I should be happy, and I suppose I am...

but at this point, the process overshadows the outcome. This summer, my office has been gutted for major renovation. It will be great when complete, but that means that for the summer I am officeless.

Baby A

So, we have a one year old in our house now — baby A — and he is a hoot. A very happy and outspoken child, determined walker, and amenable deliverer of coasters. Our bric-a-brac has migrated upward to the mantle + top shelf, and we now have baby gates at both ends of the stairs. The boys have really enjoyed it, and it is fun to watch them interact. A now knows where all the good toys are, and H+R enjoy playing the part of the elder statesmen.

Two Teeth

H lost a tooth one week ago [see post below]. Without that one for support, the adjacent tooth quickly began to wander. We started calling him "snaggletooth" — much to his chagrin. We urged him to get the other one out as well, as it was hanging and sort of creeping us all out. So tonight, I tied some dental floss to the tooth on one end, and to a belt clip on the other. We joked about clipping the floss line to the dog's collar and throwing a piece of bacon across the yard. H thought that was so funny, he threw his head back laughing, and out popped the tooth... Alas, we didn't get the snaggletooth pirate picture we had joked about — H in pirate garb with that tooth. But I can doctor the one I have up to create the effect.

Bozo Texino

Monday night had the chance to attend a showing of "Who is Bozo Texino?" — a film by Bill Daniel, which was showing at Elsewhere, a local artist collaborative. Very interesting film — he spent sixteen years riding the rails across the west, tracking old car markings and the people who made them. Almost made me miss being in Texas, almost. Elsewhere is always worth a visit on its own, as is their website.

School Carnival

The elementary school down the street had a carnival today. I gave each of the boys some tickets and let them go. They had a blast — both boys wanted to BE dunked in the dunk tank, although R gave a few shots at dunking the teacher who was taunting everyone.

the Update

This week, our friends BJ, J + A from Texas relocated to Greensboro and are currently living with us as they get settled. We are very excited that they are here, and sure they will love the region. It has also been a real treat to see A who is 1yr old. We haven't seen him for about 10 mos. You can track their move here. And once both of us get our blogs back in shape, it will provide stereoscopic coverage. I'm sure pictures will start to flow soon.

the tooth is gone

H's tooth came out last night, with a little help from BJ's mother who was visiting. He swished saltwater, put the tooth under his pillow, and found $2.25 [and the tooth] there this morning. He asked L last night if the tooth fairy had any cash. She told him he might get an IOU. He is lucky he didn't get postal stamps and car wash tokens...

Honeysuckle

At the park around the corner from our house the other night, BJ + I taught the boys how to suck the nectar from honeysuckle blossoms. I used to do this at my grandmother’s house when I was about H’s age and remember convincing myself that I was “full” from the effort and didn’t need to eat dinner. Both boys took to it very industrially. R grabbing large handfuls of blossoms [see photo below, which absolutely cracks me up and makes a great wallpaper / screensaver shot] and methodically working each one; H designing a more efficient system of nectar extraction, then distracted by his [incredibly] loose tooth. Just nice to know that should they ever be forced to forage for survival, they won’t have to forgo a little sweetness after dinner.

No news is good news

We have been very busy lately — all in a good way. I'll catch up soon, but in the meantime take a look at the video clip below, and the Flickr site for some new photos of A's 4th birthday party.

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