And Now For Something Completely Different





Paul has beaten a hasty retreat, so I don't know whether he's conceded the kitten war, or he's mustering his strength to mount some resistance. Vyera is definitely on his side, though, either way. My brother (rescuer of the kitten) and I differ in our opinions of the maleness or lack thereof of the little fluffball, so Kitten remains unnamed. We're accepting nominations, though.
- posted by Gary @ 9:40 PM |

 
Babies 'N' Bears
A grizzly, to be exact!

Labels: boys, photos, zoo

- posted by Gary @ 6:36 PM |

 
Nice House down the Road
Either Cathy or CEP (can't remember!) said this house looked like the American dream. Only $141k!!

Labels: Mebane, Old Houses

- posted by Gary @ 9:33 PM |

 
Affirmative
Like his brother before him, Isaac is becoming an expert agree-er. He responds to most questions with "aa", which seems to be his version of "yeah". No "no"s yet, praise God!

Labels: baby talk, boys

- posted by Gary @ 6:07 PM |

 
More Babies in Columbus
Congratulations to the whole family! I just looove babies, and one look at little Rebekah Lenore (beautiful name, by the way!) is enough to tell you why!!!
- posted by Gary @ 6:53 PM |

 
Boy, Was I Right
So Paul did not get the follow-up interview. I did not hear from any of my possibilities on Friday. However, my director asked me if I'd like to stay on where I am. *Sigh* A lot has happened at work that I haven't been comfortable writing publicly about, and issues remain which made the prospect of being done a relief. I'm sure sooner or later one or the other of us could/ would find a job, but I hadn't yet found any part-time possibilities, and to make a long story short, I guess I'm staying, trading in short-term security for false long-term security. I don't think I can do anything else at this point.

Labels: job hunt

- posted by Gary @ 8:01 AM |

 
My Little Boy is Growing Up!
Jay has astonished me by calling me "Mom" consistently. Apparently, he's too grown-up to call me Mama or Mommy. Of course, he's also been mysteriously dropping terminal consonants, like the 'se' in 'please'. Maybe it's all the same, and he'll resume calling me "Mama" when his lazy speech phase is over. I could always hope.

Yesterday morning, Jay climbed into bed with us and mentioned that there was a silver dinosaur ("dogasaur") looking down on us. Further questioning revealed that Jay's imaginary friend enjoys snacking on dirt and goes by the name "Dogasaur". I guess we'll have to look for Danny and the Dinosaur at the library. We read it at Grandma and Grandpa G's house at Christmas.

Labels: boys

- posted by Gary @ 7:51 AM |

 
Something's Fixin'a Happen
At least, I think (and hope) so!

Paul should hear tomorrow whether he's made it to the second round of interviews for a manager trainee position at a major car rental chain following his phone interview today. I'm really hoping this will happen, because I have a phone interview next Thursday for a position in Greensboro and am expecting to hear back from two other companies in the near future. These are all full-time positions.

Please pray for us!!

Labels: job hunt

- posted by Lenise @ 8:57 PM |

 
Declarations of Affection
Overheard at bedtime emanating from the toddler bed where Jay clutched the plush (but square) Thomas the Tank Engine pillow from Grandma:
"Wuv you, Thombas!"
"Eyes, nose"
"Wuv you, Thombas!"

Good thing I didn't buy him the Thomas-shaped pillow he spotted at Sears today... I might have really gotten jealous with the mush THAT one could have inspired ;)
- posted by Lenise @ 8:52 PM |

 
What We've Been Up to Today
Perfect day to sit poolside guzzling sweet tea and being splashed or grabbed by wet little hands...
- posted by Gary @ 3:17 PM |

 
The Color Pickle
Actually, Jay says it more like "PEEkoe", but either way it's pretty funny. He also says "Bugafwy" instead of butterfly and "buganeea" instead of banana. Just thought I'd add to the Jay translation list in anticipation of Jay hopefully getting to see his grandfolks and various other family members in July!

Labels: baby talk, boys

- posted by Gary @ 4:35 PM |

 
Baby Steps
Isaac continues to enjoy walking practice, holding on to Mama or Daddy's hand. Ever since Aunt Heather came for a visit, he also enjoys going up and down the steps holding on to a parent's hands. Ahem! ;)

Every now and then, if we don't offer to help, Isaac will toddle a few steps independently, but he's not regularly walking on his own. He is definitely a lot closer than he was a week ago, though!

Labels: boys, toddling

- posted by Gary @ 4:30 PM |

 
Jay Talk
OK, just one more for tonight- I wanted to record, in light of my post of a few days ago, some of Jay's remaining funny pronunciations.

"Tee-iff"= toilet
"Hucky"= monkey

Just in case y'all see him soon and you need to translate. ;)

Isaac, meanwhile, has a very distinct "Daddy" going, among another 50 words or so, though he'll try a lot without necessarily knowing what it means.

Which reminds me of Jay at the zoo- there was a church group which crossed our path several times, and for some reason, some of the kids were chanting and clapping something about cougars. I don't think Jay caught the words, but he started clapping with them and got really excited. Then a different group of kids was saying I-don't-know-what, but Jay replicated it impeccably and started running after them. Maybe he does need to go to preschool...

