Act Three

The still shot doesn’t do it justice, but L has lots of fun practicing this sound. Imagine the sound of your truck stuck in the mud.

and we are loving it. Thankfully L is a different kid then he was a month ago. He smiles easily and he giggles just for the sheer pleasure of giggling. He loves to play games: peekaboo is still a favourite, he hides a toy and then is all excited when he finds it again and he is only too happy if he can convince you to come and catch him. Here is a typical shot of L, he is always sticking out his tongue when he is concentrating on moving around.

“Where’s your head?”

I have discovered numerous ways to keep L happy when I need to get things done. Getting ready to go out requires 2 hands so I can’t hold L and blow dry my hair at the same time. However if he can see what is going on, comb his hair and talk to the boy in the mirror I have enough time to get myself ready to go.

I am happy to report that L is cutting his first tooth. It doesn’t seem to be bothering him all that much. He is chewing on his fingers a little more then usual, but other then that nothing seems to be different then normal. I happened to feel it yesterday otherwise I wouldn’t have known.

It is a little tricky taking pictures of L lately, he sees the camera and crawls towards you to see the pictures. L still likes books, but he is fascinated with photographs. He can pick out the photo albums and photo envelopes sitting on the table. He knows exactly what he wants and can let you know loudly if need be that he wants it .

L is having so much fun exploring his world. He is no longer happy sitting in his saucer, but it is alot of fun to crawl through it or hang on to the tippy sides and play with the toys on it. He likes to discover what is behind cupboard doors (pulling everything out for a closer examination), pull things off shelves and look through the magazines in the magazine rack (this is not a tidy activity either). L is also discovering that objects have uses, for example; he brushes his head with a comb and points the stereo remote at the stereo and then gives it to me. I guess that L has discovered that the remote has something to do with the music and mom is always pointing it at the stereo.

It is far from Manitoba weather here, but it is gradually getting colder. The mornings this past week have been a little crisp. L and I still spend a lot of time walking around town, so it is kind of nice to wear a hat and mittens.

L has some English words to add to his verbal repertoire these days, I don’t think it is just a mom’s wishful imaging. Since Dad is such a fun guy (as seen in the pictures below) it is no wonder that “Dad” is on the list. “Book” (sounding like gook), “Dog”, “Sock” and a very breathy “Pooh” (as in Winnie-the-Pooh). He is currently practicing Car, Cat, Cup, Up, Duck and Drop, but he is not using these words consistently enough to add to the list just yet. Lowell asked L this morning if he ever said “Mom”. He doesn’t. Why would he have to know me, I am always around, nothing exciting about that.

Here Dad has L laughing so hard that he can’t even pull himself up on the coffee table.

Just good old fun with dad.

Over the course of our married life, Pam and I have been relatively frequent visitors to the movie theater. We’re not movie snobs, but we are fairly selective when it comes to Hollywood productions and we don’t shy away from watching “obscure” or independent films when they catch our eye. L’s arrival has, of course, kept us away from the theater, so when we want to watch a movie, it involves renting a movie online or in-store.

I’ve become somewhat of a pessimist when it comes to movies. Even after being fairly picky in the selection process, some movies make you regret that you took the time to watch them. Others amount to little more than an agreeable means of passing the time. Only a few leave enough of a positive impression on you for you to recommend them to friends. I’ve learned to keep my expectations low. What you want from a movie is a memorable experience, but only a few ever deliver.

Well, Pam and I lucked out on a movie this weekend. We were looking for something to do on Saturday evening, so we went to Blockbuster. As happens fairly often these days, we walked around the entire store looking at all the newest releases and, having finished the walk, were left wondering if there was anything that had caught our attention enough bother renting. With the we’re-here-so-we-may-as-well-get-one attitude, we decided to rent Away From Her. It’s a Canadian-made movie about a late-middle-aged couple living through the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease.

I don’t know if I’ve ever been as emotionally impacted by a movie as I was with this one. (I’m not sure if it’s okay for a man to endorse a movie for this reason, but I’ll do it anyway: I may have cried more than Pam did.) Few things are as genuinely good and meaningful as long-lasting, intimate relationships between human beings. And only a few things are as genuinely evil as the things that bring those relationships to an end. This movie will remain with me for a long time.

So I tried something new. I was in the grocery store the other day and pomegranates were on display. Now I have never tried pomegranates and actually never even seen the inside of one: but I like fruit, so I gave it a try. Turns out that eating a pomegranate is a little bit of work. They are actually not bad, Lowell even liked them. Not something that you can eat all the time; taste is rich, texture is like chewing on grape seeds.

And now to keep some of my readers happy, here is a picture of L. Daddy has become L’s favourite person, especially when Daddy plays ball with him.