August 21, 2010

11:00 pm—This day was a blur, too. We spent the day recuperating from yesterday’s frenzy. I took a midday nap with Max, but his nap lasted about four hours longer than mine.

After Max’s nap we went to Mimi and Grandpa’s to play in the gigantic inflatable jumper and slide that we rented for his birthday. After I got sweaty and eaten alive by bugs, I went into Mimi and Grandpa’s shop to cool off. I noticed that the little fellow hadn’t even opened two of our presents for his birthday. He also hadn’t opened his birthday cards from Granny and uncle Larry.

Honestly, folks were too generous. Our little buddy tuckered out last night while opening his presents and eventually just gave up. We sincerely appreciate the fact that gifts overwhelmed our favorite little fellow and were beyond his energy. Maybe if he hadn’t enjoyed his inflatable jumper and slide so much, he’d have had more energy for opening presents.

There were so many people who came to celebrate Max’s second birthday. I don’t have an exact tally, but I believe we enjoyed over fifty guests. Aunt Mary, who traveled with her daughter, Bridget, all the way from South Georgia, brought a stack of birthday cards from our family down there. Mary and Bridget went back home today, so they made a five hundred-mile roundtrip just to attend Max’s party. That was so nice of them and we’ll never forget it. And speaking of friends from afar, Max even received a nice present from our friends Carol and Bruce in Hartwell, Georgia.

Max had a farm-themed party. We came up with this idea because the little fellow loves ducks so much. To go along with the party’s theme, there was fried chicken, green beans, mac and cheese, coleslaw, potato salad, and corn. There were two cakes, though, sadly, our regular baker, Evelyn Bowler, was too busy to bake one of her extra-special cakes. Fortunately, Sam Walton wasn’t too busy—and he was close. Granny made homemade ice cream, but because there were so many guests, we had to augment her supply with five cartons of Mayfield.

We’ll share images from the party in the coming days. There might be one or two batches to finish before Baybay’s birthday images.

Becky and I are about to look at the images from yesterday and today, and then we’ll scoop up Mr Max and take him to bed with us.

August 19, 2010

11:37 pm—I caught up with Grandpa and Max this morning at the mall. They went to Bojangles for breakfast and to see the ducks, and then Grandpa kept the little fellow while I ran an errand. When I got home, it was time to give Max a bottle and put him down for his nap.

Becky came home late from school because she was preparing for Curriculum Night. She got to see Mr Baybay Man for a short while before heading back to the grindstone until nearly 9:00 pm.

Baybay and I had a pretty good time. I consider myself lucky to have seen only a couple of hints of a tantrum during the evening and never the full-blown deal. Max and I watched Barney both upstairs from our bed and downstairs on my iPhone. Our only non-Barney-watching activity was exploring all our junk in the laundry room. He enjoyed banging our feeder funnel on the big tin can of black oil sunflower seed. I winced every time he banged the funnel, and that seemed to encourage him to beat harder.

Becky came home and gave the little fellow a bath, played with him a bit, and then we put him in his bed so he’d go to sleep. We’ll scoop him up when he head to bed in a few minutes, and when we awake, it’ll be our favorite little buddy’s second birthday.

Becky took the day off from school tomorrow and we’re looking forward to a fun-filled day.

August 18, 2010

10:06 pm—As usual, Max, Grandpa, and I made our laps at the mall this morning, they went to Bojangles for breakfast, and then went to visit the ducks at the Wigleys’ pond.

When Max came home I gave him a small bottle of chocolate milk and put on a Barney video. He watched less than half of the video before tugging at me to go play in the living room with him. I fed him some lunch, gave him another bottle, and he fell asleep while drinking it. Today’s nap lasted close to five hours.

Becky came home late, woke the little fellow, and played with him for a short while before we took him to Granny’s. Granny kept Max while Becky and I went to Chili’s for dinner.

While at Granny’s Grandpa called to find his favorite golf cart buddy. And right after we arrived home Mimi and Grandpa came to get our little buddy for his ride. After their ride Grandpa called to asked if they could keep him again tonight. Becky agreed and now we ain’t got no Baybay.

I guess I’ll have to wait until in the morning to get a little face time with Mr Max.

August 16, 2010

8:06 pm—Grandpa said Max slept well last night. I caught up with Grandpa, Max, and Mimi at the mall this morning. Mimi and Grandpa took turns strolling Max and holding his finger during their walk. Grandpa and Max went to Bojangles for breakfast after their walk. I don’t know if Mimi joined them, but Grandpa said Max got a little bit noisy at the restaurant.

When the little fellow came home, he had six dollars neatly folded in the front pocket of his cute new overalls. Grandpa put it there to pay for Max’s admission to Monkey Joe’s. That was so cute!

So I took Max to Monkey Joe’s this morning and he had a blast. He spent more time in the toddler area playing with toys the same as or similar to the toys we have at home. He slid on the Mickey Mouse Clubhouse slide only six or seven times, which is about a hundred fewer times than on our previous visits to Monkey Joe’s. I think he just didn’t have the energy that he normally has, and I believe that has to do with his spending the night with Mimi and Grandpa last night. The little fellow sleeps better when he’s at home.

