On the Road

Louie likes to ride in the car. He usually just sits patiently and thinks pug thoughts about where he might be going. Yesterday, he took a ride to the vet to check out his skin infection on his tummy. After a round of antibiotics and some topical meds, he is in great shape. He's lost a few pounds of puppy fat, and he's looking good at 24.5 pounds.Bridger is back at home. He entertained us with his ABC's for many miles on Friday. At first he didn't think he wanted to go home, but by time we were in Baldwin County, he was pretty darn excited to see his mommy and daddy. We had a long, long, long ride back to Huntsville on Saturday. We made a couple of stops in the morning one to get some red snapper and some giant shrimp at the Southern Fish and Oyster Company in downtown Mobile. It is always fun to get the seafood from the source. Barry usually waits on us. They took a big hit when Katrina blew through, but they are back to normal, and business was bustling early Saturday. We also enjoyed a stop at the Conecuh Sausage Company store in Evergreen where we picked up some bacon and sausage. However, then traffic came to a total stop on Highway 65 due to construction in Montgomery. We finally took an alternate road, H31, and picked up the main highway in Prattville. The whole trip including the stops took a whopping nine hours.
We're back in Huntsville, and Allen is back to work. I always ask if he is putting out fires on his project, and I guess the answer is clear from this picture. (Obviously, this is in Bridger's and Taplin's room. Allen did not crawl in the fire truck through the door -- he put in on. Very funny.)

Three, Two, One, Blast Off!

Thursday, Bridger and I took a field trip to see rockets. I suppose one might think that he is too little to get much out of it, but we each enjoyed the day at our own level. Yes, lots of the Space and Rocket Center was over his head, both figuratively and literally, but to be fair, my understanding of space exploration is pretty darn limited too. Who cares - we had a fun time.Bridger walked on the moon in the new Davidson Center for Space Exploration. It was nice that it wasn't so busy. Without too many people, he could wander and pick what he wanted to look at. Lots of legwork for a short guy. One of his favorite things to see was the water tank replica which is used to train astronauts to work in weightlessness. We saw two scuba divers who were doing acrobatics. They waved at us, and that was funny, but when they swam up to the window, Bridger was ready to walk away.I think we broke a few rules while we were there. He wasn't really "climbing" on the display, was he?All astronauts need to eat. Bridger's choice was popcorn shrimp. Yum. Who knows what Bridger will end up doing when he is older! He is one smart fellow. Ready for blast off!

Evertyhing is fun with a grandson

Feed Louie. Two scoops of Science Diet. Water the plants. Wash Bridger's clothes. Make sure the stains washed out of Bridger's new linen pants. Love the pockets. Fold little boy laundry.Bathe the little one.

Little Guy, Lots to Say

Bridger tickles me with all he has to say. Last night, he helped me water porch plants. When his container was out of water, he declared, "My can is eminee." This morning, he wanted to put a pillow on the floor, and he said, "I want to make a pallet for myself." How many two-year-olds say that!! He chatters all of the time. All of the time. Most of the time I can understand him perfectly. Sometimes it is a bit more challenging. Yesterday, he kept repeating that "Grandpa sares." I couldn't figure it out until he said, "Pooh sares my bed with me, and Grandpa sares with you." Geez. I should have known. He is pretty articulate. He says "Tooper" instead of Cooper and "tay" instead of okay, but he's made progress with other words like "Ooie" which is now really Louie. He is quite the polite fellow too. When I told him I was proud of him for going potty this morning all by himself, he said, "You're welcome." He frequently says, "Yeah," but he is working on "Yes, ma'am," and he always, always says "Please" and "Thank you." Last night, he recited the blessing for dinner without stumbling: "God is great, God is good. Let us thank him for our food. Amen."

A few frequent Bridger expressions:

• I need some more juice.
• Grandpa, where are you?
• No, Louie. No. (Of course, we all say that!)
  
• Where Mommy is?
• There we go.
  
