10/8/07 The Code

A productive child-free morning for me, perhaps since I didn't go running first thing and wipe myself out. I had to wait for a house appraiser for our remodel line-of-credit loan, so got all sorts of Official Office Ordering done. Then I went for a short run, which turned into a sprint as I saw how late I was going to be to pick up Julian! In the end, only 8 minutes late, but these days, I try really really hard never to be late.

I made the mecca to Trader Joe's after picking up the younger two. Julian was very proud of himself helping me at TJ's, so I extended the honor by letting him help me unpack groceries. Hey, I might be on to something here!


Of course, bothering Katrina by putting toys in her face and then snatching them away is daily-required S.O.P.


We picked Gabriel up from school, and then the boys played together all afternoon, for hours outside. After Katrina's nap, she joined them, she wasn't sure what to make of this last streak of sunlight I stuck her in as a photographic lark. Speaking of larks, she was actually looking for birds.


Meanwhile, the boys had been occupied spinning the wheels on Julian's bicycle for at least half an hour. They'd seen Dave do this, looking for the master link, and even took turns on each side of the bicycle.

Katrina found this very amusing....


...and tried to get in on the action. That was far less amusing, as I imagined the spinning spokes ripping off her tiny fingers. Mom moved fast after seeing her lunge joyfully for the wheel in the camera screen.


I moved her to the front wheel, where the main hazard was the bike falling over on her. Yeah, not the safest baby play, but I couldn't resist the moment, with all three of them playing with the same thing. To think about the effort people go through to babyproof a house. Windows? Stairs? Sharp edges? Pshaw! How about brothers and spinning bicycle wheels and a mom who looks blithely on? OK, I removed her from the situation a few moments later.


Julian succeeds in their quest for the master link, while Katrina looks on and tries to participate.



Katrina was no fun at "dinner" once again. Offers of food were met only with an irritated hand wave and push-away. Not holding her, not taking her outside, not sitting down (heaven FORBID she sit in the nice handy convenient back-saving high chair), not favorite foods, not new ones, nothing. Not one bite of dinner for baby. Cumulatively, that means nothing, but in a particular evening, a hungry 12-month-old makes for a major bummer, dude. I was very, very happy to see her go to bed.

Meantime, Dave found something he thought, correctly, was right up Gabriel's alley. Today's Wall Street Journal "column 4" article (usually a human-interest story) was about someone who's trying to keep Morse Code alive. The headline was in Morse Code, and Dave explained it to Gabriel. Then, Dave printed out a translation sheet for Gabriel, and set him about the task of writing out the regular (er, duh, what is the right way to describe our alphabet...?) letters. Which he did, with great enthusiasm.


Then Gabriel wanted to write his own message in Morse Code, and did so! It's hard to tell what he wrote; something about asking a question "do you like carrots well?"



Another spectacular Indian-Summery sort of day here. Much cooler here than in Chicago, where the Chicago Marathon was cancelled yesterday halfway through the race due to excessive heat. One person died, and numerous others taken to the emergency room. I can't imagine having that much determination to keep running when my body is on the verge of collapse. Oh wait, isn't that what motherhood is all about?

10/8/07