Birthday

So finally a week later I'm getting around to talking about my great birthday last weekend! On Saturday Shay's wonderful daycare provider Diane had a "free day" in which she offered to watch both Logan and Shay (as well as her other charges) for free for most of the afternoon and into the evening -- strictly out of the goodness of her heart and to give parents a chance to go off and do something on their own.

So Will and I very happily dropped both kids off at about 2pm and promptly headed off to the movies (which we haven't been to since Diane's last free day almost a year ago). We were a little bummed out that the movie pickings were kind of slim, but we settled on Public Enemies, a two-hour-plus flick starring Johnny Depp as John Dillinger. Good movie, not great, could have been better but we enjoyed it nonetheless. Then we went to an Italian grill restaurant, where we both ordered prime rib (which I normally would never order, but had a weird urge for that particular night) - again, it was good not great but we enjoyed it all around. Best part was the wine and then the chocolate truffle cake for dessert!

It was really nice to get out to the movies and dinner since Will and I so rarely go out alone together (not a complaint, just a fact). Logan and Shay had a great time at Diane's, of course, and he's already asking when he can go again.

Then on Sunday, my actual birthday, we had Uncle Bill and Aunt Connie and our friend Heidi over for a lunch of quiche and fruit salad, and birthday cake made from scratch by Logan and Will. The previous day I suggested we stop at a local bakery and order a cake, to which Will responded, "Oh, I thought Logan and I would make you one."

To which I responded (rather than "Oh, what a nice, thoughtful idea") -- "Well, I don't want one made out of a box." There's gratitude for you!

Needless to say, the cake was not from a box - both it and the chocolate icing were from scratch and both were scrumptious. Logan had an utterly fabulous time with both the cake and Aunt Connie, whom he could not adore with more zeal, and after lunch we headed off to the park for a little while before our guests left.

All in all, a really nice weekend and a great birthday considering it was the big 40. Aside from having a lucrative publishing contract, there is nothing I would change about my life, and my birthday wish is for everyone to stay happy and healthy. And to look forward to many more birthdays together.

Watch, what you say?

My most recent breakfast conversation with Logan (occassioned, no doubt, by the fact that one of the other preschool boys just got a new watch).

LOGAN: Daddy, can I have your watch?

ME: Sure, you can wear it sometimes.

LOGAN: No, all the time.

ME: I have to know what time it is, too, you know. How can I do that without a watch?

LOGAN: You can look at the clock on the wall. Can I have your watch?

ME: Logan, didn't we get you a watch of your own? What happened to it?

LOGAN: I think I gave it to somebody as a present.

ME: Who did you give it to?

LOGAN: Shay. Can I have your watch now?

ME: I don't think so. Who did you give it to?

LOGAN: I think I gave it to you. Can I have your watch?

ME: First we need to figure out what happened to your watch.

LOGAN: Maybe we threw it in the trash by accident. Maybe it was you.

And thus he tries to get my watch by making me feel guilty for having done something I really hadn't done at all. Not the first time that's

Perspective

Yesterday morning at breakfast after several fussing and whining episodes:

ME: Logan, did you sleep well?

LOGAN: Yeah, I did.

ME: I was just wondering because you're kind of cranky this morning.

LOGAN: I slept well. I just didn't wake up well.

Scary Noises

Last night was the crescendo of a movement in Shay's life that has been going for the past couple weeks. Noises. Scary noises. Not from Shay herself, but the world about her. Not long ago she delighted in most all sounds. Airplanes. Birds. Even sirens. But now, to note a sound is to need to follow it with "Scared!" That's what she does. "Air-pane. Scay-yewd!" "Si-yen. Scay-yewd!" "Boo-wids. Scay-yewd!" That's been building the past couple weeks, and as I said, it all came to a raucous conclusion last night. In the midst of the going-to-bed routine (which at our place, as Nina will tell you, is like the precision movements of a Swiss watch) there was a tiny sound. A toy slipped from its perch and settled harmlessly to the floor. It wasn't even that loud. But Shay's reaction sure was! Normally she would have been asleep within minutes, but instead it took more than an hour of both Nina and I (and Logan) trying our best to calm her down and reassure here that there was nothing to be scared of. None of that worked, of course. Instead it took some of what Shay called "nuh-wiss" and then, blessedly, she went to sleep. For a little while....