Ivo Analogy

Ivo is enjoying having Grammie Gail here. Usually he calls he "Grammie" yet he often refers to her as "Gail." I think he's under a bit of stress as he's living in a state of promises coming to fruition... If Grammie's here, could the baby be far behind?

His vocabulary is exploding! Ivo can almost say anything he wants to say... He at least can repeat it. His pronunciation is good - but I usually know what the context is... Yesterday he said: fast (sounded like fat) - fast for the hot wheel cars (which he also says: "Hot...WHEEls"), porkchop, school park, "I drumming booby," play tennis... MORE SOON

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Yesterday was Ryan's last day at work til Feb 26th. Yay! Ivo's been missing him, too. He understands Papa's at school/work/teaching the kids, but he's like Papa to "stay in the home."

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So here's the grown-up analogy to Ivo's situation: Listen, Sweetie. I'm gonna be bringing home another wife. I can't tell you exactly when - but don't you worry. It'll be great. It'll be good for all of us. You guys'll probably be best friends - what I mean is, you'll love her too! And don't think for a minute that having her here will change my feelings for you. Hey, I love you- I always will. Now, let's see if we can get rid of some of your stuff to make some room for her clothes...

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It's Wednesday now - 15 days til Baby Burl is due - 8 days til 39 weeks which is when Ivo arrived...

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We have been super busy. Gail keeps saying she's not doing anything - but anyone who knows Gail - knows that's a) ridiculous b) impossible c) delusional d) polite e) all of the above.

Over the past 4 days, we've been to parks, play spaces, successful and unsuccessful shopping excursions of varying ambitiousness(es), she has single-handedly separated and sorted my weight in baby clothes - and helped me get rid of stuff, cooked, read books, played, washed dishes, cleaned kitchen - bathrooms - the tea kettle!!!

And all this while pretty successfully, though not entirely, managing to avoid being photographed! Don't forget the jet-lag!

Also, she's messing with Ryan a bit - which is always fun! On Monday morning before work, she mused that "this baby's coming - Sandy's getting ready to have this baby..." Ryan had trouble swallowing his coffee. And despite assurances that Gail meant this in a more general way - a not so much today-way, let's just say that the arrow hit the target!

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Ivo got hit by a bicycle on Monday at the playground near our house. And I didn't kill anyone - I'm not even charged with any crime and don't see incarceration as a real likelihood. Obviously, it wasn't too bad - but super scarey AND stoopid cuz he was also running around with 2 pieces of bamboo drumming on stuff. The 12 year old kid on a too-big bike had mostly stopped and was able to lay the bike down without running into/over Ivo. The only problem was that he laid the bike down with the front tire ON Ivo's head.

I'm viewing this as a great lesson/warning - about traffic, cell-phones, running with sticks... I'm taking it as an opportunity - a protective learning experience that will save us from something worse. Prophylactic?

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Yesterday, after playing in the park and a nap, Dylan and Heather came over. Those pics (and Tues) are at the top. The rest are from Monday. Ivo standing under the red archway - he's pretending it's raining! He invented this game - he says, "oh no - raining!" And puts his hands over his head - and expects you to cover up as well. A pillow, book or your arms will do.

I think that sums stuff up.