Buckle Up and Hang On

Around here, we take our weekends seriously.  Our motto is, "If one activity is good, then four must be better!"  And since it happened to be somebody's birthday weekend (I'm not naming any names, but she is just thrilled to be turning 29), we felt the need to crank it up a little more. 

So, when Gram and Deedaddy arrived last Friday at 4:45, we warned them to put their running shoes on because the weekend was starting and there was fun to be had.  And fifteen minutes later, the birthday girl was out the door to get her birthday pampering at the spa (thanks, Nana and Putty!).  G & D (as the pair will henceforth be known in this post) entertained Walt until Josh arrived home to usher the whole group downtown, where they met up with the newly refreshed birthday girl for some fish tacos and a trolley ride.

The next morning, while Josh spent some time prepping for his big trial that started on Monday, Walt, G & D, and I all headed over to the zoo.  It was an unseasonably cool day, which made the animal viewing actually pleasant (unlike the other days in the summer when I just make a mad dash to the polar bear house and try to convince Walt that they really are the most interesting inhabitants of the zoo).  Walt does like the animals . . .

. . . but he's just as entertained by standing water.

Some shots from the butterfly house . . .

Of course, the whole point of the morning's excursion to the zoo was to get him tired enough to take an early nap so that we could make it to Rock 'n Romp that afternoon.  RnR this month was held in a backyard so big that was easy to lose track of a 30-pound kid.  So it was nice to have four more eyes (those belonging to G & D) also on the lookout for a toddler wielding a large drumstick.

Though we were all a bit worn out after all the rocking and romping we did, we forged on, since it was only 5:00 and there were still plenty of good hours left in the Saturday.  Walt, G & D headed out to Boscos for dinner on the patio (Gram tells me ate this entire pizza himself) while the birthday girl and her date went downtown for a nice birthday dinner.

After church Sunday morning, we finished up the weekend with a birthday brunch (since, although I'd been celebrating for days already, it was my actual birthday).  We bid adieu to G & D, and Walt and I settled down for a nice afternoon nap, while Daddy worked on his opening statement.  Sometimes it's tough fitting all that fun into just one weekend, but when they only give you two days, you gotta make 'em count!

Overheard 7/24/07

A real post is coming soon, I promise.  But in the meantime . . .

Walt and Daddy are playing on a big pile of pillows and blankets in the back bedroom.

"Let's close the door."

"Why?" asks Daddy.

"So Mommy and Evie can't come in."

I guess if I weren't so exhausted from spending quality time with him all day, my feelings might be hurt.  But instead, I just went and read a magazine and got over it.

Overheard 7/19/07

Walt and Meredith are sitting quietly in the backseat a few minutes after we picked up Meredith at school for her overnight stay with us.

"Did you have fun at school today, Mer-Mer?"

Silence.

"Did you have fun at school today, Mer-Mer?"

Silence.

Peering around the edge of his carseat,

"DID YOU?!"

The Modern Toddler

I should have seen it coming.  I mean, all the signs were there . . . the eating solid foods, the crawling, the walking, the talking, the TALKING.  As it turns out, all this time, Walt has been growing up.  (Some of you could have clued me in, you know.)  And suddenly we realized that every night we were putting a non-baby into a baby bed.  And so, my friends, it was time to put away childish things.  The crib that we lovingly assembled a little over two and a half years ago came apart like so many Lego blocks, and was packed off to the attic.  In its place, Josh set about assembling Walt's new bed . . .

The modern toddler in question was, of course, on hand to help out.

My only jobs were to record the event for posterity and to guard the cache of hardware from mischievous modern toddlers.

But today's modern toddlers are more interested in raiding Daddy's toolbox for fun toys like flashlights and tape measures.

He did "help" put the finishing touches on, though.

Add one Gram-made quilt, the full corps of lovies, and you've got yourself a place to lay the modern toddler's head.  Or to play, which is what he has been doing all day.  (Apparently the bed also doubles as a firetruck . . . who knew?)

So, how did the first night go, you may be wondering?  Fairly well, considering the modern toddler is a bit under the weather and not sleeping so well anyway.  He went down with nary a peep, but we had one lost lovey incident and one request for water during the night, and then an early rising.  But on the whole, not a bad start, I think.  Stay tuned later this month as we attempt to cast off the final vestiges of babyhood -- the diapers.  Fingers crossed . . .   

On Independence Day Parades, Baseball, Inflatable Swimming Pools and Prohibitions on Swine Rental-Part II

Where was I?  Oh yeah, inflatable swimming pools.  We went to Murray this past weekend for a late July 4th celebration and a much needed reunion with Cousin Collier.  There was a surprise waiting in the backyard.  Aside from sending their daughter to Rhodes, this was the best spending decision Gram and DeeDaddy ever made.  (And a heckuva lot cheaper, I'm sure.)

Add 4,000 gallons of water in and around the pool, one cousin, two uncles and a sunny July weekend, and you've got yourselves the makings of a good time (and an exorbitant August water bill.)

This next series was taken just after Gram introduced the boys to "belly floppers."  Of course, one of them was much more willing to hurl himself headlong into 8 inches of water.  He's the same one who ended up with two busted lips this weekend.  We took pictures, but I'm not sure where they ended up.  We wanted to document that it was in fact two separate "busts".  It was.  Take our word for it.  Consensus was that it won't be the last multiple laceration weekend of their lives.

Also getting in on the backyard action, Evie P. Dog (or as I like to call her now, Steve Austin.)

Some good-natured hose wrestlin'.

