But don't despair! Today I'm going to make it up to you by posting catching you up on what we did yesterday AND today...TWO posts! But combined into one! HOW AWESOME IS THAT?! Is this working? Am I selling you on it?
On Sunday Nan & Grandad came for coffee and a visit. They also brought the LP some new books and a train set! Best day ever! Both the train set and the books were an immediate hit. "Animal Kisses" and "I Love Dogs" (the sequel to "I Love Cats") were perfect for the LP and I had to read them over and over and over again. I think I have now read "I Love Dogs" just as much as "I Love Cats". Thanks, Nan and Grandad. Really. I'll make sure the books are tucked into the diaper bag for their next sleepover so you can learn to love dogs, too.
Sometimes the best part about when someone gives the LP a gift (aside from the thoughtfulness, of course) is their reaction to it the next day. LP1 remembers and usually runs right to whatever it is. LP2 crawls over to it and immediately gets a big grin on his face, happy it is still there. And so it was the case Monday morning when they re-discovered their gifts from Nan and Grandad.
When Daddy set up the train set in the basement on Sunday afternoon, it took him roughly 3 minutes to figure out how to make the track go under the bridge and curve around so it was all a giant circle. I, on the other hand, spent at least 35 minutes trying to accomplish the same thing when I moved it up to the living room Sunday morning. I'm not joking. Of course, I was being assisted by the LP and this took longer but I'm not going to hide behind them. I had no idea how to make it work. Thank heavens I'm not an architect. I suspect my buildings would collapse. Eventually I got it together and we spent a very long time playing trains together. Chooo-choo! Chugga chugga chugga chugga choo CHOOOO!
It was a quiet day on the train. Nobody even thought there would be a sudden derailment...cars everywhere, trees knocked over and houses covered in baby drool. Yes, the train was a victim of LP2. Fortunately we can rebuild. It just takes a long time to get it right.
When we were done riding the rails, it was time to hit the books. "Animal Kisses" is a book with different things to touch on each page. We had to go through each page veeeerrrrryyyyy slowly. Everyone got a chance to touch a scratchy tongue or a velvety nose or rubbery fish lips. And then..."I Love Dogs". Big dogs. Small dogs. Dogs that chase sticks. Blah blah blah. We all love dogs. As soon as it was over, this little voice piped up: "read it again, Mommy!". So we read. Again. But I'm not really complaining. We were all snuggled together under an afghan my grandmother made me a long time ago. There was nowhere we had to go and nothing we needed to do. It was lovely.
Barney Saltzberg...you may not be quite as well known as Robert Munsch or Dr. Suess but you definitely know how to write a compelling children's book. I tip my hat to you.
Later on in the day Grandpa dropped in with Uncle D. Grammy and Grandpa were going to Uncle D and Aunt Y's house for dinner and Uncle D had picked him up earlier in the day. I had coffee with them while the LP ran around, showed off their toys and demanded that Grandpa read "Animal Kisses". After they left, LP2 and I were looking out the window at this rogue flock of birds. LP2 has just figured out how to point and was pointing at the birds, laughing heartily. Great. Another bird lover. I was talking about the birds when he suddenly busted out with "bird"! Ok, fine, it was more like "be...r...d" but HE WAS TRYING TO SAY BIRD! I was so proud! How did he get to be such a big kid?! It won't be long until he'll be talking up a storm...I just know it.
If yesterday was a day that maybe we didn't exactly venture into huge New Thing territory, today was the polar opposite. Today the LP and I did a big New Thing but just not together. Today was our first trial visit at daycare. Oy vey. I've been preparing LP1 for it but I wasn't sure how LP2 would react. When we got there, LP1 immediately ran over to the toys and started playing with them. LP2 gave E, our daycare provider a big grin and stretched out his arms to go to her. Once she took him, he snuggled right up against her. He didn't even cry when I left. I wasn't sure how I would feel about this day. I didn't cry, either. I was nervous and hopeful that they would have a good morning, but mostly it felt right. After resolving that I would not call to check in, I left.
The two hours apart flew by. When I came to get them, LP1 informed me that she wanted to stay. LP2 did his I'm-laughing-and-crying-at-the-same-time thing he does sometimes when he saw me. He was happy to see me but also sad because he realized I had left and had just come back. By all accounts, they had a wonderful morning together. They played, they made a Thanksgiving craft and they had apples at snacktime. They go back again on Friday for a three hour visit. LP1 is already telling me she can't wait to go back. This is a good thing. It also makes my return to work a little more real...the end of being a stay-at-home-mom is coming. Over the next two months we'll be doing a gradual transition so that by the time I do go back to work, going to daycare is familiar to them. And, I guess, for me, too.
All works of art are proudly displayed on our front door. On the left is LP1's turkey-feather-hand. On the right is LP2's. One day I won't believe how small their hands were but right now...well, right now, those hands seem pretty big. They're the size of my heart.
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