getting to know him

He's growing, but he's still pretty tiny.

Thursday Alicia brought the kids over for the afternoon, get b.g. out of the house, change of scenery.

She's easy company, and we hung out, watched kids, ate lunch. She nursed the baby, and we all got to hold him a lot.

Train tracks were built.  Tim delighted b.g. by flying his tiny helicopter around.   "Harold!" b.g. kept yelling, laughing that deep belly laugh of his.

The thing is delicate and crashes easily, which also makes him laugh, especially if it lands on the dog, or people duck and scream.

At one point, Alicia said to me, "I'm keeping you from whatever you'd normally be doing."

Nope, not really.

Normally I might be doing a few workbook pages with the kids, or folding some clothes.  I might wipe out the refrigerator or something thrilling like that.  But with a 10 month old girl underfoot, I don't set my accomplishment sights very high.

Here he's watching Tim play a video game and enjoyed Tim's running play by play, "Seriously? Where did that guy come from?  Oh no! They're catching us. Look out!"

These are pictures from today.   Last night we had pizza for supper before Alicia and Dan took off with their babies, and Heidi and Joe took off with this girl.    She was so tired that she fell asleep in the car and never woke up again until this morning.

Then by 9:30, she was ready for another nap and got into the crook of my arm on the couch.  I was pleased to indulge her.  She slept all through the end of Anderson Cooper and almost the whole Price is Right, and I dozed along with her.

Oh, and that Showcase Showdown??  The first guy--he put out a number, and I was pretty sure he overbid.

Yes, he did, by like $10,000.  Aww, that's a shame. Aww. 

The next Showcase I guessed was maybe $35,000.  (So she should probably say like 32,000.)  She guessed 30,000, and it was 33.    Dang, I was close. She won a car, a trip to Aruba, surf boards, a boat, underwater cameras.

Good grief.  I'm losing my mind.

Okay, since she was too tired for any bath last night, her aunties and I gave her a bath this morning. She chewed on Barbie hair and splashed around.

Lydia wanted to get her out of the tub, and she knows the technique for extracting a big slippery baby from the water safely:

Pull the plug.

Kneel next to the tub and put a towel across your lap.

Then pull the baby backward over the side of the tub and onto your lap.

Wrap the child, and struggle to your feet.

She's good.

Here she is trying to dry off little miss p.j.

But this next picture, oh my. 

I snapped it quick and darted over to fetch a diaper, didn't see it until later. 

She's even told me, "Sometimes she drives me NUTS, but I love her."

Here's Grandpa, amusing p.j. with the Barbie pretend laptop.  She loves this toy.

He was playing some spelling game on it, and then he turned to me laughing, "Barbie says I Rock!"

Oh, gosh.   Apparently Barbie knows you.

And finally here's a picture Dan took of his second son, two weeks old.

Yesterday, I looked into those big dark blue eyes and thought, "Who ARE you?  I am so glad you're here."

Happy, happy Friday.   love, Val