• One day....and one day...and one day (He is quite the story-teller.)
  
• And then what we going to do next?
• What else?
• Me efer.
• Not yet.
• Not today.
  
• I want to do it. I can do it.
• I don't like it. But I do.
  
• Play with me.
• No. I don't want to go. But I do.
• Look at me. Watch me , Grandma.
• Bow wow chicka bow wow
• I want to do my ABCs. (at Starfall.com)
  
• Ummmm. Probably.
• But I don't want to go to bed. I'm not tired.

Louie Has Important Company

Taplin's first visit to Huntsville! Louie decided he wasn't going to lose out on his evening snuggle with me, even if he had to share it with Taplin. Taplin is the perfect size for holding. He loves being held closely, especially on someone's chest. I suppose it is comforting to hear the heartbeat. He only cries when he is hungry or needs changing. Meghan says he has a fussy time about seven each evening, but he is by no means a fussy little guy. His hair reminds me of Shannon when she was little. I can see that he resembles his brother a bit, but not totally. He moves and moves and moves when he is awake and alert, wide-eyed and craning his neck to look around. He holds up his head well for being just seven weeks old. Meghan thinks he weighs about twelve pounds now.Time for a walk with Louie and Bridger. Bridger likes to walk with me down the block, and he chatters the whole way. He picks up treasures along the way, something for Mommy, Taplin, and Grandpa back at home. With Bridger holding one of my hands and the leash in the other, we ever so slowly make our way to the corner and back. Bridger wants to hold the leash, but Louie is strong and pulls too much.Where's Taplin? On the dining room table. Such a precious little fellow. His arms are long and moving constantly. He seems so intent, so serious.Friday afternoon, Meghan, Bridger, and Grandma (Grandpa babysat Taplin) took a trip to Bridge Street where we had lunch and and did a bit of shopping. Bridger had a ride on the merry-go-round. It was hard to decide what animal to choose, but the rabbit won. He told me last night the ride was fast and fast and fast. Meghan shopped for a necklace for Aunt Shannon, while Bridger and I looked at everything in the store. He loved the bracelet display, and he thought he looked pretty good with five wooden ones on his arm.
Here's Bridger standing tall on the horse statue in front of P.F. Chang's. And here's Bridger with his green lollipop in the green chair. Saturday morning, Louie's on the job making sure Taplin is okay. Louie seems to be pretty concerned when Taplin makes noise and moves around.
Are you all right, Taplin? Yesterday, Louie stole Taplin's pacifier and a diaper and a baby outfit and a puzzle piece and a block and Meghan's shoes and...but at least he seems to be very gentle with the baby. Bridger wants to play games with Louie, and the two of them get along pretty well until Louie gets too rambunctious. Right now, Meghan and the boys have gone to lunch with an old friend of Meghan's, and Louie is sound asleep, recharging before they come back and Louie has to get back to his job of watching the baby and entertaining Bridger.

Hot days in June

We have had a string of hot, summer-like days in Hunstville. This is the first time we've had to water the grass this year. The yard looks like we spent hours and hours weeding, trimming, and mulching, but the thanks all go to Josh, our young landscape guy. His and his crew finished in hours what we would never have accomplished this season. This little robin is enjoying the water.The porch plants seem to love the heat and bright days.Oooh - new book for me! I picked this up with my Mother's Day gift card to Barnes and Noble, and I am sure I am going to love picking this up and reading the articles. The Quilter's Catalog is up to date, easy to read, and full of useful info. Louie tried to eat the magazine with the directions in it for the quilt I am making out of all of these gorgeous batiks. I actually have three projects going at once right now, but they are all very different and are at different stages. I meant to do this batik on our Denver trip (and I may still be working on it) , but I couldn't resist getting into the fabric.This is the one for Shannon, and I am probably close to half finished. She wanted lots of little pieces, and that is what this will be. The little squares measure 1" x 1" finished. Don't hold your breath, Shannon. It won't be finished any time soon. I love how easily it falls together, but it still takes times. The third project is red and black applique, and I have 9 out of 12 rows of rectangles finished. Reminder to self - don't sew on black.Louie gets worn out in the heat too. He likes walking, but when he comes in, he is pretty calm. I put a freshly washed towel in his crate, and he promptly dragged it to the dining room for a nap. He had to store up his energy before his buddies, Shannon and Nathan came for grilled chicken and garbanzo bean salad.
Aaaah. Louie loves laps. Nathan's lap it just the right size.

