Quote of the Day from AJ

After looking up at the ceiling from different angles for a minute, AJ said "Mama--the ceiling is all around!"

Baptism

David marked his baptism into the Catholic church but managed to avoid the baptism by fire into the coveted group of men from my husband's family who have worn a dress. We were delighted to delay David's baptism a few months to coincide with the annual visit from his godmother, my sister and the boys' Auntie Pickle who lives in Santiago, Chile, so David had outgrown the baptism dress that AJ wore. We went with a one-piece shorts number from a local department store and a beautiful hand crocheted hat, sweater and booties set made by my sister's colleague's mother in Santiago. Many thanks to her for the beautiful clothes! Is this little guy handsome or what?

Orange Cwocks

AJ has been making fashion waves throughout the neighborhood this summer with his beloved orange crocs shoes, or "orwange cwocks" as he calls them. They never fail to get admiring comments from adults around town during our outings. AJ has been eyeing these shoes for over a year now since he first spotted them at our local department store. I was initially dead set against them because I thought they looked goofy, and they seemed to fit loosely, so I thought they would trip him.

I don't know what it is about these shoes, though, but they are perfectly designed for their target audience, because kids are drawn to them like magnets. Every time we went in that department store, AJ would beeline for these shoes and drool over them. I figured the fascination would pass, but when it persisted from one summer to the next, I started asking other parents of kids wearing them around town whether they were practical and safe. I was surprised to hear universally positive reviews. Plus, they are easy for toddlers to put on themselves, which is a huge bonus for a kid who is inside-outside-inside-outside all day long. So I obviously relented and have no complaints. The other day I took AJ to the pool and we happened to sit next to a pair of orange crocs that had what appeared to be croc jewelry in the holes--something I had never seen before. AJ took one look at that pair and started trying to convince me that they were his and he should wear them home. Devious!

The Greats

We enjoyed a lovely visit in June from the boys' great-grandparents, who are my paternal grandparents. I was so excited to have them come up from Florida to Chicago to see AJ again and to meet David for the first time. My grandmother's father was named David, so it is a neat family connection behind the name, and my grandfather, who is into geneology, told me for the first time that my great-great-great grandfather (I think I have that right grandpa--correct me if I am wrong!) who came from Ireland to the U.S. was named William David, which is another nice connection for our David William.

Highlights of the trip included seeing my 82 year-old grandfather get down on the floor and play cars with the boys and watching my grandma hold David. When David was born, we were surprised and fascinated to see that he has blue eyes. On my side of the family, my grandma is the only one with blue eyes, so it was clear where that recessive gene came from. We also managed to get in a trip to the Dairy Queen and to play a couple of rounds of cards, which brought back favorite childhood memories for me and my sister of time we spent with G&G.

The Real McCoy

During our travels back to Iowa, AJ and David had the chance to travel on a real live train courteousy of Pops and Susan. The trip was on the Boone Scenic Valley Railroad, and I know that my sister must really love her nephews, because she agreed to accompany us knowing full well that the train would cross a very high trestle bridge over a river not once but twice. She had to hold the baby while we went over to distract herself. AJ even managed to get an engineer's hat from the outing, which he proudly wears around the neighborhood. The highlight of the trip for AJ apparently was getting to climb up the steps onto the train, because when he recounts the trip that is always the part that he focuses on. "AJ rided the train! Climb up the steps!"

Dump Truck Imagination

AJ came up with this one on his own. His interest in dump trucks and all things related to construction continues to grow. Thanks to the new economic stimulus package, when we drive around town our travels are punctuated by "Mama! Look! Dump truck!...Mama! Digger!...Mama! Biiiig Crane!" As the saying goes, the Midwest has four seasons: winter, spring, road work and fall. We are definitely in road work season. On the upside, hearing AJ's delight at seeing the construction equipment blunts my frustration at the constant delays getting around.

My Promise: A Month of New Posts

Well, dear readers, thanks for hanging in there with me during the summer doldrums. It's not that I had nothing to write about; it was that I had too much to do to get my thoughts into written form. I was interviewing for a new job that I was fortunate enough to land, and then after finding out that I got the job the boys and I promptly packed up for a weeklong visit to our Iowa rellies. As my penance for the trickle of posts in July, I promise to do a new post every day for the next 30 days, so check back often.

The pictures above are from our hotel pool in Iowa City during our visit to my new nephew, Johnny. He is the first cousin for my boys, so we were waiting for his arrival with much excitement. I explained to AJ before our visit that we wouldn't be touching Johnny's hands or face during the visit (to avoid spreading two year-old germs) and would just be tickling his toes, and AJ was pretty content to do this. I think it helped that Uncle John had his drills nearby for AJ to play with. The hotel pool was as big of a hit as I remembered it being with me and my siblings as kids. We didn't give a hoot how nice the towels or pillows were at the hotel as long as they had two things: (1) an ice machine and (2) the all-important pool, preferably with a diving board. Woo hoo! My brother and sister also hoped for a video game machine such as Donkey Kong or Ms Pac Man, but I wasn't really into that much.

Thought of the Day from AJ

After I announced that it was time to get in his crib at bedtime, AJ responded with "AJ sleep in mama's crib!"

The Captain and His First Banana

We just finished spending a long week with my family, first in Chicago for David's baptism and then in Iowa for some 4th of July fun. It makes me incredibly happy to see my kids with their great-grandparents, grandparents, aunts and uncles, so this was a great week for me and for the boys. One of the highlights for AJ was the boys' first boat ride when AJ was given a chance to captain the boat. David was content to ride along in his banana yellow life vest, sucking away on his pacifier and taking in the scenery. Being on a boat again brought back a lot of memories for me of my childhood when we would take summer vacations that involved boats and a Minnesota or Iowa lake. The smell of a lifejacket warmed in the sun that is so distinct and so much associated with these vacations in my mind.