J's Girlfriend

Yes, it has happened. My little soon-to-be 16-month old son has selected a girlfriend. She is an older woman (nearly 18 months old, in fact), and she is very pretty and smart. Her name is Amy.

Today, J and Amy had a playdate. J was most irritable, and refused to nap. He fussed and carried on. He threw things and wouldn't listen. Eventually, we women took the babies out in the strollers while the men worked on renovations in the basement. J nodded off for about an hour or so in his stroller. It wasn't long enough. He continued to fuss and carry on, adding a bit of freaking-out into the mix.

But when we left, he cheered up, and he kissed Amy goodbye. We didn't ask him to; it was voluntary. He doesn't even kiss us. Only our cats. And now, Amy. Pleased with himself, he continued to give Amy kisses until we left. She smiled happily as J kissed her. It was the cutest!

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Amy is a very smart little girl. She does baby sign, and she has a set of flashcards that she plays with. She keeps them in a red bucket. We were hanging out in her room. She was calmly running her flashcards and playing with her books. She turned to me and baby-signed, explaining to me that she had seen a pig the other day. And then she returned to her flashcards, looking at pictures of peas and beans, of pigs and ducks.

Meanwhile, J grabbed all the cards, threw them on the floor, stomped around on them for a bit, then put the red bucket on his head and started slamming his head into the doorjamb. All I could think of was that scene in "Parenthood", and the line "You must be very proud". Clearly, J and Amy have very different personalities.

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H learned to frame walls today. He is pleased with his accomplishment. J destroyed a perfectly good white t-shirt of mine today when he threw blackberries at me. I am less than impressed.

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Last night, we had friends over for a BBQ. I was happy. People seemed to have a nice time. I had fun. It was all good. J hadn't napped during the day and he was exhausted, so I had to go in and try to cuddle him down while people were still here visiting out on our deck. I was sad that I missed out on some of the fun, but that's how it is when you have a little one. My attempts were in vain, and after folks had gone home, we still had to take J out for a drive to get him to calm down and fall asleep.

But while they were here, it was all good. We hung out in the backyard. We took the kids to the playground. I got to give Izzy a piggyback ride on the way back, and we had a lovely conversation. (She's a sweetie!) The kids tried to climb up the mountain that we fondly call "the backyard".

I love my friends!

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Early birthday presents:

1. Really cool business card holder from L&P. (I got my cards the day before, which was a really cool coincidence!)
   
2. "The Notebook" on DVD from L&M. (I haven't seen it, and I want to. We'll be watching it soon; probably tomorrow.) And movie certificates! For an evening out! I can't wait!!
   
3. MP3 player from H. (It's way small, and way purple. And I love it way much! The girls at work all tend to listen to their MP3 players while working on their files, and now I can too. YESSSS!)

Thanks guys!