Yep, he's a toddler.

Kirk is walking. It's been about 2 weeks now. At first, he was just doing 5 or 6 steps and then realizing he was walking and sitting down promptly. Mr. b and I admitted to ourselves that it was "real" walking and that there was never going to be that storybook moment of a First Step. Does that ever actually happen? Then Kirk would take several steps and very consciously reach for something to grab hold of and not sit down. Then he started turning around during his short perambulations. Then he walked clear across the living room and the kitchen. There's no mistaking it anymore. It's been truly fascinating to watch his exponential improvement. He still can't stand up without pulling himself up on something. I get the feeling that will be a separate development. But once he's up, then it's all over. It's so cute watching the small drunk person stumble about the house!

By any other name...

I quite simply adored Eight Cousins by Louisa May Alcott! I haven't read Little Women in years, and while I liked it, I never went as crazy over it as other girls (or Rachel on Friends). It was good but I didn't feel any pull to read any of her other stuff. Now, I cannot possibly get my hands on Rose in Bloom fast enough. I have to find out which cousin Rose is going to marry! Because you just know that it's going to be one of them. And oooh, what's Phebe going to do? And will Uncle Doctor Alec bring Rose onboard ship? And will Prince Charlie come out of the closet? (Not bloody likely, heh.) What of the Chief and Mac and the younger boys and wee Jamie? Oh this book was marvelous. It was completely unrealistic, but it was charming and heartwarming and nothing bad was permanent. It was like the Cosby Show! I cried tears of joy and amazement on the frickin bus fer chissakes! As the Doctor would say to his Rose, "Fantastic!"

Instructions

Last night we went out for fancy dinner for our anniversary. Below is the note that Mr. b wrote out for Kirk's babysitters--Godfather and his wife. They said it was precisely what happened.

He'll be fed by 6:30
Let him run around
Watch him Pound his balls
He thinks it's funny to crash his car

At about 7:30 take his clothes off and let him run around in his diaper.
Put on a fresh diaper.

Around 8 you'll notice he gets all crazy and acts like a drunken crackhead, that's how you'll know he's tired.
Put his Jammies on and clear a path to his crib.
Good time for reading
Give him his bottle
He may fall asleep in your arms or he might try to stagger around for a little longer.
Try to get him in his crib between 8:30 & 9.
He may get up in his crib & start crying
Let him, he'll calm down in a couple minutes.

The Ballad of belsum and Mr. b

We met in mid-May, 1993. I was still a week shy of my 18th birthday, though I was finishing my first year of college. We both worked at a burger & shake parlour near campus. I was still living in the dorm, Mr. b was couch surfing and sleeping in his car after just moving back to Minneapolis. We hit it off instantly. The fact that I liked the Beach Boys helped. Our first kiss was upside down; I was leaning backwards on a swing set.

But I was leaving for a month in Mexico in two weeks and didn't want things to be too serious. I drove my travel partner nuts with worry that he found someone else while I was gone. He drove his friends nuts that I found someone else and wasn't coming back. My train was late and I had no way to reach him.

After a couple of months of "just staying with" each other, we moved in together officially. We got a cat. We bought plates and towels and bedding and a car. We got a joint checking account.

Deep Shag had band practice in that first apartment.

We moved a couple more times. There were trials involving drugs and alcohol. Long separations while I was abroad. It was the 90s. Most of our friends could be found at The Hippie House. Brainforest. We adopted another cat. We had fun. We went to shows. Everyone played in bands and cooked like mad.

Mr. b proposed to me outside of Orchestra Hall. I said, "Sure!" He still hassles me for that response.

We got married on the Autumnal Equinox, September 20, 1997. The sumac was in bloom, it was cool, crisp weather, the sky was blue. We were Up North, on my grandmother's land. People camped out. We had bands play, a pinata to break, bonfires, grills, whiskey, kegs, it was a party.

Mr. b had to spend a month living at my parents house while I was in the field. He very quickly found us a new apartment! We loved living on the West Side and stayed there for 7 years. It was Hobbiton and we rode our bikes through the Shire and Bree and Moria and Lothlorien. Lunar 9. Our first cat died. We bought a Jetta. Medication.

We closed on our first house September 17, 2004. It was our 7th anniversary present to ourselves. I found out I was pregnant far sooner than either of us could have ever anticipated. Tron died. Our darling son was born July 2, 2005. Mercurial Rage.

And now we celebrate 9. One year short of a decade of marriage. 13 and a half years of being together. Love, laughs, fights, sex, drugs, rock n roll, fun, sleep, games, growth, life.

Bathroom Tales Vol. II

Kirk continues to love to stand up while taking a bath. It's not constant anymore, thankfully, but he still at least stands during the "cleaning" phase and then sits and plays with toys and shampoo bottles until Mommy gets bored. He also loves to play with the lever in the spout that directs the water to the shower head. He actually pulls it out of its housing every single time. Mr. b finally showed me how to fix it. Previously I had to rely on him to put it back every single time.

