April 2013-Cheese Grits

We have started going to The Egg & I for Cheese Grits (next door to Gymboree) on Thursday mornings. It was surprising to me how quickly you’ve become “a regular”. The waitresses know you and you enjoy speaking to people seated around us. And you enjoy eating cheese grits. This week because of your wheezing & congestion we skipped Music Time at Gymboree and explored Hobby Lobby across the street after our grits. After spotting an Elmo bucket we started trying to find more Elmo things in the store. There were none, but we had a good time looking for them. We saw a UPS truck outside the grits restaurant and you spoke to the delivery person. You were surprised to see her again outside of Hobby Lobby. You are very observant. I read an article about teaching young children math concepts. You have already grasped some of those concepts. It is so fun to watch you learn and put things together in your mind. I am looking forward to spring weather coming to stay so we can spend more time outside. We had a few “good weather” days and you were thrilled to find a lot of children at the neighborhood swings. You enjoyed playing & riding in a wagon with other children and a visit with your neighbors Tate & Avery and their long-haired dachshund Cooper. Your neighborhood streets are being repaved and there were a lot of noisy trucks and machines around. You enjoyed watching most of them; but some were too noisy & scary. You and your mother came to spend a Saturday at our house. You loved seeing Frankie the dog. He is getting very old and I’m glad you’ve had a chance to get to know him. I liked swinging on our patio swing with you. When your mother was little we would swing at her grandmother’s house and sing songs. It felt good to sing the same songs with you. Your mother was a toddler just yesterday. You and I went to the Mt Brook Library and you had fun playing with the children there. One mother commented how well you talk at your age. You really know a lot of words! One day I tried to list every word you said; it filled several pages. Interestingly you were afraid of the man with the beard playing a guitar at music time so we left the room. Several other children did too so you had plenty to play with. One day your mother told me you were sad to wake up from your nap to find I was gone. Although I don’t like you to feel sad, I had a warm feeling knowing you missed me! This has been your second episode of wheezing and congestion necessitating albuterol inhalation treatments which you don’t like but you tolerate. Not quite time to diagnose asthma, but that may be the case. If so, your wonderful parents will manage it well. One day you woke up too early from a nap you really needed. I was able to rock you back to sleep but you wouldn’t transfer back to bed without waking up so I laid on the floor with you while you finished your nap. It is so special to hold you while you slept. But then, everything I do with you is special to me…including running outside to spot airplanes, watching Elmo videoes & eating cheese grits!