Newfangled Dad

This time next week, a small army of grandmas will be storming into town. Ok, so maybe it's just two of them. And maybe it's more like they'll be quietly arriving by car and bus. But that's a lot of grandma firepower to bring to the weekend. You see, we're going out of town. Kelly and me. No kids. It started as a week in London, but gradually transformed from wine country to New Orleans to the Oregon coast and settled on rural northern Wisconsin. It's fall. There are wineries. And sheep farms. And kayaking. And lighthouses. It's going to be very, very nice to get away. The grandmas, on the other hand, were unsure about single-person grandparenting both kids. That seemed like a lot. And we don't blame them...good luck with Leda, lately! So they're staying and taking Cole to school and fixing their snacks and probably spoiling them rotten. And that means it now becomes a monumental task for us to prepare them for their task. Not just visiting. But...

So much to write about; so many things happening these days! And the last few posts have been getting some good hits so you all must be hanging on every word I say, right? Cole is getting conversational finally and really engages in elaborate discussions with you now...frequently about trucks, truck color, where a truck may be, what a truck might be doing, when a truck may come back. Leda has been talking as well. Not just baby talk, but expressing her wishes with "up" to get in chairs. Asking for a bath...all the time. The kid would take 3 a day if we let her. She's started copying her brother and, (Look, your baby sister does it! Why can't you?!) The visit with my mom was wonderful and he was very sad to see her return home. We've been trying to ease the pain with promises of a trip to Kelly's mom in Minnesota for Mother's Day weekend. There will be sheep involved so "sheeps" are currently on the radar. Especially in light of Kelly bringi...

Cole has been using the 4 (yes, 4) large boxes--sent by my mother ahead of her visit--as a fort all this week. We're down to 3 now, actually, because one of them is a gift for Leda that was taken to the basement for assembly. One of them is marked "fragile" but I'm hoping not-so-much because it's been loved a little hard. Parents like grandparents, too. They watch the kids so you can go take a tour of the gym you're thinking about joining without having to drag the kids along. Nobody wants to wheel a stroller onto the pool deck or into the locker room or keep toddlers busy while discussing membership rates. They give you a welcome excuse to finally use the extra passes that came with your zoo membership. They babysit so you can go on a date night. (Mmmm, margaritas!) If all this sounds spoiled, it maybe is a bit...but it's well-deserved. Most of the grandparents are a day's drive away. Visits are infrequent. It's nice to have them as specia...