hammer

Grandma and Grandpa arrived yesterday with a new tool set, satisfying Jed's recent longing for a ham-eur (aka a hammer).

desperately looking for the painters who have been working next door in order to show off the new hammer

in the library

baby needs new shoes

I am proud to say that Jed doesn't care about watching tv. We've exposed him to it a little bit, and he will watch a couple of minutes of football, but otherwise, he has better things to do with his life. But I must admit, there are times when I wish he would park it for just 5 minutes, and to that end, we've actually tried to interest him in Sesame Street, but without success.

Until Elmo.

I do not know how they invented Elmo, but when he first heard that little voice, Jed stopped in his tracks, turned to the tv as if God had commanded him, and became entranced. Elmo manages to captivate him for about 3 minutes at a time on tv, and any time we're out and about, he can spot Elmo miles away.

Thus, with that background information, you can imagine how we came to make this purchase while collecting a few items for BD2 at a big box store this morning. Usually, I can make it out of stores without buying the toy or candy or whatever that he believes he will die without, but today, my resilience and resourcefulness were outmatched. As I told Eric, the other object of his desire was an enormous plush Elmo chair, so I think I went with the lesser of the evils. Certainly, it was the less expensive evil and with our drafty house, they might actually come in handy when it starts to get cold.

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computing

Yesterday, we relocated our computer and in the process, we gave Jed his very own (non-working) keyboard. Although not as great as the bulldozer he played with at the Woodards' a few weeks ago, this was still a big moment.

Daddy uses the real keyboard and Jed has a panic attack to get back to his own work.

Also yesterday, Jed "counted" his cash.

a whole new pregnancy

Yesterday was day 205 of this pregnancy, or 29 weeks and 2 days. That's the same day we had our first preterm labor scare with Jed, so without a hospital visit, this 205, and so far, 206, have been much, much more pleasant than Jed's 205.

Jed celebrated this milestone by being a real octopus and driving me a bit up the wall this morning, but a quick recall of the pleasures of magnesium sulfate made me downright joyful to chase him around the house.

But I am using the word "chase" pretty loosely. Thanks to early contractions that started about a month ago, Eric and my doctors and the grandparents (and me, too, really) have decreed that I need to limit my activity in an effort to avoid bedrest. So far, early recognition and extra rest are keeping the contractions at bay, enabling me to continue enjoying a "normal" pregnancy for at least a day or two (and hopefully weeks) longer than I did with Jed. So happy 205 to us!

hummus and hose

(With Hummus and Hose, have I stumbled on to another possible name for my kountry krafts store?)

Yesterday, while Eric enjoyed crackers and hummus after work, Jed helped himself to the more traditional pairing of graham crackers and hummus.

Today, Jed helped me water plants before naptime. He did a fantastic job.

mornings

from yesterday morning

What's going on down there?

You need some shoes, dude.

and from this morning

Jed wanted to eat his apple whole. Fine by me.

new camera!

We finally committed to a new camera this morning and retired our 8-year-old workhorse, so I have a few random practice shots from around the house this afternoon.

less picture-taking, more strolling, please

settling in for a few minutes of the Wake-Duke game
Go Deacs!

Daddy went upstairs.

And Jed went outside.

what a difference a year makes

Jed's first day of school last year, minutes before crying and screaming ensued.
Jed's first day this year: Here are the keys! Let's GO, Mama!

after school update: Jed's first day seems to have gone very smoothly. He ate all his lunch, and he was very chipper when I picked him up, despite being obviously exhausted.

bo-bo-bo

I've been a picture-taking slacker this week. BD2 seems to be holding me back from my full potential lately. (Yes, I blame things on a defenseless baby who is not even born yet.) But yesterday, I probably would have missed a great picture even if I'd had my camera at the ready.

Yesterday afternoon, we went to my aunt and uncle's for dinner (four words: Aunt Phyllis' fried shrimp). All the way up, Jed pointed out every one of a zillion bo-bo-bos (bulldozers) lining the road, which is in the process of being widened. When we got to the Woodards', Jed's cousin Camille (or "meal" as Jed called her) came out to greet "Baby Jed," for whom she had been pining since dawn. Jed was a bit tentative and procrastinated in the front yard but once he got beyond the foyer, he could see that Camille had laid out several specially-selected toys for him.

Among them was a very big bo-bo-bo with a working backhoe.

Jed's face lit up. Literally. I have no other description for it. His face became the personification of, the picture of, the very definition of absolute and sheer delight. He ran, with full glee and without hesitation or further inspection of the house, the family members, or wariness of Max (a very large golden retriever) over to the bulldozer where he dropped to his knees and immediately began operating the backhoe.

Based on his reaction, Jed would tell you that was the single best moment of his entire life to date; that's assuming, of course, he could actually say any of those words. Thankfully, we didn't need words: we had his face and that told us everything.