Little Guy at 15 Months

Yesterday I was folding laundry onto the brown chair in the family room, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw something streak by and heard Little Guy's big giggles.  He was pulling up to standing by using the chair and then running across the room, maybe 6 or 8 steps before he'd tumble into the pile of not-yet-folded laundry on the floor.  It was his first attempt at really walking on his own--he'd taken lots of steps, even crossed the whole room before, but only when Sam or I was holding out our arms at the other side to catch him (he'd stagger forward, arms up in the air for balance, full of excitement and pride and giggles, but get so excited that he'd start running and tumble into our waiting arms).  This was the first time he'd initiated it by himself, and he entertained himself, shrieking with glee, doing it over and over again until he was so tired and silly that he could only take a step or two before tumbling onto his knees.

He and I also had our first argument that he won. I was trimming his toenails, and he was crying and trying to pull his feet away the whole time.  I finished, told him, "All done!" and gave him some cuddles, and he was happy.  Then I realized his fingernails, which I had just done recently, were also a little long, and I said, "Let me just try your fingernails too," and reached for his hand with the clippers.  He looked at me and said in a crestfallen tone, "Ah dah!  Ah dah!"--all done, Mommy, all done, you said we were all done!  You're right, little love, they'll wait until tomorrow.

Outdoors

Yikes.  Every time I try to post on this blog, it takes me half an hour to figure out the login info.

Pretty sure this is TMI, but it's what is going on in our lives: Sam had "a minor surgical procedure" this week and is currently hibernating in the basement, tenderly protecting his vulnerable areas from errant elbows and knees.  The kids and I have been hanging out on the deck a lot, both because it keeps them from stomping and screaming and doing various other things that alarm the patient, and because it's been beautiful here, 70s and clear.  I really love it, in spite of my general dislike of being outdoors (there, I've said it.  It's a horrifying admission, but it's true: I prefer shelter.).

The deck is mostly shaded in the mornings, and has one of the big Adirondack chairs my grandfather made for me and a side table my dad made to match.  We take out the three kid-sized camping chairs Prin gave us on her last visit, along with Little Guy's toy car and walker for him to bop around in.  Stacks of books for the girls and a textbook or magazine for Mommy.  A couple of big blankets to cover an area of the deck where we also put down a bin of blocks and another of Playmobil toys.  Chocolate milks for the kids by tradition and hot chocolate or a mocha for me, plus bowls of cereal or crackers for snacks.

This preparation, along with sunscreening various body parts that will jut out into the sun, generally takes about half an hour.  We settle in, and then requests for second rounds of snack items or other books or different toys begins and the girls and I shuffle back and forth toting things.  I love to see Allison Clare with her two stacks of books--"to read" and "finished."  This morning Gillian also treated us to a dance performance for which she had issued us a family ticket--she danced a kind of freestyle dance in her little pink ballet nightgown and pigtails, pure pleasure and pride beaming from her little face (Allison Clare moaned to me privately beforehand, "But her dances are so long!  They go on forever!  And there's no music!"  And I could not disagree, but I promised there would still be reading time afterward.)  Soon it's time for lunch, which is whatever I can gather quickly in the kitchen--fruit and bread and cheese or something to be nibbled at picnic-style on the blankets while the baby lurches around and grabs things off everyone's plates and we let him because it's nice not having to think about table manners (no table).

Sometimes we stay out there through his nap time even --when he's ready for it, I take him in and put him into his crib and then I work in my office or take my laptop out there.  Since we've been doing it so much, the girls have gotten kind of good at it--they don't fight and shriek outside the way they did the first few times, and at the end, Allison Clare has gotten very responsible about bringing all the toys inside and actually putting them away (instead of hiding them, her old m.o.).  Gillian occasionally helps, but more reliably keeps the baby entertained during the clean-up.  I think it's been my favorite activity of the summer.