Like a weed - a very cute, very smart weed

On Tuesday we hightailed it to Qtown to spend time with some of the family. We picked up Papa Joe from work and hit the Quakertown playground for an hour before we were treated to Applebees for dinner. Remember this playground? A mere seven months ago Noah couldn’t even walk and now he’s running up and down the steps and slides. Incredible. It nearly brought me to tears. My Grandfather is in far better shape after his stroke than I could have imagined. I’m not sure how long that will last since he went right back to smoking a million unfiltered cigarettes and of course he went to the bar over the weekend. You can’t teach an old dog, I guess. Oma is doing okay. I fear for her health as well. She seems frailer every time I see her.

We babysat Ms. Frannie for a few hours in the afternoon yesterday. She wasn’t much interested in Play Doh, stickers or coloring but she did proceed to try to stand on the coffee table, climb into the toy box and throw herself down the stairs. As you can tell she’s in a more active stage now. The kids were very well behaved in their parallel play, though Noah was being a tad territorial. Frannie was pulling greeting cards out of a picnic basket and when she’d take one out and put it on the floor to get another one, Noah would pick it up, take into the other room, drop it on the floor and then close the door behind him as he went back to Frannie to get the one. It was funny – and I was glad that Noah wasn’t grabbing things out of her hands. He was being a bit possessive, but still mannerly about it.

OH. I’ve got a couple of exciting tidbits to relate. Exciting to me, anyway. Noah has certainly taken his time about it, but I’m very happy to report that he started making M sounds. Yesterday and today have been soundtracked by a string of “mamamamamama.” Sometimes referring to me but mostly just testing out the new sound. I was wondering if the boy was EVER gonna call me “Mama.” Mark kept saying that maybe it didn’t occur to Noah to address me because I was ALWAYS there - taking me for granted like the air he breathes. But I really think it was just the “Mmmmm” mastery that was required. In other tantalizing news our home has been invaded by the four 8 inch plush Teletubbies I bought off eBay. Noah is definitely interested in them but I have to admit I’m pushing the love envelope by saying “Why don’t you read La La a story?” and “Do you want to have Po in the crib with you?” I’m very serious about my match making. Though it did occur to me this afternoon that it might not be wise to foster your child’s attachment to toys that can not be easily replaced. Duh. I guess if he really does attach to one of them I’ll be bidding on eBay for some backups toot sweet. And last but not least I have to tell you I was thrilled this morning when Noah was actually playing with his Little Touch Leap Pad for the first time by his self. Though the books are still a bit too complicated, he was enjoying the activity page that included (what else) A to Z animals and the sounds they make. He’s learning, practicing and growing. My God.

Long night. Teething boy. Sleepy me. Naptime.