The Mice Will Play

It has become old hat to have Helena all to myself for several days or more. We always have an absolute blast and it’s always very easy. This past week however, while the “cat” was away for work there were three mice left to play instead of just the usual two. While I am super thankful for Christine being back home, I am also impressed at just how well the three of us got along. We did get some help at bedtime from my parents a couple nights, which was invaluable, but we also had a lot of time to ourselves and we found out that we can have a lot of fun.

Most of the fun happen on the weekend, which is what weekends are supposed to be. We got off to a little bit of a rocky start with me only getting a couple hours sleep the first night, but Callen settled in the next three and Helena and I had slumber parties so his crying wouldn’t keep her awake.

No weekend around here right now is complete, or can even begin, without stopping by the new house to see how they are doing. We were not disappointed to see our foundation already poured and the waterproofing beginning. Okay, maybe we were a little disappointed that they hadn’t started framing. But it probably won’t be too much longer before we really start seeing some progress.

Saturday started with French toast and a nap. The French toast was a first for Callen who all of a sudden this week has decided he might actually be willing to eat finger foods. He had already started eating peas, peaches, and meatballs at school this week and I thought I might try to keep the new foods rolling with some French toast. It was by far the most of any kind of toast he has ever eaten in a single sitting.

After breakfast (and the nap) we assembled the bike carrier that I got from a coworker (for free) and we took a nice bike ride around the neighborhood.  I was pretty sure that he was really enjoying himself, but he was mostly quiet and seemed to be taking it all in.

Going inside it is no fun so we decided to grab a couple of balls and play around in the shade in the front yard. There is something nice about being outside. Especially when you’ve spent far too much time playing with the same toys inside. He had a pretty fun time exploring the grass and the leaves in his Indiana Jones hat.

We followed that up with an excellent lunch in which he got to try his first Oreo. I wasn’t supposed to tell mom, but boy did he really like that. This is an interesting development for a boy who would not even touch his birthday cake a little over a month ago. He was seriously rocking the sign language for “more” after his first suspect bite. As you can see he was sporting a little bit of an Oreo mustache and goatee.  While I do like his new haircut, I don’t think I am ready for facial hair from this boy yet.

Whenever we did that morning, it clearly tired him out because he took a two hour nap after lunch, which unfortunately delayed our trip to my sister’s pool. Or maybe not that unfortunate because he had lots of energy and spent a solid hour and a half in the pool. I would say his smile never dimmed below what my sister captured below. I’m pretty sure he will like the water just as much as his sister if our most recent pool and lake experiences are any indication. Of course, as long as you have a ball or two, this kid will be happy just about anywhere. That is at least one area (of probably many) where he takes after his father, whose first word was also ball.