Collier won.

No, this isn't a new form of toddler torture.  This was our best attempt to get most of the grass in the backyard back in the backyard.  Next!

And finally, we continue to be frustrated in our attempt to locate a good pig rental agency in West Tennessee.  If anyone has the slightest idea what this means, please let us know.

On Independence Day Parades, Baseball, Inflatable Swimming Pools and Prohibitions on Swine Rental-Part I

Just wait.  It all comes full circle.  As the title suggests, we have been a very busy crew for the past few days.  When we last left you, my lovely wife had just mixed up a big ol' batch of sweet and tangy Memphis love for all of our friends here.  Well, there was plenty more lovin' going on around here on the Fourth.  We loaded up Walt's all-purpose, all-terrain, all-little-girl-haulin' wagon for an appearance in a real, live, sanctioned parade sponsored by a nearby neighborhood association.

That's Ella on the left, Clara on the right and patriotism all around.


This float was all Daddy-powered.  That's close to a hundred pounds of toddler if you're scoring at home.  Since it wasn't windy, we decided against those tether ropes like they use in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.


Local Boy Scout Troop with the Colors, Memphis' finest on bike patrol . . . hey, I told you it was sanctioned.

Here we are at our big moment in front of the main "grandstand."  Note: even Daddy's getting in the spirit with noise maker positioned for maximum noise making potential.

There was a congressman, a judge, a mayoral candidate and plenty of sweaty, wagon-draggin' lawyers, but let's get to the really important photo.

Walt and Clara IN a fire engine WITH a fireman.  One of them is clearly more impressed than the others.

Did I mention the free popcorn and two completely wiped out Bassett Hounds?

After the sweat dried and Clara's daddy and mommy cooked up a date-appropriate lunch of burgers, hot dogs and fixins, Walt and I headed to our respective beds for a pair of three hour naps.  (What?  It's a holiday.)

After the recharge, we were off to a not-so-date-appropriate but equally yummy meal of Indian food and a jam packed evening baseball game at Autozone Park featuring "a post-game fireworks extravaganza."  We had our fingers crossed that the long nap and plenty of parental hype would make the fireworks truly "extravagant" for young Walty, but it was not to be.  The game featured about  27 home runs and lasted way past the time before which toddlers can apparently enjoy pyrotechnics. 

Less palak paneer, more popcorn please!

Baby Henry and his parents were there, too.





Obviously taken well before controlled, aerial detonations began.





Things are still going well when neighbors Tom and Heather showed up with the coolest giant, foam finger ever.  (That's Henry's dad, Landon, at the tip of the finger.)





Previewing this photo on the camera made us all realize we were in serious trouble.


Here we are realizing!

Happier times to come.  Check back Tuesday for Part II and the answer to the oft-posed question, "Does Laurel Hill Cattle Co. of Puryear, Tennessee rent pigs?"

You Gotta Have Friends (in Memphis)

Sometimes people ask us why we stay in Memphis.  And even I, Memphis apologist extraordinaire, have to admit that life in the Bluff City has its issues.  The weather is only nice for about four months out of the year.  It definitely has more than its fair share of crime issues.  And don't get me started on our crazy mayor.  If you ask Josh why we stay, he'll scratch his head, ponder a bit, and then say,

"Because she makes me."

Kidding!  (Kind of.)  Ask me the same question, and I don't even have to hesitate:  it's because some of our best friends in the world are here.  Now, don't get me wrong, we definitely have wonderful friends in other parts of the country (heck, world) too, but as far as friends-per-square-foot, we can't beat Memphis. 

Just two posts ago, you got to meet the "Girls of Hallwood"  who are some of my oldest Memphis friends, from our Rhodes days.  I am so lucky to have two out of three of those wonderful women still living within just a few miles of my front door.  Ours was a bond that was forged through close, continuous proximity to one another for four of our formative adult years, and has been solidified in the ten (ack!!!) years since we graduated.  When we gather now with our brood, I am amazed at how far we have come together.  If I'd never made another friend after leaving Rhodes, I think I'd still feel like Memphis was home because of them.

Yes, I know we've posted this picture (and some of the following) before . . . work with me here.

But, as luck would have it, we have made more friends here.   Some were more like acquaintances at Rhodes, and the friendships have blossomed only in recent years.  Some married into the Rhodes circle.

Some of the friends in this category are sadly under-represented in our photo cache.  Hurry up and have that baby so we'll break out the camera around you more often!

Some we met at our wonderful church and have grown close to through years of sitting together in Sunday School, praying for each other during tough times, and also lots of extra-curricular socializing.

We don't actually take pictures of each other anymore . . . just our adorable kids.

Some we just met because a guy I used to work with thought that his neighbor, a new attorney in town, might like to meet the husband of this girl he used to work with, who was also an attorney, and sure enough, they hit it off and now spend so much time together that their kids fight (and also stick up for each other) like brother and sister.

Some are the wonderful people who have moved into our neighborhood over the past several years and have made  not only Memphis, but Cooper-Young specifically, feel like it might be home for a long time to come.

Some of those neighbors don't have kids yet themselves, but probably feel like they do because of how much time they have to spend taking care of us during all our crises!

And some are so new that you might still call them "friends-of-friends".

But once you've all drunk from the same sprinkler, what's the difference?

I guess some might argue that if we've had no trouble continuing to make new friends in Memphis in the ten years since we graduated from college, what makes us think we would have a problem making them in a new place?  And that is true, I suppose, but on the other hand, why take the chance?