Friday, July 23, 2010

Slowing Down

That's what we've been doing lately. 

I am ginormous and glacier-like in my movement, while Andrew is tiny and lightning-fast.  This does not a good combo make.  Plus, it's been hot as blue blazes day in and day out.  So, we've been spending as much time as possible at the baby pool, where he can run around crazy and splash and jump, and I can float and watch and rest my aching back. 

When we're not at the pool, we're pretty much always at home.  Where we do things that revolve around me being able to maintain a sitting position, like

-dumping out a Gatorade jug of coins and feeding the coins back in through a slit cut in the top

-trying on Daddy's socks
-and shoes
-stacking tubs of wipes like giant blocks and then knocking them over

-putting all the pieces of 2 puzzles on one side of the room and the puzzle frames on the other side and having the little guy run back and forth to do the puzzles

-unpacking and repacking the contents of my purse

-eating posicles in the bathtub when a summer cold strikes
-watching nursery rhyme videos on youtube

-singing songs with lots of hand motions

-playing peekaboo with a blanket and various body parts (Wheeeeeeere's Andrew's finger?  Oh, look!  There it is!)

-practicing picture/letter flashcards

-sorting all the Legos by color

-learning to say "Rooooooollllllll Tide!" with hand motions

-dragging the vacuum and umbrellas and Swiffers out of the closet and pushing them around the house

-reading book after book, and then when they're all read up, just using them as springboards for conversation: (do you see trees on this page?  do you see the color blue on this page?)

-putting the faucet on to drip and letting the little guy drink water, spoonful by spoonful

Care to join us in our magnificently thrilling everyday life?  :)

But slowing down is good.  My boy and I are savoring the last of this sweet one-on-one time.  I don't think he has any real notion of how his world is about to be rocked, but somehow--some way--he seems to know that change is in the air.  Lately, he's taken to nuzzling into my tummy or neck, and repeating "baby...baby...baby."  As if to say, "I'm still your baby, too, Mama." 

Yes, you are, my son.  Yes, you are.

4 comments:

Jamie Helms said...

Tears are rolling down my cheeks. :) Savor these special moments of Andrew-only time. I love you, E!

Golden Gate Fam said...

I love him wearing Daddy's socks! So cute!

Aunt betty said...

Elizabeth one thing I did for Joseph when I went to the hospital to have Barbara was to leave little daily gifts for him that his Daddy would give him in the morning. they were not much but instead of him waking up missing me he awoke thrilled that he had a little something from Mommy. They were not much of anything, a roll of lifesavers, a book etc. I think it helped to put a good spin on the baby coming and taking Mommy away from him for a week. We also only refered to the baby as his baby and then of course when we had her and knew she was a girl we refered to her as his baby sister. This all worked so well that when Joe would bring Joseph to the hospital every afternoon he would cry when leaving wanting to take his baby home! It appeared that it was fine for me to be gone. Haha. Hang in there and your Mommy will be there soon. Love to you all

Julie said...

You said it beautifully! Something tells me that Andrew's world will be rocked in a very good way very, very soon!