Actually, I got the first treat: sleeping until **10:20** AM! More proof that you can never, ever turn a true night person into a morning person. Plus I'm shaking off days in a row of exceptionally poor sleep, especially last Friday when I had one of the worst stomach days I've had in weeks. I finally took some codeine late in the day, and it mercifully made me groggy until well into Saturday. Thanks for the sleep boost, Dad.
After I finally got up this morning, I kicked into gear and made a big bang-up breakfast. Then we gave Dave his Father's Day presents, which were a scrapbook page I made of his Rallycross weekend, and a pair of studio photos of me and the boys wearing their father's shirt, for his office. (Dave wore this blue plaid shirt the day Gabriel was born, then put it on for Julian's birth, and wears it on their birthdays.) He didn't say much, but I think he liked it.
Then, of course, the best Father's Day present: some time off! It's been hot this weekend, so I took the boys to the fountains in Los Gatos.
Last year, it took some coaxing to get Julian into the water spurts, when he had just barely started walking. This year, he wouldn't go near them! He was quite content to sit in the shade and watch all the other kids, including many much younger than he is, zoom through the fountains. (Note the ever-present crossed feet: am I the only one who thinks this habit is relentlessly adorable?)
Gabriel has never had any issues with water and wasted no time running like mad through the fountains and getting soaking wet. I had fun chasing him around and going through myself too, once again one of the very few grownups willing to get wet (odd since it really has been hot today!).
Gabriel got cold after a while and then was content to sit wrapped in a towel and have an apple snack with his timid brother.
Driving to Los Gatos was the first test run of having the boys sit right next to each other in carseats. This could be the downfall of our plan to keep the Outback: fighting. They did start in at one point, but I managed to control it with very stern and very sincere warnings. It seems to help if I follow it up with a very horrified-sounding voice about how dangerous it is to fight while I'm driving. Certainly Julian takes it seriously.
I remember Dad (my Dad) turning around to whack me on the head while he was driving when I was a kid, and those visions come to mind when I think about how mad I'll get if they fight (mostly, Gabriel hurting Julian while he's helpless). But I also remember how much I hated that, and that mostly it made me resentful and not think at all about whatever offense I committed. I wonder what I did to deserve that; I know it wasn't from fighting (Ronan always sat next to me and I didn't physically fight with him much). Still, if there's one thing you learn from being a parent, it's that others never know the whole story, so I've learned to be a lot less judgmental of other parents. Even mine. Seems fitting on Father's Day!
Gabriel and Julian spent a lot of time with Dad this morning, helping him wash his car as I slept in. It's especially a big treat to get to hold the hose. Then when we got home from the fountains, Gabriel rushed to help Dave with yardwork (the boys absolutely love their time with Dad in the yard) while I coaxed a reluctant Julian upstairs for his nap. Then, guess what I did -- I took a nap! When I woke up, I found Gabriel and Dave snuggled up together on the couch, also napping. Nothing like a family-wide afternoon nap on Father's Day!
6/18/06
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