He and Becky are upstairs right now getting a bath, and I’m writing this a little early so I can be ready for our Barney party. Getting a bath in Becky’s big garden tub is a new experience for Max, and he has big fun playing with his bath toys and having his mama right there to play with him.

The look and format of this blog is going to change on Friday, which is Max’s birthday. We’re going to begin using the WordPress blogging and content management platform. Since ‘98 I’ve mostly used BBEdit to manually write the markup for these pages, and now that the site is growing I think we need to move to a dedicated system. In a perfect world I’d move all of our old content into the new format, but I just don’t have the time or inclination to do all of the required work. These pages will still be available as is until I find some cheap labor to copy and paste each of our old entries into the new database.

August 14, 2010

9:49 pm—(Posted by Becky)—Max went walking with Daddy, Mimi, Miss Renae, and Grandpa this morning. Then Max and Grandpa went to Bojangles and I met them there. Max and I had to leave early to get to our Gymboree class. Because of Max’s age he’s been moved up to another class that starts earlier.

Max behaved well at Gymboree today until the end of class. I had to take something away from him and things went south. We had to leave before class was over. When we got home Max had lunch and then took a five-hour nap this afternoon.

While Max was asleep this afternoon Grandpa and I decorated the shop for Max’s party. We almost have it finished and we’re excited about how it looks. I can’t believe my baby is turning two on Friday.

We went to Mimi and Grandpa’s for dinner. After dinner Mimi and I took Max on a ride to see the ducks. Then Max and I came home to get a bath. Jaddie and Max are having a Barney party right now, and soon we plan to turn in for the night.

August 12, 2010

9:25 pm—Baybay is crashing with Mimi and Grandpa tonight. We believe he’s teething again. He’s drooling and has been prone to tantrums today and yesterday.

The little fellow slept with us last night, and when Becky got up to go to work this morning, he didn’t even wake up. Then I got up and made an iTunes playlist for this morning’s walk, and he still didn’t wake up. I finally woke him at 7:40 so we could go walk with Grandpa.

Max and I played for about an hour this morning before I fed him lunch and let him watch Barney and Bob the Builder. Then he got a bottle and went down for his nap, which lasted for about four-and-a-half hours.

He was in a good mood when he awoke from his nap, but that didn’t last long. He ended up serving a couple of stints in timeout before Grandpa came on his golf cart to get Becky and him for dinner.

Grandpa brought them back and Becky bathed the little fellow in her tub. Then he grabbed my finger and led me upstairs to the spare bedroom to play with some little things that were scattered on the floor. He got bored with that stuff, opened a drawer and pulled out a new box of crayons. We took those away from him and he didn’t like that one bit. Then he opened the same drawer and pulled out a new box of colored pencils. We took those away from him, too, and he let us know in very clear terms that he wasn’t pleased.

Neither Becky nor I complained about his staying with Mimi and Grandpa tonight, but I’m still looking forward to seeing the little fellow first thing in the morning.

August 10, 2010

10:02 pm—Max had a very good day today aside from a couple of meltdowns. He awoke about 7:00 am, got a fresh dipe, bottle, and, at first, some cartoons. He wasn’t happy with the cartoons, so I turned on Barney, and that made him happy—until we left to go to the mall for our walk. I took something away from the little fellow (I forget the item) as we were leaving and he melted down.

He was fine on his walk with Mimi and Grandpa, though, and Grandpa said he was fine all through breakfast at Bojangles, too. Baybay stayed with Grandpa until I returned from running an errand.

I put Max down for his nap shortly before noon, and he slept until a few minutes after 4:00. Granny, Becky, Max, and I went to see my uncle Larry because today is Larry’s seventy-first birthday. There were a lot of folks at Larry’s to wish him happy birthday, and Max charmed them all.

When we got home, Grandpa phoned to see if Baybay could go with him and Mimi and neighbors Stephen and Dale on the golf cart to visit the ducks. Becky let the little fellow go and that’s the last time we saw him today. Grandpa hoodooed us into parting with Max for rest of the night.

We received Max’s second-year photobook today, and we’re delighted with its quality and overall presentation value. We’re looking forward to sharing the book with the rest of the family at Max’s birthday party on August 20.

August 8, 2010

10:33 pm—(Posted by Becky)—I woke to “Mama, Mama,” this morning, and it was a sweet sound! Max was a great bedfellow last night. We love having our lil’ fellow camped between us.

After “goo” (milk), a fresh dipe, and ’toons, we headed to Granny’s for breakfast. Max was happy to see Granny this morning. He’s seen Granny for two days in a row. While there we were able to get him to eat an egg now and then in between Cheetos. He ate the eggs better when we gave him a big spoon and let him eat from the bowl. When we left Granny’s Max was ready for his afternoon nap. He napped for five hours.

We had a ball playing when Max got up. We played with blocks, George, and even Play-Doh. I was surprised by how well Max was able to mold the Play-Doh. One thing lil’ fellow is into right now is falling and rolling on the floor. He’s also talking up a storm. If you ask him how old he’s going to be, he says, “two,” in the cutest little voice. I can’t believe my lil’ boy is going to be two in less than two weeks.

