December 1, 2004

Cheerios are like tinsel...

Now, where was I?

We had a good long visit with Lilly and Michael and the babies from the 17th to the 28th of November. Devlin changed from a generic baby-looking baby to a wee little clone of Michael (with Lilly's chin and lips) right before our very eyes. Michael is quite good at swaddling and had him wrapped up like a Glow Worm most of the time. Hence the nickname of "Little Bug". Devlin was calmest when swaddled, though he started being awake more and taking more interest in his surroundings as the days went by. By the time they left, though, he still hadn't mastered the art of looking in the same direction with both eyes at the same time.

The kid could sleep through an earthquake - I vacuumed right NEXT to his head, and he didn't even stir. And for a newborn, the kid can EAT. He was sucking down 8 ounces of formula in one go by the time he was two weeks old. Oh, and when his bellybutton dropped off, it went missing. Either the cat got it, or it's still in the bedding waiting for me to find it and shriek. Shudder.

Anthony, now 14 months, toddled all OVER the house, fascinated with the glass closet door in our bedroom, the CAT FLAP!, and the front screen door, in that order. He's trying hard to make friends with Oz, and hoots at him in a specific way that has become his call for "kitty". Oz lets him get just so close, and maybe tolerates a pet or two, before stalking off. The cat would tease Anthony mercilessly, going through the CAT FLAP! and sitting just on the other side, so that Anthony could just see him through the opaque flap but not get to him. Which, of course, would piss Anthony off. Then, as soon as the cat would emerge, Anthony would chase him under the pool table, then forget and stand upright, bonking his head on the underside of the table. He'd only look kind of befuddled and rub at his head for a second, before getting distracted by something else.

Yes, I'm aware that I'm mixing my tenses horribly. I'm not gonna stop, either.

Anthony doesn't seem to like grass, because when Grandpa Calvin took him into the back yard, Anthony did everything in his power to prevent himself from having to touch the grass. He also apparently doesn't like silence, for he was yelling and screaming and laughing constantly, for any reason or no reason whatsoever. Which, in our tiled house, means resonant echoes. I think someone likes the sound of his own voice.

Anthony is a good eater, as well. He's eating whatever the grown-ups eat, plus the Graduates line of toddler foods. So woe be it for the person sitting on the couch enjoying dinner, because if he or she doesn't share, Anthony expresses his displeasure. Calvin started calling him "Little Gypsy" because of his habit of begging. Mostly, I call him "Cookie". Monster, that is.

Oh, and speaking of Gypsy, she's absolutely FASCINATED by Anthony. Wherever he went, she either physically followed, or watched from her pillow. When we were in the back yard, we let Anthony toddle across the grass (he had shoes on and didn't freak until he overbalanced and plopped on his butt - then he had to touch the grass in order to get back up). Gypsy would follow him wherever he went, and if she felt he was getting too far from the grown-ups, she'd look back at us as if to say, "Well? I don't have opposable thumbs, you come get him!" She didn't even so much as growl or look at him funny when he got down right next to her head while she was eating her dinner - she just tucked her tail tight and ate as fast as she could. I must say it gave me a start when I saw what Anthony was doing, but Gypsy was her usual excellently-behaved self.

As for Gadget, well, he spent most of his time running from Anthony or hiding behind Gypsy. Idiot dog.

Whenever there was cooking going on in the kitchen, someone had to be enlisted to do some "Toddler Wrangling" so that Anthony would stay away from the stove. He always wants to be where the action is, even if said action isn't particularly interesting. I think what I loved most of all, though, is the way he'd stomp up to me with arms upraised and eyes wide, wanting me to pick him up and hug him. Melt away, heart. Melt away. Of course, he does that with everybody, but it still feels good.

Notice how much more I have to say about Anthony than Devlin. That's because Devlin mostly sat propped and swaddled on the couch unless he was being fed, being changed, or was sleeping. Low-maintenance kid, that one. The only time he squawked was when he was being changed - an event he vociferously disapproves of.

Calvin and I did a bit of babysitting when the kids went to the store or the movies. We split the work and he took charge of Anthony while I took care of Devlin. I think Calvin got the short end of the stick on that one, though. Anthony requires actual chasing sometimes, while Devlin just needs to be cuddled and fed. Calvin is so good with both the babies that it just makes me fall in love with him all over again, watching him with them.

