Someone New to Love

Richie in the mornings has become one of my favorite things.  He loves the lantern we all sleep with now, and you can see he's singing whale song.

Naptime comes more frequently than Richie wants.  I need you to trust me on this, but Richie really needed a nap.  I gave him a bottle, his binkie, his favorite little blankie, and I plunked him gently in the pack n play.  Then I laid down on the floor and closed my eyes.  I was thinking I could make him think it was my nap time, too.  Richie wasn't buying it.  He wasn't crying, but he was not pleased.  Lots of whale song.  Then, wham!  He had thrown out his blankie and hit me!  I decided not to move.  Then, blam!  He hit me with his binkie!  Then, he found a missing binkie in the bedding and threw that at me, too.  By then I was laughing.  I declared him the victor and freed him from jail.

A little while later, Baby Brother arrived from the hospital. Richie was delighted.

Jonathan is fine, but he needs a little extra oxygen, hopefully for just a few days.  I got to feed him a bottle and burp him.  You can be jealous.

So far, he's been a very peaceful baby.  See that smile?  I have one just like it.

No Rest for the Weary

I make great burgers.  Papa does, too.  Interestingly, one bun is always toasted more than the others.  It's always mine.  If it ever doesn't happen, I make it happen.  I like burnt toast, too.  New trick:  we grill the onion and put it under the cheese.

You are looking at a bun with the sesame seeds picked off.  Turns out that Bradley was once attacked by sesame seeds, and he has never forgiven them.

Richie and I like our walks together very much.  He was squawking up a storm after lunch, but I plunked him in the stroller, and he was as peaceful as could be.

We spied a trailer of horses in our neighborhood.  I have no explanation.

This bird lives in a small grove of trees near us.  Each day as we walk along a nearby path, the bird follows us.  My camera captured him today.  Maybe tomorrow I'll name him.

Richie has developed quite a bit of affection for Papa Ben.  I was out all morning and Papa was the designated caregiver.  Tonight, Richie would have nothing to do with me.  He only wanted Papa.  They are doing a little head-knocking in this photo.

Richie was contented as could be tonight, sitting next to Papa.  Sometimes they watched Daniel Tiger, sometimes shows with balls.  Richie didn't care as long as he was next to Papa.

Early in the week Papa observed that this random burp cloth was actually Richie's blankie.  He loves it.  When Richie is tired, he spreads out the blankie and rests his head on it.  Bradley comes and goes, but Richie has been ours all week.  And maybe, just maybe, new brother will come home tomorrow.

Richie Doesn't Like Inari Zushi

Richie and I found ourselves up early this morning.  I gave him one of Ben's lanterns to play with.  He could push the button, and this amused him for quite some time.

After an hour, without ever leaving the couch, he fell back asleep.

After a short nap, I offered him some Cheerios. Richie likes to look at my camera.

When I say we were up early, what I actually mean is that we had gobs of time before Papa woke up.  The heat hadn't switched itself on, so I used the fireplace to keep us warm.  Richie is easily amused.  Flaps on boxes, buttons, switches, even occasional toys can hold his attention for quite some time.

He thought he was hiding from me.

Once the sun came up, I decided this was a good day to clean my little balcony.  Richie was being very daring to step on the railing.

This little boy loves being outside.

While I worked on the deck, he climbed all over the chairs.

Sometimes life goes on even though we are tending.  I put Richie down for a nap and ran out.  I came home to this.  I could but won't explain why the furniture is moved, but Ben thought he'd get a headstart on the job when Richie woke up.

It was after 2 before we got around to lunch.  Richie was curious about the inari zushi.  Ben shared.  Richie said no way, Jose.

Richie and I worked in the front yard while the sun was on that side of the house.  Then I made the very bad terrible no good decision to give him a bath.  He hated every second.  Then he was very unhappy when I wanted to finish the job Ben started, which meant vacuuming.  I thought headphones and Daniel Tiger would help.  I was wrong.

However, when Ben helped me fold up the rug, Richie was all over helping us.

Later in the evening, Mommy took a break from the hospital to get a Richie-fix.  No one has ever been happier to see his mommy.

Feeding the Fish and Other Fun Activities

Richie has decided he likes Papa.  A lot.

I found something unexpected this morning on my couch, wrapped to the gills in a fleece blanket.  It was Bradley, who had left a warm basement and come upstairs in the night where the heat is out.  My guess is he was choosing proximity over warmth.  I found a quilt for him.  He didn't move.

In the meantime, Papa fed Richie leftover pancakes.  You can tell I was keeping him extra warm, but don't worry, the heat from the basement furnace was giving us some heat upstairs.

Of course, it's never too cold for ice cream.  Richie loves the box.

Richie was pretty excited when the furnace repair guy showed up.  Richie offered to climb up into the attic and help.  If you know Richie, you know the sound he's making.  Song of the whale sort of sound.

At some point, Richie realized Bradley was on the couch.  Any sleeping was suddenly over.

There is never a dull moment with these two cute kids.

When Bradley is not working on homework, he's building something with my magnets.  Or having fun with Richie.

Bradley actually uses the instructions that came with the magnets.  Other grandchildren would be wise to follow suit.

Sammie showed up, sans new baby brother.  All is well, but maybe tomorrow.  Richie threw Papa and me over for Dad.

It's getting close to bedtime.  Papa is tending while I'm working on pictures.  Papa, the king of feeding fish, knows how to feed them from the warmth and comfort of our living room.  Richie was delighted to help!

I'm listening to Sesame Street.  The sound is up.  But Richie prefers headphones.  All the better to hear Elmo with!

Birthday!

I felt a need to vacuum this morning.  Richie felt a need to jump into Papa Ben's lap.

Papa and I tried hard to make today a special day for Bradley.  He turned nine!

Bradley decided on a poke cake.  He cracked the eggs.

He laughed when he saw a face staring back from the bowl.

We used a recipe made popular by Ben's mother.  She greased her cake pan with Crisco and a brush.  So did Bradley.

When the cake came out of the oven, Bradley poked 100 holes in the top.  This created places for the lemon glaze to fill.

Aunt Martha came by with her two girls and took Bradley out for a special lunch.

During Richie's nap time, Bradley made something special with the perler beads.

A new brother is coming home from the hospital tomorrow.  Bradley told us his name starts with a J.

After naptime, these two horsed around big time!  I love watching them play together.

Bradley was willing to light the candles with a match until Papa found a better tool.

All Richie cared about was getting cake.

Papa and I sang a Happy Birthday duet.  We were pretty good, too.

Grandma Markham's lemon poke cake was delicious, as usual.

Richie was a little crazy after two bowls of ice cream.  We are all pretty excited around here, waiting for tomorrow!