All Frickin' Day!

We've been through 3 and a half days without Mommy, and have witnessed the following:

• Daddy commenting to Mommy on the webcam that Simon (the cat) was crying "All Fricking Day" to then hear Henry start cackling "All Fricking Day" over and over and over again
• one more crushed finger, this time cracking the nail in two, at the hands of the basement renovation
• the last Amoxicillin dose from the accursed Strep Throat Incident of 2007 (that was terrible ... when babies can't sleep, it's just like being a newborn again)
• a four-hour stretch in which there was multitasking between framing walls and doing laundry
• a lot of really adorable phrases from Henry, including 'mommy airplane a ca-GA-go' and talking about the hospital that Henry and Daddy were born at (how does he remember this stuff?)

Mommy, don't worry ... the animals are still alive and everyone is pooping where they're supposed to.

Where's Mommy?

... in Chicago (Henry's pronunciation: ca-KAH-go!). Mommy is off saving the planet in Chicago, at a conference for a week. I know, a week! Of course the toilet broke yesterday, I cut myself shaving this morning, we're out of bread, the sink was filled with dirty dishes, Henry has what might be poison ivy, he didn't go to bed until 10:30 last night and we're just getting started on Day 1!

The blogs this week may be a bit more detailed, as I chronicle for Mommy all the comings and goings on the day.

Henry went to Gaga's today to play, and will go again on Wednesday. Then it's Grammy and Grandpa on Friday. This morning, Henry asked me about a zillion times on the trip over where we were going. I turned it back on him: "Where are we going, Henry?" He'd get a big smile and say "Gaga's House!" I think he just liked to hear himself say it. We made sure to bring his "Cars" board book (he's addicted to that movie), and he carried them very matter-of-factly like a briefcase ("... and we're running a special on these wonderful children's books ... would you like to take a look?").

That's about it for now ... more later.

Happy Fourth of July!

Old Glory
Originally uploaded by hepcatrayo.

OK, OK, it's the 22nd of July, but I'm just trying to catch up! Sheesh!

Henry followed up his gigundous birthday bash with some well-deserved rest on the 3rd. Then we took a big breath and plunged into the Fourth! We got up early to go to Grammy and Grandpa Rayo's for UA's parade, which seemed much longer than it has in the past. It was great except that now mid-80's cars are now technically "vintage" -- but still ugly -- and they were featured more prominently than ever in the parade.

We collected Henry, Mom (Gramma), and Tom to take them back to our house and wish Gramma safe travels back to Florida. Then we were off to the Doo Dah parade! We found a great place on High St. (which we later found out was the end of the parade route) and settled in for what we thought was the 20 minute wait until the parade got to us.

An hour and a half later, still nothing. I need to remember that, of all the wonderful thing that Doo Dah is, it is not punctual.

Or reverential. We saw the dancing Fidels, the Popemobile, the Columbus Gay Color Guard, more fishnet and facepaint (think Rocky Horror) than I care to think about, and other reverie. (EDITOR'S NOTE: why is it always the folks that are "pleasantly plump" that decide to wear their lingerie out in public? Maybe it's the fattening of America that I'm witnessing ...)

We took our second quick breather, nixed our picnic plans because of a torrential downpour, then went to dinner with some friends (I know ... dinner out on the Fourth? No BBQ? Sacrilege!!!). The irony was that it was bright in Sunny as we walked into Hunan House to commemorate the birth of our country.

We booked it back home to stroller over to the Clintonville fireworks. Henry loved the "twinkles", but really didn't like the "loud loud loud." I cupped his ears throughout, and he fell asleep midway through. He didn't even blink through the finale!!!!

Then we went home and slept. And he woke up early the next morning. Drats!!!!