Grand Parent(s)

Lily and Nate have loving Grand Parents.   They visit with the kid's every week with absolute consistency, and this makes both the kid's and I very happy (and not just for the free time it often rewards me).   The kid's are lucky to have them in their life.

Recently, while looking at old pictures that were recently brought into the digital world, I got jealous.   It was the picture below, which shows my parents and me, presumably days after my birth.    This is how Nate and Lily will know my parents, for better or worse, as pictures from a bygone era.  
  

Buckle Up

Just Lily and I were left in the house, since Cindy had taken Nate to daycare earlier in the morning.    We got ready, she ate some Cheerios and then I bundled her in the truck before shoveling a few inches of snow off the walk.

The truck was nice and warm when I put the shovel away and joined Lily.   We pulled out of the subdivision and if I was more perceptive, I would have recognized the problem immediately.   I probably should have recognized something was wrong when she poked her head into the front of the truck, because, had she been buckled into the seat - that wouldn't have been possible.

I didn't realize what was wrong till she asked, "why am I not buckled?".  

We went into the first parking lot and the issue was resolved fast.  

Baby steps

Nate's walking, a little.   He can stand up without support and stay standing for a good length of time - at least 30 seconds.  If prompted, he can take a few unsteady steps to a target.   He doesn't have much fear, and seems to have all the fundamentals (muscles & balance), so it's just a matter of desire.  

It's good timing, because he should be up and around just in time for his birthday, which is a month from yesterday. 

A new kind of disobedience

I couldn't believe what I was seeing.  Nate was standing up next to the counter and his head was just about to poke over the top, which was quite remarkable, considering he's not even 11 months old.  

We purchased a case of diet soda from Costco - in an appropriately Costco-sized case.   It was sitting next to the counter, and Nate climbed onto it, and then stood up with a little help from the counter.   He had done this before by way of the dishwasher door, but was always stopped before he could reach his feet.  

It's like we have begun to see a new kind of disobedience.   I don't think he's going to cry about little issues (who turns off the light, broken bananas, etc), but will never stop moving or climbing.   He'll be mischievous rather than emotional - movement rather than statements.  Where Lily's rebellion was emotional and tears, Nate's rebellion will be by action......boundless, non-stop, unrelenting action.

Just another typical Saturday

Lily and I have had a consistent schedule on Saturday for many months now.    It goes like clockwork, and this is how it all transpires:

7:00 - 8:00 AM
One of the kid's wake up, and after some muffled debate, one of us gets up with them.   If there is enough time we make pancakes, and try to clean up the house a little or do the dishes leftover from the work week.

9:30   
This is when the mad scramble to get ready for Soccer (which starts at 10AM) begins.   We always run late.   Kid's have no sense of time and I don't fair much better on a Saturday morning.

10:05
We arrive at soccer, late.   After 3 sessions of Lil Kickers soccer - Lily is now a Veteran of the game and participates in doing everything the class does.   She's prone to freezing and staring at what other kid's are doing, which is a lot different than the problem most of the boys (which make up most of the class) have....which is just doing their own destructive thing.   (Chance that Lily falls asleep on the drive to soccer:  5%)

10:45
Soccer done, we slowly make our way to the truck and drive to Life Time fitness.  If I prepared ahead, then Lily is eating a banana or other similar snack.  If I forgot to prepare ahead, we stop at the Life Time Cafe where Lily can eat a fruit cup or yogurt (and everything after this is delayed by 25 minutes).   (Chance that Lily falls asleep on this drive:  15%)

11:05
Lily goes into the gym daycare and I head upstairs to work out.

11:10 - 12:35 PM
I do my workout.    Lily uses the climber, plays with baby doll, draws a picture and uses the drinking fountain numerous times (something she's fascinated with).

12:40 PM
I get back to the daycare to get her.    This presents the most awkward time of the morning, since Cindy usually goes to the gym sometime between 11 and 12:30, so my son, Nate, is there in the day care room - and I leave him behind.    Lily is pushing the limit without a nap, so getting her shoes and jacket on isn't easy, but we manage and load up in the truck - heading for Chipotle.  (Chance that Lily falls asleep on this rather short drive:  30%)

1:00
Lunch at Chipotle - Chicken burrito for me & kid's Quesdilla for her.    Lily likes a cup of water along with her milk....because the food is 'hot'.  

1:35
Loading up in the truck again - heading home.    (Chance that Lily falls asleep on this drive:   100%)

2:00 - 2:30
Back home and it's long past nap time.   I carry her to her room, taking off her shoes &a jacket along the way.   If she wakes up, it's not for long.

It's not writer's bloc

There was this a unintentional consistency in postings to this blog for at least the last year - typically between 8 and 10 posts every month.   Then during the last month there was a precipitous drop off, with just two posts (and both early in the month). 

It's not writers bloc though.   The major factors are being very busy at work and no less busy at home.   Behind the scenes, I had no less things to write about -- it just never materialized into completed blog entries.

My blogging process for this blog works this way:

I tend to start an entry, often as just a rough outline, with a sentence for every intended paragraph or major idea.  Then at a later date, after thinking about the outline, I edit, flesh out the outline and publish the final post.    For example,. right now there are 24 entries in an unpublished state going back to November of 2009.    The unpublished posts go through regular purges too, so all those entries - and the idea behind them - have been deemed worthy of publishing, at some point in the future.    The oldest ones, going back to 2009, just happen to be the hardest to flesh out.