Friday, March 2, 2012

The Nursery


Somehow we always end up in here.  After we have chased the puppy and grabbed her tail and been licked on the head.  After we have emptied the cabinet that holds the plastic containers and scattered them all over the floor and cooked imaginary meals that we know mommy would certainly enjoy.    After we have stepped out on the deck and looked at all the constellations  we need to talk about.  After we have played with our toys and left them all over the living room floor.  We somehow end up back here, in the nursery with the special toys that wait for bedtime.  We sit on the floor and play with each car and truck.  We stack our blocks and we knock them down and we turn on the toy that Gaga loves the most.  It's a plastic alarm clock music box, with star shaped buttons on the front.  When you push the purply star it plays classical music.  The blue button plays Brahm's Lullaby, but we're not ready to go to sleep just yet.   Gaga's favorite, and the best, is the green one that makes the nature sounds.  We love that one.  It sounds like spring peepers and crickets and water rushing by in a little creek.  And every once in a while, we hear a night bird and a bull frog that says "Barrumph!"

The top of this toy is magical.  There is a place where light shines through a little stencil.  We take turns putting our hands over it and it shines flower shaped bits of light on our fingers, like the constellations we gazed at in the starry sky earlier in the night.  Maybe that is why Gaga loves this toy the most, those dear and familiar animal sounds and the stars above that remind her of home.   
We listen and we continue playing.  Cars roll under the bed and we fetch them out, zebras dance across the floor and dolphins swim all in a line, until baby scatters them like the waves that hit the shore of the lake nearby.  Baby goes after this toy and that, but always circles back to sit next to Gaga.  Then it's off to play again.  He climbs her knees like a tower and gives her another hug.  Finally, baby crawls up to Gaga,  and stops, stares intently at her and then gives her a little kiss on the cheek, musses her hair and smiles.  Perfect moment that Gaga will never forget.  He chases after another toy as the music box plays on.  

We're getting sleepy now, both of us.  After this long day of playing and visiting and looking at giant animals that must be mooses, and scary animals that must be bears, it's getting close to bedtime.  This day has been so perfect, we don't want it to end.  One more change of diaper, one more big hug.  One more crawling around the room with sleepy eyes and baby yawns and Gaga sings the sleepy song that mommy started months ago.  Sleepy baby, time to say goodnight...

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Our Day


Ahh, we have a day.  How are we going to spend it?  
Hmmn, just what kind of mischief can we get into...
I watched my grandson the complete day today.  Mommy had a very special Chamber of Commerce dinner that she organized and daddy helped out too.  I got to be moral support and baby watcher.  Sweet.  We got up, got ready and took off on an adventure!  We decided start it off right and go to one of our favorite places, Bass Pro Shop and look at the animals and watch the fish.  

The aquarium there is huge, filled with all kinds of freshwater fish that one could no doubt catch if they were using tackle purchased from this store.  Baby's eyes were glued to the fish movement and the water fall above it.  He talked to them a bit and we moved on.  We talked to mounted foxes, bears and moose.  He was stony faced when we came up to the big grizzly mount.  He stared.  But the moose was almost too much for him.  A salesman said, "You can see that he just can't quite wrap his mind around it."  Perfectly stated.  I could see the wheels turning, the mini daddy mind calculating the size and trying to understand if this was some kind of really huge dog?  And would it step on him?  Or lick him on the head like his puppies do with some really huge slurp?  Shudder.  

We stopped in to see busy mommy for a minute.  Yep, she was busy alright.  We went to McDonald's for a snack and I finally got a picture of his first tooth that came in yesterday!  And the second one which thank heavens popped out today.  First time trip to McDonald's for us, he enjoyed the place but really didn't eat much.   
Michaels!  Aisle after aisle of wonderful colors and toys and paper and all the things that gaga and baby love.  We had a whirlwind tour trying to spend that 40% off coupon because we were meeting our very dear friends for lunch.  He teaches people how to run businesses, she teaches people how to knit.  They are lovely!  He took mommy and one of his daughters to China a couple of years back, she taught mommy all kinds of things about new babies and nutrition.  They are keepers.  
Baby sat between Nana Knitter and I.  While we were eating, and we talked to him quite a bit, baby leaned over towards me.  He looked at Nana Knitter and he looked at me.  Then he looked back at her, reached down and patted my arm and said "Gaga."  We were amazed.  This is my gaga he was saying, and she and I have adventures.  We go see great big hairy things and she tells me what they are and stories about them.  We talk about our plans for fishing and camping and we walk on the beach.  We dance and we laugh and we eat ice cream every chance we get.  She gets me to eat my vegetables and she has me try new things and buys me watermelon and we eat it and laugh.  She loves me, and I love her.  She is my gaga!

We had a day and we filled it with fun and play, visiting and learning.  It was the best and you can bet there will be more.