We see you, Louie.

Allen came home from yet another week in Denver, but unfortunately, he wasn't feeling well and landed on the couch. Louie thought that was an invitation to get some attention.
Louie looks pretty worried. You're okay, aren't you, Allen?
So if you are going to sleep on the couch and ignore me, I am going to steal your glasses. So there.

Hanging out at home with Louie

This morning, Louie took his walk, had his two scoops of Science Diet, worked on a new chew, and generally enjoyed hanging around the house.
He heard me take his picture, so he took off running, hanger and all. Louie knew he had something that didn't belong to him, so he wouldn't even look at me.
Caught him in the act of stealing something. What do you have? Hey, sit. Leave it. It's not yours, Louie.
That is my shoe, you little pug, you.
This Bama birdhouse is ready to hang outside. Roll Tide! Brenda brought it to me from her trip to the beach last week. I picked up her mail and newspapers, and she surely didn't need to bring me a gift, but this is a sweet present, especially from an Auburn fan. We had a great time at lunch and the movies today!

Summer Surprises

The best parts of summer (especially for a teacher who is on vacation) are the little unexpected things that happen. I have had one of those exceptional days that began with sleeping way later than usual. I think getting up early starts with having children who get you up at the crack of dawn. Then the early hours are reinforced by years of an alarm set for band camp or gymnastic meets or something. Years and years of NPR waking us up for work set the body clock more or less permanently. However, today it was 8:00 AM before I woke up. When I was a kid at home, I probably would have slept away many summer days if Mom or my brother hadn't woken me. Seems to me, I remember some pretty obnoxious awakenings way back when. I was dressed and ready in plenty of time to have lunch with my friend Marylou whom I haven't seen in a good long while. We went to I Love Sushi and then went to look at the new house she has halfway moved into. When I got home, there were two packages waiting. One, not for me. Boring. The other not so boring at all. Mary and John read my blog and saw that I wanted to fix my pork steaks with Mauls. The sent me two bottles from St. Louis. I already told Allen that we will have to have pork steaks this weekend. Makes my mouth water. I can just hear the jingle, "Don't baste your bar-be-cue, Maul it!"So why the picture of the funny scissors? After I walked Louie and opened the mail this afternoon, my friend Lynn who teaches FCS (back in the day it was Home EC, but now it is Family and Consumer Science) stopped by to drop off some scissors I had ordered along with her school order of Ginghers. I have never tried using these before, but they are appliqué scissors which supposedly prevent you from inadvertently cutting what you don't want to cut. Aren't they interesting? Lynn met Louie who behaved like a gentleman (more or less) and followed us around the house. I sure wish that Lynn and I taught the same grade level. We would create some awesome interdisciplinary units. She is a wonderful teacher and friend.
One more unusual item that I ran across and had to buy yesterday (like I need another gadget in my life) was this ring of measuring spoons. Sort of. Notice the hole in each? They are little funnels. Now how many times have you tried to fill something like a salt shaker and spilled everywhere? Or tried to pour liquid from one container to another? I thought for the few dollars, they would be worth the investment. Besides, they were too unusual to pass up. They aren't going to help with current the mess in my bedroom. When I got home earlier, I took off two bracelets made of black bead and turquoise. Unfortunately, I had a not so nice surprise - the elastic broke. I closed the door to keep Louie from eating the little pieces. Who's to complain though, when it has been such an unexpectedly nice day.