Baby blowouts and waiting for patio blocks to arrive...

This morning I did a little traveling to deliver a head of cabbage to Mom at work in Bay City. She had left it with us after we dropped her off in the B and N parking lot. The trip down to see Grandma W was nice. The weather was the coolest of the summer. People still drove like they had a hot iron pressed to their rumps, but I was mored concerned with the enduring effects of the McDonald's coffee. As long as I get a coffee in the morning, I'm a pretty pleasant person. Anyway, we spent about 3 hrs at Grandma's. It looks like she has to consider battling leukemia again since some of her recent tests indicate a drop in some of her levels. This is basically what I was told: "A drop in her levels". Grandma was in good spirits and enjoyed talking the entire time.

Today, like all days since the birth of our daughter, we rise around 6:30 a.m. (there is no such thing as summer vacation when you are a parent---at least not the summer vac. you remember! It still can be a very rewarding time though). Gina has decided to make me the official poop master this summer. Sometimes she'll treat her mother to a sloppy deposit, but for the most part she will give me one small deposit---then total eruption in the next diaper. Today's blowout came right as I was finishing a turkey sandwich. Sort of prevents me from overeating I suppose.

One of the few trips we made in the morning was to Menards to see if they had my patio block, sand and gravel in. They told me it would be there approx. two days ago. Today they said it was not in yet. The associate said she was going to shoot an e-mail out to see when it was coming in next. Really agressive tracking, eh? I will give this another day or so before getting on the horn again. While I was there I ordered a playscape complete with swings, slides, climbing wall and rings. I finally saw the playscape from a child's perspective. My previous idea had me playing with my kids all over the playscape. This current model is more kid size for most of the equipment. I hope we are able to put it to good use and doesn't sit in the yard like a seldom used pop-up trailer/RV/boat.

My daughter wakes from her afternoon nap...

Appreciating the crawl...

This summer seems rushed. Only about a month left until I get teaching again. Watching my nearly 11 mo. old daughter for the entire summer has been rewarding, exhausting, frustrating, comedic, and wonderful. I don't know where I'd been without her tired laughs or painful pinches when she is trying to sleep.

Yesterday, my wife and I had the chance to witness a spirited crawl out of Gina. She seemed to spring it upon us like a horse out of the starting block, or our dog zinging after a tennis ball. Soon she will be asking to borrow the car and stop telling her how to dress. I'm glad we've caught a lot of moments in pictures and a few videos ... (Well, I am adding on to this post two days later with another report: Gina is really moving around without hesitation! Her favorite toys to get her to crawl are the newspaper/receipts/any paper really--- and the TV remote. We took the batteries out of the older remote that turns on/off the TV. She can keep herself pretty busy scootin' across the floor!) Gina has also discovered coins---so, for those of you that know me---I have to be keeping better track of my loose change!

I do not wish to make too many videos, mind you. My wife has made sure I take brief videos using my digital camera. Neither one of us want to be plopped in front of a TV watching hours of the same scene while life is all around us. Of course a few vids can add up to a lot over time---so we shall see...

This week Jill's Uncle helped me put in some clothes poles. Next project will be burying downspout drains that will disperse the water farther from the house. I need the drainage from the house to occur farther away due to the planned patio. The patio shall have 351 pavers, about 390 bags of gravel and 92 bags of sand. OHHHHH BOY! I hope to get quite a few things done around the house before the fall college course and teaching resumes. August will surely go quick. This is why it is important to not squander the days by waking up late on any day.

Today (Tuesday, July 29th) I was able to get out of the house with Gina and Mara by 8am for a walk in the cooler air. I have been trying to stick to at least a walk a day this summer. Mara still was able to gulp down water during 2 breaks on the walk that last over an hour. I have combined this light exercise with a diet that includes eating at home. I have had the Bocca breakfast burrito for my last two breakfasts. I have ate lunch at home consistently as well. The car actually stayed in the garage all day!