friday cute shot

a misty zoolights

We did Zoolights again this year, got there early before the official zoo closed so we could get ahead of the crowds.

I have discovered in the last month how fun public places are when they are nearly deserted, makes you feel like landed gentry or something.

The girls were amped as always when they see each other, and Oscar was a low-key wagon rider the whole time, even once when the rest of us had ducked under the dry eaves of the lion discovery center and Uncle Lance didn't pull the wagon quite out of the rain.

twenty months

Oh my goodness, Oscar man. Those cheeks just keep getting cuter and cuter. They turn red when you smear your face with strawberries, or hot capicollo, or spaghetti sauce; when you just wake up from a nap; when you are running and playing with Lucy just as happy as you can.

It was hot on the airplanes to Virginia and you would only sleep snuggled up in my sling so by the time we got to Richmond your cheeks were rosy to kingdom come, a heat rash in spite of the below-freezing weather. But Gramme and Grandpa couldn't get enough!

You've started babbling a lot more this month, trying out new sounds like "da da" and "lu lu" and maybe something like "la" for light" and "mo" for more. But you are still more comfortable with silent gestures, and the best right now is the way you nod when we ask the right questions. It's a nod where your head is fully engaged, your neck bends horizontally away from your body then your whole head shakes at once, not too quickly, but with vigor--it's a very appreciative gesture, like you've been waiting years for someone to understand you and you are so glad someone finally has.

Lucy gets this nod a lot.

You and Lulu are thick as thieves lately. You think all her inventions are remarkable; I hide things that you want in places you can't reach and she retrieves them for you when I'm not looking. Your biggest arguments are over me--specifically, my body, and where the invisible dividing line when you are both on my lap.

You like to give people kisses when they aren't expecting it. Sometimes they come in a cascading bunch of puckers, and the sweetness kills. Sometimes you reach out your arm in a sidehook to draw Lucy close and plant a big one right on her head. Sometimes you hit one of us just so you can kiss it better. We're working on that.

 Papa took you to your first barber shop this week so already the long-haired boy in the picture above is gone, but the smile and the cheeks and the ever-knowing brow remain.

Happy 20 months, love!

Love,
Your Mama

friday cute shot

Photo credit: Oscar

you can't teach silly

One of our old college friends came to visit a week ago, and after spending some time with Lucy, he asked:

"Is she always this silly?"

I knew the answer of course, but I stumbled across this old photo from about 3 years ago today which so elegantly makes the point:

Is Lucy silly? Always is, always has been.