Entourage

Once upon a time Harry slept with a washcloth. Then there was Snoedel. Then he found a quilt his "Grandma from Chago" gave him, so there was "NooNoo and Blankie". Then he got "Baby" the week after Christmas, 2005. He found Sam in his room one day. Sam, named after Franklin's dog. By then they were "His guys". Teddy, a bear that came in a back pack, was added a couple of months ago. They were still his "guys" though he sometimes struggled to carry them all in one trip. For the past week he has intermingled a Smithsonian Panda. Tae Shan (sp?), Mickey Mouse, and "Fox." It's officially an entourage.

A Pop Culture Reference of His Own

We often make fun of Harry because he misses many pop culture references. For instance, if you make shark music in the water (think Jaws) it does nothing for him. If you call him Bozo (not that we have, I'm just at a loss for good examples) he doesn't know Bozo is a clown. Anyway, if you hang out with us, you would know of some good examples, too. You may have even pulled a couple over on him. Whatever. He's good natured about it. Of course, he would get whatever, because Lightning McQueen says whatever.
Tonight, though, we have been preparing Harry to go to Wolf Trap to see Bill Cosby tomorrow.
Kind of hard since he doesn't know what a comedian is. Never saw The Cosby Show. T, for Temple U! is just a crazy song Mommy sings at bedtime... but, LITTLE BILL! Harry knows LITTLE BILL! We're going to see "the guy who wrote Little Bill!". He's downstairs now reading his Little Bill books.

Bottle Cap Fact #525

Harrison can spot a taxi cab of any shape, size or color from 9 blocks away.

Hand sanitizer should not be consumed.

A friend sent me an email about little kids accidentally getting drunk off of Purell, etc. Not a joke.

Bottle Cap Fact #523

Harry McDermott of Alexandria is possibly the only person I know who gets more excited about pullthroughs than his mom.

Happy Father's Day - pt. 3

So another sticky Sunday in DC, but today was Dad's day.

Pop-pop was still in town from Saturday's visit, so he, Bailey, Harry & Kim welcomed me at the breakfast table today with fresh coffee and Shrek Eggo waffles (my own waffle notwithstanding, as I had bought them yesterday after staring at the frozen section of Harris Teeter for about 15 minutes, then convincing myself that they were indeed the only mini-waffles that weren't some kind of butter/maple/chocolate-coated... turns out they were in fact nothing like what I expected, but still tasty).

Some new reading material, tickets to see uber-dad Bill Cosby in concert in a few weeks, and various sundries, and it was off to Old Town for a nice morning walk with a fresh Starbucks to get things going. As usual, we spent a while at Harry's favorite spot in town, the pavillion stage in Market Square. Followed by a nice stroll down on the water, across waterfront park to visit one of the pirate ships from the previous night's Tall Ships parade, and then hit the pool!

As previously noted, I'm all for the pool membership. Mostly because it never fails to exhasut the little man. On cue he fell fast asleep on the ride home. So much so that there was NO n notice of the trip in the house and subsequent wardrobe change until after he woke up.

Pizza dinner courtesy of Mom & Les' favorite mail-order deep-dish, and another quick view of Dumbo, and off to bed.

I won't get into how much of yesterday's Little Gym show I missed because I got stuck on a conference call, but I will mention how overwhelmingly normal Harry has become.

Normal, as in can hold his own in a daily conversation about just about anything. Overwhelming, in that how the heck did this happen already? He goes about his day, very deliberately, very matter-of-fact. New things seem to surprise him, but the regularity of it all still surely soothes him. We still need to point out who's picking him up at the end of the day (more so we/I won't get the 3rd degree from Solon, but that's another story), but as Kim pointed out, "he's such an old 3 year-old."

To watch him walk around at the pool, interacting with more adults than with other kids, to see him running around with the big kids at dinner the other night (he's their pet, they're his idols!), but he's quickly gotten himself to that point that he doesn't NEED to be closely supervised by one of us all of the time. He can hold his own when he wants to, and when he doesn't he'll usually come find one of us rather than scream from the top of his lungs.

Which is all well and good at this point. I'm sure I'll be looking back wishing for these days again in a few years when Dad's not cool anymore.

See how I did that.. at least in my head I still am!

Are you kidding me?!?!

Apparently, fanny packs are back....