Labels: baby talk, boys

- posted by Gary @ 11:09 PM |

 
Out of Order





Some photos from Tuesday...

Labels: boys, Mebane, Old Houses, photos

- posted by Gary @ 11:02 PM |

 
Zoo Trip, Edition 6 (?)



We are definitely getting our money's worth from our zoo membership this year. Today was perfect zoo weather- it didn't approach 80 today, and it was overcast all day, yet we didn't get more than a hint of a sprinkle, except for some very light drizzle on the trip out. What may be even better- sparse attendance! I was wondering whether the possibility of rain would keep folks away, or whether the cool temperature would bring them in, and I guess the threat of rain won out! Anyway, we had a very nice time, and Jay didn't complain about the fact that we didn't ride the bus OR go to the playground. He did ask to ride the bus, several times, in fact, but I had planned it so that we didn't need to pack everything up and board the bus. I've gotten our outing packing down to a science, putting both kids' necessities into our smaller bag along with my wallet and keys, so it actually might not have been that bad. It's just a bit of a hassle to get Isaac out and fold up the stroller, etc etc.

Labels: boys, photos, zoo

- posted by Gary @ 10:46 PM |

 
Saved by Poverty
If I had just a bit of money and skill, this would be an irresistible project. I mean, get it looking presentable, and you can rent it on one of those vacation rental websites for $100/night. Plus, it would be super for when we have guests (particularly when they come in multiples). Lacking both, I can't do anything about it. *Sigh*
- posted by Lenise @ 9:35 PM |

 
Here You Go, Grandmas...


Yes, that is murky bathwater- colloidal oatmeal water, in fact. Diaper rash is, quite literally, a bummer.


And now I've got to retire to my comfy bed!
- posted by Gary @ 12:09 AM |

 
Isaac Update
Isaac had his fifteen month check-up last Tuesday. He's at the 40th pctl for height and the 60th for weight. No, he's still not walking. The doc held Isaac's hands and stood him up. Isaac stood for a couple of seconds when the doctor let go of him, and then he got back down and crawled to me. The doctor said he's 99% of the way there, and to let them know if he didn't start walking within the next 4 weeks, but that it was not likely to be a problem.

Isaac is definitely making progress since the appointment. The last two nights, he's wanted me to hold a hand or two of his so he can practice walking. Back and forth, crouching to pick something up, following my directions where to put it. And tonight I sat down two steps from him and let go. He was fussing, but he took two steps- and collapsed into an angry blond ball at my feet.

Baby.

Labels: boys

- posted by Gary @ 9:49 PM |

 
Putting Two and Two Together
From the fact that the job I was waiting to hear about has been re-posted, it would seem that I've been passed over. It's more than a little disturbing to go from being told a prospective employer is "very interested" to being dropped completely. I could understand if they had decided they liked some other candidate better, but to re-post the job tells me for some reason I am completely unacceptable to them. I can't imagine my references having had anything to do with that, so all I can figure is they found my blog and didn't like something here. I'm just mystified. I really liked the woman who interviewed me, and I don't want to think that I would be rejected based on some political or social statement I've made here, but the only other thing I can think of is that they don't like the fact that I'd rather be home with the kids. Well, I've wanted to be home since Jay was born, but that doesn't mean I don't do my job. I hardly think I'm the only mom who, but for economic realties, would stay with the kids.

I almost feel like I shouldn't say it, but I'm hoping this will give Paul time to find something suitable which will allow me to leave the crazy workaday world behind (not that kid world is any saner!). In the meantime, I'll keep looking. I should have known when the main message I got at church was "Why do you worry? God will take care of you!" that something to worry about was heading my way.

Labels: job hunt, mysteries

- posted by Gary @ 9:37 PM |

 
Flea Market Finds
We went to the Alamance/Caswell Hospice League's annual flea market on Saturday, and for $11.25 I bought a denim velcro-closure wallet with neck cord and fluffy white polar bear foot slippers for Jay and a nice green upholstered armchair for me (the upholstery is stained and has a hole in the front, but it's a sturdy chair, and I have made a couple of slipcovers in my pre-motherhood past). Jay was pretty excited about his wallet. I told him he could get a library card to put in it. When I quizzed him at home in front of Daddy: "Jay, what can you put in your wallet?" he said "Mo[n]'ey". "What else can you put in it, Jay?" "More mo[n]'ey!"

Then he went into the house without me. I called him, but got no response. When I found him, it was in our room, taking the change from Daddy's dresser, and putting it (naturally!) into the spiffy denim wallet.
- posted by Gary @ 4:22 PM |

 
Easy Decisions
I got an e-mail today informing me that I am no longer being considered for the job at UNC. I'm disappointed, but this makes my decision a lot easier if/when I get offered that job I interviewed for first (the one for which they have begun checking my references).

Labels: job hunt

- posted by Gary @ 8:08 AM |

 
Closer and Closer...
Jay now pronounces "Thomas" as "Thombas" instead of "Po'as". His "W" now starts with a "D" instead of a "B" (Baby-yooo), and I believe "music" has completely replaced "Sissic". Which is not to say that unrelated adults can understand him all the time, but he's definitely getting there!

Labels: baby talk, boys

- posted by Lenise @ 12:11 PM |