Finally.

Today, April 29, was mommy's last day of work before starting maternity leave. Hallelujah! 

Now we wait... and prepare... for the coming of your little brother. You, dear Cole, will continue going to daycare as if nothing has changed.  It isn't that mommy doesn't want to spend every waking moment with you -- you are, after all, adorable, funny, smart and wonderful.  But there are three very good reasons for this decision:

1. Mommy is still getting a full paycheck and can afford to continue paying for full-time daycare. (For now, at least)

2. Mommy is large, slow, tired and doesn't sleep well.  These things make her not fun, irritable even.

3. Once a newborn is here, mommy will be a bit smaller, a bit faster, but still very tired and irritable.

Trust me, you will be happier in daycare playing with the kids and teachers.

We have discussed the impending arrival of a your little brother, a baby, with you many times. On some level, you get it.  You know that there is a "baby in the belly" and sometimes you kiss the belly or talk to the baby inside it.  You know that this baby is your baby brother.  But do you know what a "baby brother" is or how it ruins lives of big brothers?  I sort of doubt it. 

You know what babies are -- you see them at daycare.  But having mommy take care of one while neglecting your needs... well, that's a different story entirely.  This is a reality I don't think you fully understand or appreciate yet. But you will, oh you will.  And when you do -- in the immortal words of a drunk friend who threatened to 'come over there' -- "then none of us will be happy!"  

The Evolution of the Bedtime Story

First, let me say that we have pretty much always read bedtime stories to you (even when you clearly didn't understand and weren't interested) and, once you got into them, you got WAY into them. However, as happens with most precocious children, your tastes have changed over time... dare I say, yours have gotten more refined with age?

Pretending to read on cue for the camera. Good boy!

Anyhoo, your first real story was Where Is Baby's Belly Button? This was soon followed by Where is Baby's Mommy? The premise of both is similar -- flap lifting, several frustating pages of finding the wrong things, prize finally awaits you on the last page -- the only difference between the two are the types of items to be identified. You loved these books.

The next step up were books by Sandra Boynton, specifically, Oh My Oh My Oh Dinosaurs and the Going to Bed Book.  These are short, rhyming, sing-songy and filled with fun words and adjectives. Imagine my surprise when you busted out with the word, "exercise," on the one day during my entire pregnancy that I decided to exercise!  That night, I realized where it came from -- one of these books. Ahh, learning.

Soon after (not sure when - my mind is a little hazy these days given that all the blood in my body is flowing to my core to nourish your not-yet-fully-baked baby brother) we ventured into the land of bigger, longer, more word-dense books.  The first one of these that comes to mind for me is everyone's favorite rhyming story. Yes, you guessed it: The Cat in the Hat. The first few readings were touch and go but within days you were hooked. And then mommy and daddy had to tagteam the chore, er, I mean privilege, of reading this book to you EVERY night.... for weeks and weeks on end. I think we all may have had it memorized by the time you tolerated the mere suggestion of adding other books to the evening repertoire.

Another favorite that came on the scene around the same time: The Best Nest. Perhaps the most awesome part of this book is that Daddy made up a terrible tune for Mr. Bird's song, which you two would sing every night. Cacophony would be an overstatement, but let's just say neither of you would have made it to Hollywood on American Idol.

For a period of time, these two books were rotated pretty much exclusively. Then, one day.... you discovered your love of bears.  Beady Bear, to be more specific (yes, by Don Freeman). For a book written, like, 50 years ago, it certainly still stands the test of time (except for the whole reading the "evening papers" thing -- who gets the morning paper let alone the evening paper anymore???).

After Beady, we started introducing more books, more faster to give our nights a little more variety. This strategy worked; you accepted most of them.  Some of these new staples have included: Alfred the Bear (another oldie but goodie), the Sam stories (Sam's Bath, Sam's Cookie), Knuffle Bunny ("aggle flaggle klaggle!!") and your latest favorite, The Little Red Caboose (which echoes your current love of all things Thomas the Train). The latter has tons of detail to its pictures.  Apparently in this little town, every freaking woodland creature comes out to watch the train go by. Also, there is a camp of Native Americans just outside of the clearly much safer white village. Interesting.

So there you have it: your life in books (so far). You're welcome!

Ming-ah

Grandmom Sheil finally returned yesterday from an almost month-long trip to Spain and France. She spent much of the time in Barcelona but also visited the Mediterranean coast of Spain and various towns in Provence. More importantly, you were without your Monday caretaker for 3 whole weeks!

This pic is old - from Dec 2009 - but it was the only
one of you and Ming-ah that I could find quickly.
Get over it.

She came for a visit and for dinner tonight, but mostly she wanted to see you! Although you have called her various things, we we finally and definitively confirmed your name for her: Ming-ah. She isn't Asian (as far I as I know), but somehow the name fits and she likes it. And so it shall be.

"My ____!"

One of your newest phrases du jour is "My __[fill in the blank]__."  From food to toys to clothes to just about any item you can grasp in your hot little hands, you have begun proclaiming your ownership and dominion over material goods in a way not yet seen by your befuddled parents.

"My cupcake!"
"Yes, I know it's your cupcake, Cole."

"My Hiro!"
"Yes, that is your train, Cole."

"My shirt!"
"No, actually, I paid for that shirt. It's mine. I'm just letting you borrow it!!!"  Sheesh!

A Walk Down Memory Lane

Got a notice from Google that all video files uploaded to Google Video will be deleted as of the end of this month. Since Google bought out You Tube, they apparently no longer want to maintain a separate video hosting site. Makes sense, I guess.

Anyway, it got me to look at was on Google Video and You Tube.  I came across some funny and adorable (if I do say so myself!) video clips of you in the two to ten month range. I have to post one here... just for old times sake.  Enjoy!