The toilet continues to be an extra fun play zone. The plunger and cleaning brush had to be removed from the bathroom altogether. But now Kirk pulls off the protective coverings over the bolts that hold the stool onto the floor. He also enjoys busting in to the bathroom when Mommy is sitting down to play with my hip tattoo.

I am desperate to find some kind of diaper that is either somehow rigged for boys specifically or is extra absorbent for overnights. Most mornings I pull Kirk out of his crib to find that he's totally Leakypedia. The back half of the diaper will still be dry but the front will be beyond soaked; the excess pee drains out the waistband since he sleeps on his stomach more often than not. I swear I remember ads for diapers from several years ago, talking up the front absorbency for boys, middle for girls. Do they still exist? My poor man can't wear a pair of jammies more than once because of the MC Pee Pants action!

Wooster and Jeeves

Mr. b: Kirk treats me like a butler when we're at home. He doesn't want me to play but he wants me to always be close by to attend to his every need.

Apparently Kirk gets mad when Mr. Angelmamma leaves daycare after dropping off their son. That's so cute! Mr. b says it's because Kirk can sense "bass-playing daddy" on him.

Daycare Blues

Kirk had an angry morning at daycare according to K. I'm not surprised. This was only the 6th time he's gone there, even though he's been at new daycare for two weeks. He just had so much Mommy and Daddy time last week from being sick. And Labor Day. And we kept him home one day the first week due to his cold.

It's weird because I can't tell if his new developments are circumstantial or actual new developments. He's been taking only one nap per day. He was previously still on the two-per-day baby schedule. But is that just because he's been able to sleep later in the morning?

He's been actually playing with the cats, too. The Squirrel hides most of the time (she's not doing well with the new arrival) but when Kirk can get at her, he "pets" her and screams in delight when she bats his hand away with her paw. Chloe, the little attention whore, lets him totally molest her. He chases Chloe around the house, wags her tail, "pets" her head, nuzzles her with his head, sits on her feet, lays right next to her. It's adorable! But again, is that just because he's been home more so he's had more time to interact with the other inhabitants?

It'll be interesting to see if anything reverts now that he's back to daycare and the schedule that requires. I feel bad but we can't afford a nanny and we can't afford to have one parent stay at home. He's just going to have to learn to deal with that.

Pink Eye

We had our first trip to the Urgent Care last night. Apparently Kirk has pink eye. Hooray.

I was feeling like a Bad Mommy because Mr. b was concerned about Kirk and I blew it off as a Tylenol situation. I tried to talk to a nurse but the wait on the line was ridiculous and hung up. After a little internet research I determined that Kirk at least had a sinus infection (green snot, eye boogers) and needed to go in. Of course in the waiting room he was fine. Beyond fine. He was walking! Like taking 4 or 5 steps and freestanding for really long periods of time. It was crazy!

When we finally saw a doctor he took one look at Kirk and declared pink eye. Mr. b and I have never had it before so we're obviously a bit freaked out. I mean, I know it's common and not that big of a deal in the long run. But it's messy and gross and I have to put eye drops in the little man's eyes and give him antibiotics and he's just a poor sick little guy. All this on top of the remnants of his cold from last week!

I don't even know how he got it. It's not like any of the kids at his daycare have it. (Yet.) Maybe from the old ladies at great-grandma's apartment building? Who knows. Time for more medicine and a nap.

Desegregation

I kept Kirk at home yesterday. His cold wasn't that severe or anything. I mean, he's certainly been sicker. But I just thought that it wasn't fair to him to deal with feeling like crap at a brand new place. And it wasn't fair to daycare lady K to have to deal with the new kid feeling crappy. At first, despite the constant stream of snot, I thought Kirk had just played us. But then he wouldn't nap. After fighting with him for two hours I figured it out: he wouldn't nap in his bed, only in Mommy's arms. That's a sure sign that he's sick. I told that to K this morning when I dropped him off and she appreciated the decision. Of course he wasn't happy at all to be back at daycare. He misses Auntie.

We finally have our sink-side counter space back! I've been slowly sorting through bottles and sippy cups and calculating what Kirk still uses or doesn't. All but two bottles have been retired completely. He still takes his final milk of the day in a bottle so I needed to have a couple out. Then I rearranged the cupboards to fit all his sippies and built-in-straw cups and other plastic cups on one shelf. And then Mr. b threw away all remaining elements to the bottle washing station. It's pretty amazing. Been a long time. I have no idea what we're going to do with the space now!

I've noticed that Kirk's stuff has been slowly getting integrated with our own stuff for a while now. Just little things, like the baby nail clippers. Well, now they're in the medicine cabinet with the grup nail clippers. Same with his thermometer. Junk like that. All his gear had previously been stricly segregated to his room and changing station. Now there are little coats in the closet and little shoes in the shoe pile. I'll even occasionally find his clothes in our laundry basket or Mr. b's in Kirk's!