In Praise of DOG

My parents' wonderful dog Bella died unexpectedly this last weekend. It has made me think of all the dogs that have graced my life and about how lucky I was to have know and loved each of them. I grew up with two dogs, Dot a noble yellow lab, and Trina or Weiner a funny miniature dachshund. Next came Bell, a rolly-polly good natured yellow lab, and Gretel an independent and silly mini dachshund. These were the dogs of my youth. Through college and beyond I pined for a dog but the timing and situation were never right. Finally, the stars aligned and we found Otis. This goofy beast has been with us for almost five years now and has been a sweet and loving companion. Lately he has been put to the ultimate test, the Jack test, and has proven himself time and again. Jack, like his Mom and Dad, adores dogs and is especially crazy about Otis. He climbs all over him, steals his toys, smothers him in hugs, and Otis stoically puts up with it all. Jack smiles and laughs whenever he sees Otis and Otis is never too far from Jack, ready to bestow a barrage of kisses or snatch up spilled Cheerios. They have become buddies in a few short months. It breaks my heart to think of the day when we will lose Otis, not only because we will have lost a special companion, but because Jack will have lost his best friend. So, I will end this posting remembering my first friends Trina and Dot, and the special friends that followed them, Bell, Gretel, and Bella, and will head downstairs to give Otis one of the big Milkbones, a scratch behind the ears, and a little peace before Jack wakes up and wants to play with his best friend.

Twistin' by the Pool

It has taken Jack a while to warm up to the water. He and I are enrolled at the Aqua Shrimp program at the gym. It is basically a Mommy and Me type of swim class where we sing songs about ducks and practice kicking. Most of the time Jack has a death grip on my bathing suit straps - which has lead to a few compromising situations - but he tends to loosen up by the end of class and indulge in some splashing. We got a little plastic pool for the backyard thinking he would enjoy cooling off during the stifling Pennsylvania summer. So far he likes sitting outside of the pool and leaning over the edge to splash in it. Otis, on the other hand, loves the pool and will get in and lay down before we even get it filled with water. Jack of course finds this hilarious just not enough to join in. We have a week of Aqua Shrimps left. I am hoping that he will continue to get more comfortable with the water and maybe even get in the pool.

Invasion of the Flatlanders

It was hot in Vermont this past weekend, dog danglin' hot. We made the seven hour drive to the Green Mountain State to visit our friends Mark and Anne. They are both teaching at the aptly named Green Mountain College in Poultney, just across the river from New York. Poultney is a tiny little town of old Victorian homes, a main street with a few shops and restaurants and not much else. We drove 30 minutes to the nearest big town, Rutland, to get coffee at the closest good coffee shop and visited the farmers' market (where we stocked up on cheese from several Vermont dairies). On our first day we made a pilgrimage to a local sugarhouse so Dan could indulge in one of his passions, maple syrup. Jack had his first taste of maple candy and Dan greedily bought up his favorite Grade B syrup. When the heat hit - 95 degrees with 90% humidity - we packed Jack into the backpack and walked to the river for a pick-nick and to cool off in the water. Jack was a bit hesitant about being in the water but as he seems to have inherited his mother's propensity to overheat, it didn't take too long for him to enjoy the cool water on his toes. Jack did really well during the long car trip. He slept, played on the grimy floor at the service stop, and ate lots of finger food and laughed with whoever was sitting in back with him in the afternoon. He really only fussed during the last 45 minutes or so - the boy's gotta move. This was the first time that Jack has met any of our friends who knew us pre-baby which was probably more exciting for us than him. We are lucky that it was Mark and Anne who were fabulous hosts, not easy with a nine month old who takes over schedules and space in the blink of an eye.

First Things First

There have been a lot of firsts for Jack lately. On Memorial day we took Jack to his first baseball game and saw the local minor league team the Lancaster Barnstormers versus the Long Island Ducks. We made it through 2 1/2 innings during which Jack enjoyed his first soft serve ice cream and funnel cake. At the game he worked on another of his firsts and waved to the fans around us. One of my favorite firsts was the trip to the pool. Dan and I took Jack to the warm pool at the gym. He was a bit hesitant at first but quickly got into it and splashed and squealed while we bounced him around the pool. He has gotten even more proficient at standing - not technically a first but fun none the less. He can and does pull up on anything, some favorites include Otis, the bookshelves, me (he especially loves using my pant legs to pull up on which has lead to some embarrassing moments when I'm in my elastic wasted pj pants). Jack has started to play catch a bit. He has a hard time actually throwing the ball, it is more of a spastic jerk that results in the ball being launched behind him, but it is a type of proto-catch that we have fun playing. The next first that we are looking forward to is Jack's first long roadtrip. We are driving to Vermon to visit our friends Mark and Anne. We're not quite sure what to expect of a 6 hour drive with a 9 month old but we have our fingers crossed.

Standing Man

I hope you enjoy this video of Jack pulling himself up to standing. He still wobbles quite a bit - we've been calling him the drunken sailor. In the past few days he has begun to pull up in the coffee table and sofa and scuttle along them like a crab. He is rather fearless and thinks nothing of letting go and trying to walk away which usually ends in a bumped head or a fall on the bottom. He's keeping us on our toes!

Friend of the FOE

The Fraternal Order of Eagles (FOE) was founded by a group of theatre owners in Seattle, WA in 1898. I had the pleasure of working for a few years at their first lodge, or aerie, which had been refurbished into a spectacular performance space by A Contemporary Theatre. Yesterday I benefited from one of the FOEs many contributions to society, Mother's Day (they were also early supporters of Social Security, and were responsible for the placement of many 10 commandment plaques in public places). The boys made me Dan's patented Moon Waffles - a perfect buttermilk waffle topped with a scoop of Turkey Hill vanilla bean ice cream, homemade bittersweet chocolate sauce, and fresh Market strawberries - and showered me with gifts. Jack took a nice long morning nap giving me time to read the entire Sunday New York Times and take a leisurely shower. After he woke up we spent the afternoon playing, or more accurately I chased him around the house and let him climb all over me. We made a nice dinner, enjoyed a tasty wine, put Jack to bed, and watched an hour of a movie. Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better first Mother's Day!

Safety Dance

Now that Jack can crawl the rush to child-proof the house has begun. It feels like a losing battle in this house. There are exposed wires, sharp heating grates, and stairs all of which are incredibly tantalizing to the boy. We have installed a gate at the top of the stairs - after the first go with a plastic pressure mounted version we finally upgraded to the much more expensive and sturdy hardware mounted version that took much longer to install than the 10 minutes suggested on the box. We have the outlet plugs and the cord covers, we have moved all of the breakable and heavy items off the lower kitchen shelves, and we have the cabinet locks though we haven't installed them yet. The house is nowhere close to child-proof and it takes a sharp eye and fast feet to keep him from harm. He is especially interested in the computer cord and the blue light on the DVR, any electronic equipment in general seems to call his name. To add to the fun, Jack has started to pull himself up to standing which introduces a whole new level of danger to the mix. He likes to climb the dining room furniture and pull himself up on the coffee table but he is still pretty unsteady on his feet, more like a drunken sailor really, and it is only a matter of time until he bumps his head. I thought it was exhausting before - I haven't been able to sit down while he is awake since he started crawling and by the look of things he definitely has walking on his mind!!