Father's Day

Of course today is Father's day. I know it's all about Darrell but it's kind of a particularly cool day for me considering I now have the most precious gift, AKA Ethan, to thank him for. The girls and I shopped for an OU polo that he's been wanting, and I had also picked up a shirt and tie that he'd had his eye on (which he discovered on his own even before they leaked the secret to him. I was notorious in my family because of my knack for guessing/discovering gifts. I have nothing on Darrell.) I feel like that was a woefully small offering compared to what he deserves. However, to compensate I did pick up an ice cream cake (his request) and managed to successfully put a big breakfast on the table. He requested french toast which I had never made for him (and required an early morning trip to the store to find the right bread after I realized my misdirection yesterday) and all the regular breakfasty things like scrambled eggs and hashbrowns and bacon.

Darrell's Dad made an appearance after church and we cooked out. He's not always overly involved when it comes to family so we actually haven't seen him for a couple of months. I'd say it was a mostly pleasant visit but the coolest things that came out of it was him letting me scan a picture of Darrell as a baby that he carries in his wallet. It's probably one of the only pictures of him in existence now, at least as far as his dad knows. We need to ask some other relatives (Joe??) if they have any pictures of him as a baby or little kid and try to build a little history.

Anyway, take a look:

All day I've been looking for a picture to illustrate how much this looks like Ethan, but I can't find a good one. The thing is, it just does. He's my boy and I know him. The little smile, the slanty eyes and the cute, pookie little cheeks. I don't think I have any pictures of myself quite this young but I know the resemblance isn't nearly as strong.

So yeah, Boy looks like his daddy :)

Mr. Ethan's mobility is becoming an increasing problem around here. Despite the middle of the living room floor being a smorgasboard of toys he is constantly exploring the outer limits. His first destination is the stereo on the entertainment center (mommy having moved all of the small things up high.) After being repeatedly pulled away and smashing his face into the carpet screaming, he sets his sights on the opposite end of the room which opens to the kitchen. He power scoots accross the carpet and if he doesn't get distracted by any flip-flops lying randomly around he finds the dog's water waiting enticingly just past where the carpet meets the tile. He splashes around in it until he gets rudely interrupted by mom, dad or one of the sisters and repeats the crying screaming and crawling back routine.

Someone told me recently that babies don't have object permanence which means they don't keep the image of a person or object in their mind but regardless if Ethan has the exact object in his mind, he sure knows the locations he should head toward for some extra thrills.

So today, after spending a good hour crawling around on the floor and chasing Ethan around the living room, I moved the pack and play from its seldom used spot in our bedroom out in front of the fireplace. I really don't intend for him to spend his every waking moment there, but I need him to have a 'safe space' so that I can use the bathroom with a little peace of mind.

Speaking of peace of mind, the girls have been a tremendous help with the baby since they got here for the summer. They are big enough, and he is big enough that they can safely move him around, and he's so interactive now it's much more fun than when he was tiny. Of course we've had to have several safety centered talks about dos and don'ts, and from my observation it seems like they've absorbed at least most of what I've told them. I trust them to the point that I'm willing to leave him playing with them on the floor while I go take a shower, and they're careful not to get distracted and leave him alone. In fact, this morning, with Darrell still asleep they convinced me it was okay to leave them with him while I ran to the store so I didn't have to pack them all up and drag them into the store at 7:45. In truth I know they just wanted to play Super Smash Bros. in their PJs, but I went ahead and trusted them, knowing Darrell had already been awake and wasn't sleeping too heavily. When I got home, Ethan was cranky and they were both lovingly bent over the swing where they had put him. They were duly concerned but neither of them acted panicked or like anything was terribly out of the ordinary. Darrell was in the shower and had no idea I'd left. Oops. I figured for sure he'd hear the garage and didn't go in to tell him that I was leaving. They did a good job though, and it seems like they always do, despite the little jealous comments they have made to Darrell. I don't know what's up with that but I hope we can work through it soon...

And speaking of responsibility, I was pretty impressed with the girls ability to keep things together Friday night when Darrell and I were both hit with some sort of little bug. Probably the same thing that sent Ethan home from daycare Wed after having reportedly been throwing up. Ethan was fine with Darrell all of that day aside from some diarreah, but Friday Darrell woke up feeling bad, and it hit me a couple of hours later. We both worked a full day but by the time we got home we needed some sleep. Darrell got a nap in, then mowed the yard while I put the baby to sleep and then we both hit the hay around 8. Bailey had been doting on us, bringing us glasses of water and getting blankets when Darrell mentioned being cold, and after we went to bed she came in a couple of times to check on us -- interrupting my attempts at sleep but her intentions were good at least. For an 8 and 10 year old who have a hard time remembering to brush their own teeth or turn lights off when the leave a room, they came through beautifully. They bragged to us the next morning about how they had locked up all the doors and turned the TV and all the lights off before putting themselves to bed. I do remember them sneaking in for their hugs and kisses at some point.

Anyway, we were both nearly back to 100% by Saturday morning so it was thankfully very short-lived. The girls didn't get bothered by it at all, so that's a very good thing.

Okay, this post has become a novel, as often is the case, but what can I say. Sometimes I just have a lot to say...

PS - Liz since you borrowed a page out of my blog book recently I decided to borrow one from yours as well :)