— what a team! Thanks to GPS on our phones, we successfully rerouted ourselves. Who knows where we might have ended up if left to rely solely on their detour signs! The troublesome detour tacked on about an hour to an already short amount of available time to eat and visit. But we had a nice time. You were amazing at dinner and ate well, content to watch the goings-on of the restaurant and nibble on bread and pasta.

In this hand-me-down polo shirt from Jates and madras shorts from Chris, we thought you looked an awful lot like Papou (and just a wee bit preppy too.)

After letting you stretch your legs while we had dessert and coffee, we hopped back in the car for the ride home. You were tired, and you fell asleep immediately with Sleepy Sheepy tucked next to your cheek and your thumb in your mouth. (I am amazed how even a glimpse of Sleepy Sheepy prompts you to pop your thumb in your mouth.) The sleep only lasted 30 minutes. You pooped and wanted to be clean and in your bed, but you didn’t fuss. We didn’t get you down until almost 10:30. You were such a good sport though. I even got to rock you for about 15 minutes—a very rare treat!

this walkin’ thing

Daddy and I have been watching a lot of late-night live coverage of the Olympics in Beijing. And yes, reasonable and conscientious people have decided to boycott these games because of China’s outrageous human rights abuses. Officials haven’t stuck to their promise to allow certain spaces at the Olympics for people to protest, as is customary at the games. They’ve even denied visas to some of our athletes and known protesters. But these are the OLYMPICS. I love them. It jazzes me up like the World Cup does, and it only comes around every four years. Daddy and I feel a part of the international community when we watch, and we feel a surge of American pride when U.S. athletes do well. So, we are watching, but we do not approve of China’s track record. (Who are we to talk anyway…Abu Ghraib?!?!)

That was a long way around to purge my conscience and to explain our thinking behind these new videos of you walking. First, balance check and an eighth of a point deduction:

Then, a near perfect execution on your next floor routine

friendly encounters

You are getting much more bold in the water, lil man. We played in the spray pool Monday afternoon, and you were walking around, sipping the water, splashing down on your bottom and your stomach. It’s nice to see you warming up to this essential natural element. Perhaps swimming lessons next summer?

We also got a visit from Aunt Dixie who always comes bearing gifts for the little people. She brought you a very cool orange squishy car that revs its engine when you push on it. It’s very satisfying for you since you were able to work it easily and almost instinctively from the start. Aunt Diane also sent gifts via Aunt Dixie, and you got a couple of very fun googlie-eyed books that have a button you can push for an accompanying sound while I read to you. You were charmed by the bee noise one book makes, and you try to mimic it each time you push the button.

construction zone

We had to accomplish something upstairs yesterday, which has been down to studs and subfloor for a couple of months now. We had some folks come and do the demolition, but when they were called away, all progress halted. Daddy and I needed to work on the electrical—running wire, putting in outlet boxes and switches and planning out the layout of the rooms upstairs—so the blow-in insulation guys could do their thing next. We wanted to work on it together, but we had no childcare lined up for you, so we created a makeshift playpen in the construction zone upstairs. We scouted it well, minimized hazards like nails and open floor and walled you in with a couple of old doors and the gate we use to contain you downstairs. I then found and dusted off several objects I thought would be of interest to you: various lengths of new PVC pipe used to put in the bathroom drains, a sponge brush (which proved to be a favorite), a new piece of sandpaper (fine) and some blocks of wood sawed into shapes of rectangles, squares and triangles. You were great! You played for well over an hour and then snacked for another thirty minutes, while Daddy mapped the entire electrical layout and I hammered in all the outlet boxes. We made great headway, and you were such a good sport. We think you were simply delighted to be confined in a new space, and well, you can expect to see that space again.