Silliness

Silliness: that which occurs in the presence of Aunties and an Uncle.

(This was,  by the way, Auntie Jen getting out of Asa's car.  I don't know how she did it, either.)

Trying to make bubbles land in the pool.

Communication

Asa has athlete's foot.  Poor kid.  It itches, and the heat only makes it worse.

The other night, we forgot to put the antifungal cream on before be went to bed.  He woke at about 10:00, fussing, so I went in to see what was going on.

Me: What's up, little man?

Asa: ... (sucking thumb)

Me: Asa?  Honey?  What's going on?

Asa: Itty.  Toe.  Itty.

Me: Oh, yeah, we did forget your cream.  I bet it is itchy.  Hold on a second.  (I turned on the bedside lamp; he blinked and sat in his crib.  I got the antifungal cream and a sock.)

Me: Okay, sweetie, lie down and hold your foot up.

Asa: Itty.  (He lay down, and I picked up his foot and applied the cream.)

Me: I'm going to put your sock on now, so I need you to hold that foot up, and remember not to touch the cream.

Asa: (let his foot fall slightly, realized what I was saying, and held it up again.)

Me: (putting on the sock) Is that better?

Asa: Yes.

Me: Does it itch now?

Asa: Itty... no.

Me: Ready to go back to sleep? Would you like your sheep on? (His white noise machine.)

Asa: Sheep... yes... (I moved towards the sheep, around the head of the crib.) No.  No sheep.

Me: Okay.  (Turned off the light.)

Asa: Sheep yes?

Me: You want the sheep?  You changed your mind?

Asa: Yes.  Sheep, peeze.

Me: Okay.  (Turned on the sheep.  The sheep speaks whale, I kid you not.)  Time to sleep, kidlet.  Here's Sheldon, here's your blanket.  Where's your thumb?  (He pulled his hand from under the blanket and stuck his thumb in his mouth.)  Good night, love, sleep tight.

And with that, Asa closed his eyes.  I went back to our room, my mind completely blown by the preceding conversation - he had told me what was wrong, there had been very little whining, no frustration, and no extended period of sleep deprivation while we figured out what on earth was keeping our son awake.  So many times, it seems that Asa's progress happens so incrementally that we hardly notice it; this was jarring, this sudden burst of clear communication.  A real reminder that he is no longer a baby, but fast becoming a big boy.

Zoo Day with Santi

Asa loves bringing friends to the zoo, so it was really great to go with Santi and his Grandma.

They both move fast!  luckily, there were three of us and only two of them!

The little carousel plays the "Dudley-Do-Right" theme.

Afterwards, we spent a little time on the playground right outside the zoo; pushing the boys in swings allowed us all to catch our (collective) breath.

But we'd do it again in a heartbeat.

News from the Younger Sibling

With all that Asa has been up to recently, it's easy to devote this entire blog to his antics.  Mostly, Sprout has been visible whenever M. ends up in a photo of Asa.  So: a post entirely devoted to our baby...

Sprout is due January 3rd, which means M. is 15 weeks pregnant.  All of Sprout's major physical development is done - all the organs are working, fingers and toes have developed, as well as eyes, nose, ears, and even taste buds.  All that's really left at this point is to grow; right now, Sprout is about the size of an apple, and weighs several ounces.  And no, we don't know if Sprout is a boy or a girl, and we probably won't find out.

M. is finally over her stomach upset, which manifested more in the afternoon than the morning.  She's still very tired - far more than her last pregnancy, but we have to keep in mind that last time, we weren't chasing a toddler.

And, because even in a post about Sprout, I have to talk about Asa: we ask him now "where's our baby, Asa?"  and he grins, points at either of our bellies, and says, "Down there!"  He will also run over to M. to kiss her belly, and say, "Hi, Baby!"  So it looks like we're in an upswing for a while.  Yay!

More Ridiculous Cuteness

Asa and Joey, renewing their giggle-fest.



Happy Birthday, Joe!

Mwahahahahaha...

Is it me, or does this popsicle make my son look like a vampire?

Sorry about the stains on the FABULOUS romper, Auntie Janet, but as M. noted, tie-dye is actually pretty appropriate, don't you think?

Fourth of July!

We spent the whole week on Block Island, a greatly-needed vacation for all of us.  And Asa had a blast with his family.

At the parade, with our matching tee-shirts!

Grampa and Aunt Jess nearly busted a gut laughing at Asa's excitement throughout the whole parade.  "Dums!  Kids!  Amblance!  Fire Tuck!  Dums!  Cars!"  He's still talking about little else.

Pushing the cooler was a main pastime at home.  It becomes harder when Aunt Jess is sitting on it.

But it's neat when she teaches you to feed Benny.

Snuggles with a beloved cousin.

Flying a kite with Mommy.

This was the only time I saw him content to see the kite in the air.  Mostly, he liked to chase its tail and play tug-of-war.  When the cousins helped Mommy really get the kite flying, one day, Asa came over to me, sulking and almost in tears that his kite was up high.  Oh, well.

We early-risers would often make coffee and take it down to the beach, so as not to wake whoever ended up sleeping on the couch.

It was also a week of so many firsts for Asa.  First sparklers:

First sail, which he loved (although it was much more a drift than an actual sail):

First time allowed to run rampant among fire trucks and ambulances:

(Thank you, Beth!)

Such a fun and relaxing week.  Happy Fourth!