Calvin and I had a bit of time off for the holidays, and really all the whole family did most of the time was sit around in the living room talking and watching TV or movies, playing with the kids, surfing the 'net (hooray wireless!), doing laundry (helloooo, spit-up!) grocery shopping (like, daily), cooking and eating, and picking Cheerios up from the floor (the ones that Gypsy missed, anyway) and from between the couch cushions. I suspect Cheerios will become like Christmas tinsel - we'll still be finding it a year from now. Michael and Marie's friends came and went throughout the week, and Michael introduced me to Irish Car Bombs (a mug of Guiness with a shot of Bailey's Irish Cream dropped in the center, drunk like a Saki Bomber). Laws, yet ANOTHER drink that I love.

Michael took the babies to see his aunt and grandmother at his grandmother's restaurant one morning, and the older of Calvin's two sisters came over with her family for Thanksgiving. Calvin's grandparents - the great great's - stopped by for a visit on Sunday and presented Michael and Lilly with a beautiful crocheted baby blanket. Grandmother agreed to give me lessons in crochet and quilting some day soon - both things that I've always wanted to learn. Yes, something that domestic. Who knew? Maybe I'll join a quilting circle. Hey, it could happen.

AB and her daughter, with baby Luke, stopped by on Sunday for a short, yet much needed, visit as well. The baby is now a happy, chubby, healthy three-month-old. We had a veritable baby-fest there in the living room.

Not a peep was heard from X(f) throughout the week - not even on Thanksgiving day. It bothered me that she didn't even call to wish Marie a happy holiday, but it seemed to bother me more than it bothered either of the kids. I guess I'll just have to let it go and let them manage their own relationship with their mom.

As far as Thanksgiving went, we had a very nice time with Calvin's sister, her husband, and their three (gorgeous and crazy-photogenic) children. I cooked a turkey in the oven (we've taken to calling it the "Simon and Garfunkel Turkey" because along with the apples, pears, and onions, it's stuffed with parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme), and a turkey breast in the crock-pot to make sure there was enough for everyone. I made a pumpkin pie and an apple pie, though the apple pie was more like apple-sauce pie, because I forgot to turn the oven down from 450 to 350 after the first fifteen minutes. Still, it tasted good. As a backup, though, I bought a Marie Callendar's Razzleberry pie, Calvin's favorite. Then there was the cornbread stuffing and mandatory mashed potatoes and gravy. Calvin's sister brought her MOST EXCELLENT yams (Lilly was delighted and ate the leftovers for two days after that), a four-bean salad (made by her husband and also very, very good) and a green salad so pretty that I wanted to frame it instead of eat it.

I've done this Thanksgiving thing a couple of times, and it always astonishes me when everything goes smoothly and all of the food ends up being all done at the same time. We all sat, and after a lovely prayer from our brother-in-law, we fell to eating and rowdy conversation for the next hour. I forget just HOW alike Calvin and his sister are, until they get together like this. They had me in stitches - their relationship reverts back to what it must have been like when they were kids. The teasing, the name-calling, the banter. It was a lot of fun.

So really, the only sour note from the entire visit is the minor car accident that Michael and Lilly got in, on their way to the store on Friday evening. Neither of them were hurt - not a scratch or a bruise - but the car isn't driveable. They had to take a rental car back to California on Sunday and leave the car here to get repaired. Still, they're coming back to stay with us from December 17th until around the 28th, so they don't have to make a specific trip back just to get the car. It was funny - Michael called us from the scene of the accident to let us know what happened, and Calvin took off to be with him and help him out. When Michael got back, I said, "Gee, Michael, I thought were done getting these kinds of calls from you?" He and Calvin roared at that one.

One last thing to mention is that Marie got a second job, so now she works at an ice-cream shop and at a clothing store in the mall. A couple of weeks ago she and Calvin picked out some rims for her new truck (20"s!), and she put her hard-earned money down to pay for them, that she's been saving for months. I keep waiting for her to turn into a typical teenager. I mean, she's sixteen years old, is working two jobs AND going to high school AND making straight A's AND isn't a drug addict or disrespectful or hanging with a bad crowd AND has good taste in clothes AND we like her boyfriend AND she gives me hugs goodbye and goodnight. We're too lucky by far.

So that's the news. Christmas shopping is DONE, thanks to Overstock.com and Amazon.com and OldNavy.com and eBags.com - I haven't had to set foot in any store at all. Packages are arriving almost daily - it must suck to work for UPS or DSL or FedEx or the Post Office at this time of year. Lobsters will be ordered on Friday for our Christmas Eve dinner. We're getting the tree on the 18th when the kids are here to help decorate. Beyond that, it's just a matter of wrapping and cooking, and I get from December 22nd through January 3rd off from work, with the few days before and the few days after my vacation being excessively low-key and task-light. Huh. Maybe I WON'T be a stress-case this Christmas.

Yeah. Maybe.

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