Mimi and Grandpa came and got Mr Max tonight. He’s hanging his hat with them tonight. We already miss him.

August 6, 2010

10:09 pm—Mr Baybay Man had a fine day today. He slept with Becky and me last night, got up for a bottle, fresh dipe, and cartoons, and went to the mall, Bojangles, and to see the ducks—all before 10:00 am.

Grandpa patched a hole in our driveway this morning, and then looked after the little fellow while I went across town to pick up a new bite guard for my teeth. Becky wears one, too, but apparently she doesn’t gnash her teeth as much as I do; I gnawed right through my old one. (With words like gnash and gnaw, how does one ever learn to spell well?)

Becky came home late from school today. She was busy preparing for her students’ first day back on Monday. She trekked to Costco and got us some pizza and yogurt. Maxiboy loved both, as did I.

After dinner the three of us piled up in our bed for a Barney party. Then Becky gave Max a bath in her garden tub, and he loved that. I dried him off and put him back in the diaper business, Becky read him one or more stories, and put him to bed.

We’re busy with our bedtime routines and will scoop up our favorite little fellow on our way to bed.

There are just two weeks left before our big hoedown. Mr Max will be two whole years old. When we ask him how old he’s going to be, he says, “Two.”

August 4, 2010

8:46 pm—Grandpa said Max slept in the bed with them last night and did quite well. I met them this morning for our walk, and they went to Bojangles afterward. Mimi and Grandpa kept Max until 12:30 today because our housekeeper was here and I had some errands to run. When Max came home, he was ready for his bottle and a nap.

He napped nearly five hours, got up in a great mood, played for a short while, and then went back to Mimi and Grandpa’s. The little fellow is staying with Mimi while Grandpa and Becky have dinner at O’Charley’s.

They’ll be home in a few minutes and Becky and I want to have a Barney party with our Baybay Man. (Hopefully Grandpa won’t con Becky out of Max’s company tonight.)

Becky said her first day back at school went well. Her school is having Open House tomorrow, which means Becky’ll meet the parents and fill them in on all the pertinent details of journeying through second grade at Ivy Creek.

Ah, Grandpa just brought Becky and Max back home. I printed and trimmed a handout for Becky, and she and Max already have Barney underway upstairs. I’m about to join them.

August 2, 2010

11:07 pm—Little Baybay Man slept right under me last night. I couldn’t turn over during the whole night without first sliding the little fellow toward Becky. It’s a sure thing that my little buddy loves me. He must have given me at least twenty-five hugs today. He now calls me “Daddy” almost as often as “Da-Da.”

When he has a soiled diaper, whether wet or dirty, he says, “I pee. I pee.” Yesterday he did that when he had a number-two. As Becky and I cleaned him up, he repeated himself. We told him that he “poohed.” He picked up on that right away and enjoyed saying “I poo. I poo.” over and over. Even when he’s carrying a load in his dipe, he’s still one endearing little fellow.

Baybay went walking with Grandpa this morning. Mimi joined them and pushed the stroller while Grandpa held Max’s hand. The three of them went to Bojangles for breakfast and gave Miss Joyce an invitation to Max’s birthday party.

Grandpa and Max brought Becky a biscuit for breakfast and then headed toward the Wigleys’ pond to visit the ducks. Baybay played for a while when he got home before getting a bottle, watching Barney with me, and settling down for a five-hour nap.

We were all saddened to learn that Mimi’s recent trip to Emory Healthcare didn’t bear fruit. She met with a top-ranked physician regarding her debilitating joint pain. Mimi’s doing much better now. Whatever it is that wreaks such havoc on her body has now pretty much left her alone. That’s probably why her blood tests didn’t show any clear indicators of any identifiable, and therefore treatable, conditions. We hope her pain never returns, but if it should, then we hope its roots are present in her blood and are identified and treated. We know this is a frustrating experience.

Back when I had my first abscess, my doctor said I had a fifty- to sixty-percent chance of having it return. He was right: the abscess returned. Twice. I suffered with two recurrences before a solution was effected. Caring for and worrying about those abscesses was a miserable experience, so I feel for Mimi and Grandpa as they grapple with what remains unidentifiable.

Becky and Grandpa went out to buy a new shredder late this afternoon, and Max and I played in the living room floor while they were gone. When Becky returned, I left home to get a manicure. Max gave me a gift certificate for a manicure for Father’s Day in 2009, and it took me until just now to use it. ’Twas nice to be pampered. I asked the nail technician about my dry cuticles and she advised olive oil. When I figure out how to put olive oil on my cuticles without making a mess of everything I touch, I’ll take her advice.

Baybay watched Barney’s Colorful World almost twice tonight. Becky watched it with him for half an hour or so, and then I took over while she got a bath. She gave him a fresh dipe and put him to bed so I could write this, and as soon as we get our bedtime routines done, we’ll scoop up our little fellow and let him sleep with us again tonight.