Many days (3/27-4/7)

I've been a bit derelict in my duties as far as these posts go. My apologies, but at least you and I have been talking regularly, and there really hasn't been much to report. Still, here's a brief recap:

Friday, March 27

Your closing day. Mom and Dad were in town, and they kept Frankie home from school. I tried to give him a hug before I left for work and he told me to "Go away, Dada." Figures. Mom and Frankie played at the park for hours, did lots of art projects on the new art table Debbie and the girls sent up, and played in Frog Mouth's Cave. Your closing went long, so I got to spend some time with Frankie after work.

Saturday, March 28

After you dropped Frankie off we had breakfast and played until Frankie and I headed up to UT to visit friends in town for the NDT. Frankie loved the campus - lots of green space to kick a soccer ball. He was shy at first, but eventually warmed up to everyone. As we were leaving, he said "You have a lot of friends, Dada." I thought that was pretty funny, since he's met so few friends here in Austin. Also makes me realize how much I miss all those folks. We came back to the house around 3, played for a while, then I had to get ready for the UT Debate reunion. I was out of the house by 7, but Kristin and Jason came over for dinner with Mom, Dad and Frankie. He apparently crashed without much of a fight.

Tuesday, March 31

Devin said Frankie had a great day. I picked him up a little early, which meant catching him just as he was waking up, but he was in a really good mood. Since he had such a good day, I told him we could go to the New Ball Store to pick out ONE thing. He didn't really grasp the concept of ONE balloon, and that was kind of frustrating him, but he found a striped Gurdy ball he'd been wanting, and finally settled for that. After a quick snack, we took it to the new park and kicked it around until Dada accidentally kicked it into a tree. Doh! Frankie was kind of pissed, but eventually accepted that it was an accident (although he kept asking "Why did you kicked striped Gurdy ball into the tree, Dada?"). At any rate, he accepted the Gurdy ball's fate, and seemed content to play on the playground and swing on the swings. We were at the park until almost dark, then went home for a late dinner, a bath, and a hard crash.

Thursday, April 2

Frankie had another good day, so I took him to the New Ball Store to replace the striped Gurdy ball I kicked into a tree on Tuesday, and to buy a kite (VERY windy day). He picked out a red octupus kite (oddly named "Squeaky", which Frankie really liked). We came home and had a snack, then headed to the park to fly the kite and kick the new Gurdy ball. Frankie made sure to let me know that I should be careful and not kick it into the tree. He reminded me several times. The kite held his attention briefly, but he was more interested in playing soccer and basketball with the Gurdy ball.

After we got back from the park we had dinner, then played with Peyton and Phoenix before bed. The boys have been introduced to the joys of popping balloons, and Frankie is slowly adjusting to the idea that he's gonna have to share if he wants them to play with him. Peyton really didn't want to leave, and Frankie really wanted to go play at Peyton's house, so we let the boys trade a book. Peyton took "Those Darned Squirrels," and Frankie borrowed, "Oliver Who Would Not Sleep," and a Transformers comic book (he didn't want the Transformers book, but Peyton was pretty insistent that he take it, and kind of appalled that Frankie didn't yet know about the Transformers, or show any interest in robots generally). I didn't get Frankie into the bath until nearly 9, and he was out like a light after one book.

Saturday, April 4

After you dropped Frankie off, Joel, Kristina and Ava came over for brunch and to see the house. We flew kites at the park, played on the playground and swings, and Frankie showed Ava the cool little play houses behind the elementary school. Frankie and Ava really enjoyed playing "3 Little Pigs" in the play houses. Joel, and I took turns being the Big Bad Wolf, and after we blew each house down, they'd run screaming to the next. It was seriously cute overload. Frankie got into fire ants and they got his legs pretty good, but he didn't really complain, and a dose of Benadryl helped. After the park, we came back to the house to play, but things quickly degenerated as Frankie began to get really tired and cranky (see: Benadryl). Joel, Kristina and Ava left, and Frankie went down for a nap without even putting up much of a fight. After the nap, we had a snack and went to Lowe's for planters and plants for our windowbox, then stopped by the grocery store to pick up some things for dinner. I cooked dinner while Frankie played, and it was too dark to plant by the time we finished. Instead, we went back to the park to swing in the dark (Frankie really likes being outside at night, and I don't blame him). We came back and had a long bath, read a few books, and then bed.

And that brings us to today, Tuesday, April 7. Like I said, I've been derelict in my duties. Thanks for picking up Frankie today, and for dinner. I like it when all of us are together. After we dropped you off, we came back here and took our Gurdy ball to the park until dark (I know it seems like all we do, but the novelty really hasn't worn out for Frankie, and I can't exactly blame him for that either). We got back to the house and Frankie said, "I'm very tired," so we took a bath, read a couple of books, and he crashed around 9.