Sleeping In

Usually when Harry goes to bed late, he gets up early. It's almost minute for minute. If he normally sleeps from 7:30 PM to 6:30 AM, put him to bed at 9 and he's up at 5.
Lately, he's been getting up early anyway. With the sun.
Kevin convinced him to read when he wakes up. We jam books under his mattress. He won't get out of bed, so he needs to be able to reach them. I think he'd been reading for 40 minutes when I finally got out of bed to get him at 6:37 on Sunday.
Since he's been getting up early anyway, we figured we would try again with a later bedtime. He ended up going with us for dinner at Aidan's Sunday. He sat in the leather "throne" watching cars while we ate and then joined us at the table to do his puzzle book (Jigsaw, not Sodoku) while I worked on finishing a bottle of wine and Kevin ate brownies . We left as Sopranos was starting and Harry agreed to skip his bath (he was properly chlorinated from the pool) and was asleep before page 3 of his bedtime story.
"And then wha happen?" Well, by 6:45 I had to wake him up so he could watch "a show" before school. After the first ten minutes of trying to get him up I cut his fingernails. Nothing. And then he giggled. Faker. At least we know he can sleep in. And he was such a good little boy at Aidan's. Maybe the terrible 3s are almost gone?
Before Harry left for school, which lately he hasn't wanted to do, I said I had fun with him over the weekend and I woudl miss him. His response: "It's okay mommy. I'll be home later." He's so sweet.
And tomorrow he's off to Tae Kwon Do to learn how to attack.

We Can't Go There

I thought it might be a fun idea to take Harry to Luray Caverns. Harry want to "talk about places" last night, as he avoided sleep, so I brought up the idea of a cave.
"We can't go there. Bears live in caves. You can't go in them cause it's not safe."
So there you have it.

Doing the Unstuck

As I was thanking LJ for a great Hatha yoga class, just like the other 8 people who had already left, she told me that at least 2 of my poses were spectacular, and better than hers. She didn't say anything like this to anyone else, even the people remaining in the room. I believe she said she was amazed at my ability. One of the poses was elevated chair. She couldn't remember the other but it was probably hero's pose.
5 years ago, I would have mumbled something along the lines of "I know, I'm great, thanks." I remain somewhat freakishly flexible, and as I watched everyone else struggle to do a butterfly, I suspected that I have some sort of hip deformity. But, whatever. I've been stuck lately and I am thrilled to know that something is working, whatever it is. Time's change. Luckily!

Money Well Spent

What does $900 a semester buy you? Well, let me tell you: not just a group of friends and some free T-shirts. Not even just free beer at fraternity parties. $900 will buy you a childhood's worth of songs to sing. 3 rounds of "alpha-beta-gamma-delta" will get Harry to brush his teeth, and I don't even have to hold a match during the verses. Harry is well beyond his ABC's and prefers the vocals be Greek to him.
Mmmm...mmm I want to linger...
Well, Harry would prefer that I linger a little longer by his bedside each night singing (I doubt anyone else on the planet would). He starts out "It's such a perfect night...my don't know the words!" and I sing to him. 6 times and counting during this blog alone.
On a tough night I will pull out all the stops, and go round after round of Anchors Aweigh . This is saved for when Harry really doesn't want to sleep or is overtired.
In the car though (when it's not Backyardigans) it's strictly cheers. Those only cost me a few bake sales (which even then I , I did a bakery run - I would have preferred $900 a semester). It's just so hard when Harry yells "TOUCHDOWN" to not continue "do it again! We're on the line, 1 more time! Indians, come right on in!"
And so, in closing, you will see that 16 years of cheerleading and 4 more with an anchor weighing me down did indeed prepare me for life.

Smiling Faces, Beautiful Places

Seeing as I work with the man that coined Seasonal Affective Disorder, I should ask if there is a time delay once spring comes. You know, it can take 4 or more weeks for SSRIs to take affect, so I wonder if it can take that long for the sun? I feel spunkier today. Could be the affects of the sun, or maybe the 4.4 pounds I've lost in one week. Or that it occurred to me that I am a young, healthy adult and other people find time to go to the gym daily, so should I. Lori looks great since last year. She mentioned a simple but consistent routine of weights and cardio. KISS- keep it simple sister!
Also just saw new pics of Oceana. She is as cute as can be. Everyone looks happy and smiling, and kind of peaceful. I get caught up in work and forget that can happen. I am really making an effort to not just schedule my downtime, but to go with the flow. Based on the fact that it took me 3 colonics to have any success, I am now willing to admit I may be a little bit anal retentive.
I am also realizing that sometimes I am right, and other people are wrong, and that it is not a big deal. It's all a work in progress. This counts for both SciOps colleagues and bridal shower planners. But I did get lots of compliments on my "be as you are" T yesterday.

Speaking of progress, here is what Harry is up to:

• When he falls out of bed, he gets back in himself
• Skinned knees! That's what happens when you are carefree. I think it's a good think.
• 2 Mimos a day
• Lemonade, in a cup, with no lid
• Taste testing at the organic market
• Jumping waves in the ocean, and getting back up after. All by himself.
• Making friends at the pool
• Developing a dry but funny sense of humor - "You missed it Daddy."