Causing a commotion

That's what Allan is doing right now. Dad has taken Mr. It Is a Pleasure to Put Him to Bed upstairs (and has had to return for a refill on the bottle -- don't ask how the breaking him is going - so far, we are the ones who have broken.) Allan has been rejuvenated by his bath and the fact that the house is cool and dark. He's ready to roll. He keeps slamming the coins in to his piggy bank. Without Griffith to swoop in and take over the project, Allan has time to do has he pleases. He pleases to hit the coins -- in his own sweet time.

Mom left the card reader at work so no new photos until tomorrow. I'm just going to buy another to keep at home to avoid the hassle.

Friday we took the boys out to the pizza place to celebrate Alice's birthday. The boys were fabulous, naturally. We tried both of them in the wooden booster seats provided by the restaurant. Griff did just fine, but Allan is just that much smaller that he was a bit a wobbly.

(big yawn from Allan who has setled in for a snuggle and songs of praise - We Love You, Allan and You Are My Sunshine, over and over again. Meanwhile I think I can still hear Mr. It Is a Pleasure howling like a banshee.)

Anyway, the whole family went to the pizza place, we plunked Allan down in his seat and he got a look of complete and utter irritation and consternation. As Alice says, he has about 30 different versions of "what in the hell are you doing" (she added, unnecessarily, I think, "just like his mother.") At any rate, we got his own booster seat and that still didn't suit. Turns out that Big Al is just as nosy as his brother these days and didn't want to be facing away from the majority of the restaurant. Just so soon as his dad picked him up and held him so that he could swivel around and see what was going on, he was fine. The only other problem that we had was that Allan is like a little pot-belly stove. He throws off heat like you would not believe. Now, the A/C in the restaurant made it pretty pleasant, but it was 90-ish and humid outside and they had open flames going inside, so Big Al was the last thing that you needed laying on your shoulder. Alice was in a flop sweat before long and so was Mom. By the time we hit home, I was drenched! While we were at the pizza place, some friends who have a little boy the boys' age came over. When they left, Connor waved bye-bye and, to our astonishment, Griff waved right back! We've been trying to get him to do it for weeks, but the little devil wouldn't do it (and he hasn't done it since) but he clearly knew what he was about.

Every night is the same, though. Jay has put masking tape over the vent next to him and sleeps under an extra quilt. Griffith sleeps in a fleece sleep sack and a blanket. He gets chill-bumps whenever you change his diaper. Allan, on the other hand, spends as much time as necessary kicking off even the lightest of blankets and I am under a sheet with my feet hanging out, trying to catch a breeze from the fan.

Saturday morning Jay started making some headway on his "honey do" list while the boys and I ran to the Farmer's Market and got corn and squash and zucchini and cucumbers. It was hotter than I realized and, by the time (well before 11) we got back, it was in the mid-80's and very humid. We had a little lunch (very little, in the case of Griffith) and then (blessedly) they both fell asleep for about 2 hours. Then they took a dip in the wading pool and got baths in anticipation of the arrival of Evan. Mom and Dad had to go to a wedding, Miranda had two weddings to sing in, and so Evan (her husband) came to hang out and do guy things -- watch ESPN and Spike TV and roughhouse. Griff had taken about 6 steps unassisted but Evan got him up to about 10. He's still pretty wary about it and would prefer to hold on, however lightly, to your hand, but some times forgets to be cautious and heads out.

Today was a good day. Jay took off to golf and the boys got up about 7 or so. It was rainy and hot so we couldn't take a walk or run or really get out and do anything. Griff decided that it was a perfect day to sleep in and dozed off at about 9:30, followed shortly by Big Al, followed shortly by Mom. We got about 2 hours in and were all the better for it. Dad didn't get quite so lucky. By the time he got home the fellas were ready to roll. That's the price you pay for trying to be Tiger Woods.

Allan has gotten so full of beans and spunk and whatever else that he can't be trusted in the booster seat on the table so we had to get him a real high chair, just like Griffith's. Not that either of them uses them to eat. We just use them as a method of confinement really.

All three fellas are upstairs. Time to join them. There should be pictures tomorrow, provided I can find the reader.