Week 19 Day 1: Vamos bebé!

I neglected to mention on Friday that Gavin had his first playdate with Ben, a neighbor boy who just turned one. Gavin and I hung out with Ben and his mom Kerry at their house. The boys played very nicely together, though their play consisted mostly of trying to get whatever toy the other one had. The most coveted toy of the afternoon was a plastic gas can that came with a toy lawnmower Ben got for his birthday. Gavin was rather obsessed with it. I hope this isn't an early sign of pyromania.

My Mothers' Day went very well, thanks for asking. I came home from a concert late on Saturday night and on the counter was a tray of vegan peanut butter chocolate cookies with two notes. One read, "Breakfast for Mama D. Happy Mothers Day" and the other read, "WARNING. Not for bedtime snack. Contains caffeine. Come to bed now." I did, indeed, eat cookies for breakfast. Stacy and Gavin made me a card, too. I've scanned it and posted it below. She used an old stamp pad of mine she found in the basement to make his little footprints. She said he was only mildly cooperative, so the prints are light, especially on the scan.

In case you're having trouble reading this, the front says, "I feel safe to explore the world on my own two feet because you give me a firm place to stand..." The inside says, "...on your neck. Happy Mothers Day Mama D. Love your son Gavin."

So basically I have the cutest wife and son ever of all time Amen. I am very lucky even I did spend a good hunk of Mothers Day mowing the lawn. For my mom's MD gift Stacy and Gavin and I went out to her house where we met with Laura, Jamie, and Amanda and did yard work. She had surgery on her wrist so she can't do a lot of it right now. I mowed her back yard while Stacy and Gavin played together in the driveway, ruining his socks, mind you, but they had a lot of fun. When we got home I mowed my own lawn, front and back, for fear that someone would call the city on us.

But enough about lawn mowing! What is this, my horticulture blog?

Today Gavin and I went to get a new watch battery for Stacy so that she would stop complaining about how I hadn't done that yet. We went to a place called Watch Bands that I pass on my way to Target and that I always wondered how they stayed in business. Watch Bands is neither a compelling business name nor an exciting product. However, it turns out it isn't a store full of bands and they were really nice there. Best of all, for only $5 Stacy will now have to find something else to complain about. One of the men behind the counter told Gavin he liked his beenie (Gavin was wearing his American Apparel thug hat), which made Gavin smile really big. He really likes attention when we're out and about.

We also went to the library where we played in the kid's section. Gavin pulled himself up using the little tables and chairs and played with some puzzles. He also got acquainted with Big Bear, much to my distress. But now that Gavin is mobile and there are so many things he can get into and hurt on, Big Bear seems less of a threat. Besides, even if Gavin gets lice they'd be really easy to see. His hair is much more copious than ever before, but it is still light and sparse compared to, say, people with hair. I'd have no problem finding nits on that head. Though for the record I hope Gavin never gets lice because I fear I would have to shave my head. I have way too much hair for one of those little Rid combs to be of any use. It is possible to make it through your childhood without lice. I did it. Gavin can do it, too. Hey, Gavin and I were born at the same hospital, so there's no reason we can't have this in common, too.

Gavin has this bilingual drum toy that he got from a friend's son that he was playing with today. I have it set to Spanish because hearing the little girl's voice yell things out Tourettes-style is for some reason much less annoying that way. She frequently hollers, "Vamos bebé!" and so that is currently my favorite thing to say. No doubt this will annoy Stacy very soon, though I will have to remind her about the time right after I saw the "Dick In a Box" skit on SNL. What can I say? It's catchy.