The past two days have been such epic ones in the lives of Michael and Melissa that I am ignoring my "to-do" list and taking great risk in order to write some of these memories down before time and life erase them from my all too short memory.
The risk is that the Baboo has been left to play on her computer in the other room while I use the computer in the office. Michael is in the crib playing with the "kick-and-play piano" and I suspect he will soon go off to sleep.
Yesterday was an important milestone for Michael - his first time swimming! We took the kids to the Newton wave pool yesterday (Sunday) and met up with some friends and their 15 month old little girl. Michael had a great time. He smiled, laughed, and floated (assisted by Daddy of course) in the very shallow wading pool for babies and toddlers. He wore a cloth diaper covered by some little plaid poly-cotton shorts we found in his summer clothes box (not swim shorts, but close enough). Unfortunately, we did forget our camera, so have no photographs to post of Michael's first swim.
The pool was very busy and Melissa initially declined going into the next bigger wading pool which had a little tiny slide going into it. She did finally notice the slide and went down happily over and over as long as Mommy was there to catch her from going under at the bottom. She tried the "big kids" water slide once, a covered twisty slide that flipped her over somewhere in the middle. She got quite wet at the bottom even though Daddy tried to catch her and when asked if she wanted to go down that slide again she said a very definite "NO!"
Last night Michael figured out that since he can roll over, he can sleep however he wants and not just however we put him down. We have always put him down to sleep on his back or side, but when I woke up this morning he was sleeping on his tummy sucking his fist. He was adorable. Again, I did not manage to get a photograph of that either, as his milk-sack radar alerted him to the presence of his breakfast. I am sure I will be able to catch him in the pose some other time though.
Today has been one of the harder days for the Baboo. WARNING THE FOLLOWING FOUR PARAGRAPHS MAY CAUSE HEART ATTACKS
This morning I made the error of leaving Melissa at the table eating her breakfast of French Toast while I attended to some personal matters in the washroom. I neglected to notice and remove two items from the table: the syrup and the salt. When I got back there were piles of sticky salt EVERYWHERE: on the table, on the floor, on the chairs, on Melissa's plate, and in Melissa's cup. Melissa's fuzzy pink sleeper was crusted over with syrupy salt. Her hands were covered in it. Even her face and hair had sticky salt-substance in them.
I was about to start cleaning up the mess when Melissa made the painful error of rubbing her EYES with her syrupy salt covered hands. Melissa's eye lashes were now crushed with the sticky salt: she was cryng and her eyes were tearing. It was a very pathetic sight. I stripped her, took her into the bathroom, put her in the tub, and began flushing out her eyes with water. We have a cord on the shower head, so I could move the water around. Melissa certainly did not co-operate with this procedure, but soon her cries changed from cries of pain to cries of anger. Once convinced her eyes were flushed out, I then washed her hair and body.
Meanwhile, poor Michael was in his swing screaming as well. Then the phone rang and I made the mistake of actually answering it while holding a wet, naked, screaming Melissa with Michael screaming in the background. It was someone responding to my ad about providing daycare. I guess I won't be hearing back from her anytime soon! Why could I not remember that we have voice-mail on our phone line now? I just do not understand.
Once Melissa was dried and dressed, she had to suffer the additional indignity of being confined to her room while I fed and changed Michael and cleaned up the mess in the kitchen. Her confinement was not specifically a punishment, but rather to protect both her and the rest of the house from a repeat or continuation of the previous incident.
For the next hour or so life continued smoothly, until I decided to check e-mail. Michael was rolling happily on the floor. Melissa was playing near the toybox. Then I heard a complaining sound from Michael. When I turned around it appeared that Melissa had tripped on him and falled over. A short distance away on the floor, glinting evilly, lay our BREAD KNIFE! Oh no! She must have gotton that out of the dish rack! A quick check of both children soon revealed no damage to either child from the incident. From here on out, knives have to be washed, dried, and PUT AWAY immediately after each use.
After her nap, Melissa also managed to learn the hard way about jumping on the couch. She had been warned numerous times that couches are for sitting. This time I could not catch her quick enough. I saw her perched on the back of the couch. Then I saw her jump into the air, do at least a half flip, before bouncing off the seat of the couch on her way down. I got there just as she landed hard on the back of her HEAD on the floor. A brief silence was followed by ear-spitting screams. Concerned that she might have seriously injured her back or neck, I did not pick her up, but made her get up and come to me. Which, thankfully, she was able to do with no problems. She cried on my lap for what seemed like forever before getting up and running off happily. She has seemed fine since, though I suspect there will be a bruise somewhere.
Melissa does have a few new tricks. She has recently mastered stripping down to her diaper and running around the house inspite of our encouraging her to stay clothed. Two nights ago she woke up crying in the night: naked except for her diaper and freezing cold. I HAD to laugh. It was just too funny. What does she expect will happen when she takes off her clothes and her blankets? I explained that clothes keep you warm and she has not repeated that performence since. She also can help me put clothes into the washing machine and also will help hang them on the line. After hanging clothes this afternoon I said, "now we are going to go do some cooking". The baboo grinned and said "cookie, cookie!"
"Uh-oh, I don't have any cookies," but off to the kitchen we went: the baboo saying what sounded like "me wanna cookie, cookie, cookie". Her first almost understandable sentence! Melissa did manage to forget about "cookie" when she saw an apple. Her chant changed to "appo, appo, appo." She crumbled some crackers while I peeled and sliced the apple for her.
Michael decided he wanted to be up and eating too, so I put him in his high chair. Since we had a really ripe banana, I tried him on that. He was all excited until it got to his mouth. Michael's reaction to banana was identical to Melissa's at the same age. He made an awful face and spit the banana right out. I tried giving him 3 bites of banana and when I got the same reaction each time, I gave up and fed him some rice cereal. That he ate happily, grinning all the while. Suddenly, I heard a gagging, choking sound: Melissa had stuffed multiple pieces of apple into her mouth and seemed to be chokinng. Her face was red. I said, courtesy of 1st aid courses galore, "Melissa, are you o.k.? Melissa can you talk?" Melissa looked at me, grew redder, swallowed hard, waved her hand, and said calmly "hello". She was fine, but that makes the fourth narrow escape she's had today from a trip to the ER.
I must go, as Michael is awake now and I hear what sounds like Melissa pounding the keyboard in the other room with a heavy object.
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