Friday, March 11, 2011: Bear and Monkey

"Dirt." That's my name. When Gavin sees a photo of me or I ask him who I am, the answer is, "Dirt." It is, my best guess anyway, short for Mama D. He calls Stacy "Mom," short for Mommy, of course. Emma he calls "Em." Jota he calls "Meow." Henri, well, he doesn't refer to Henri by name, though Stacy said he has called Henri "Em" before. He has started to say his own name, too, but like Mama D becomes "Dirt," Gavin becomes "Gay." Don't tell DHS. I can't even really begin to express how much I love being called "Dirt," especially since today, for the first time, Gavin actually requested me over Stacy. He wanted help putting his socks on because they were falling off (a common occurrence. If they aren't falling off then he's usually already pulled them off. The kid just prefers to be barefoot, even in the winter. It is not something I can relate to. Thankfully I love his feet). Stacy went to help him and he said, "No. Dirt." "Do you want Mama D to help you?" Stacy asked. And he nodded. "Dirt." Aww...

Gavin's best friend Brenden has been over to play for the past two days. Brenden is Gavin's best friend because he is Lisa's son and she's my best friend, so Gavin doesn't get a lot of say in it. Brenden is six weeks older than Gavin. He and Lisa live in California, which is sad because that is very far away. Gavin's been battling a cold these past few days so he hasn't been feeling his best, but he's still having fun with Brenden. I love watching them play together, even if most of their play consists of looking at the other and thinking, "Hey, what's that? I must have whatever is in your hands in my hands immediately." Sometimes this involves tears. Sometimes this involves a nearby adult to say, "Hands are not for hitting." Talk about "sharing" is also bandied about. "Oh, Sharing," the kids say, "you suck."

Since Gavin has been a coughing, snotty mess his appetite is all off. He's not interested in food or drink. He's fasting. For Lent. Although I don't know how he even knows about Lent. We're giving him watered down apple juice, really pulling out the big guns (that's not sarcasm. We never give him anything besides water and milk to drink). It works, but only a little. Yesterday he didn't wake up in the morning until 9:30, which alarmed us all. I actually slept in that day since Stacy took the day off of work since she, too, was sick. When I got up at about 8:30 when Henri ran into the room and put his paws up on the side of the mattress, apparently the only one who was worried about me potentially being late for work (including me. I was very much unconscious). When I came out into the living room and saw Stacy on the computer and Gavin's door closed I said, "Where's Gavin?" I was so confused. But he was still snoozing. He usually is up by 6, 6:30. Stacy said she would be afraid he was dead except she'd heard him coughing. When he woke up he was so out of it and he was soaked, as Stacy put it, "From toenail to armpit" in pee. His night time diapers have served us well, but three extra hours were too much to handle. He slept for three hours at nap yesterday, too. By the time he woke up, Lisa and Brenden were already here. He was very shy and clingy at first having just woken up, but eventually he warmed to having Brenden here and was in a really good mood in spite of his coughing and snot.

Thankfully Gavin seems to be feeling much better today. In fact, he was so much better after his nap today. Brenden and Lisa came over this morning before his nap so they didn't see this miraculous recovery, but before I put him to bed I must have been wiping his nose every 10 minutes at least. After his nap I didn't have to wipe his nose for almost an hour. He's still sick, no doubt, but he's getting better all the time.

Tomorrow we have dinner with Lisa and Brenden and then they go home on Sunday, which is much too soon and quite unfair. I am hoping we can get a good picture of the boys together. I did take some cute ones of them sitting together on Lisa's lap reading a book together. Some day when I have time (around the time Gavin goes to college, I think) I will upload them. Until then, just imagine something so cute it makes you smile so hard your face gets sprained.