Apres Moi Le Deluge

Big weekend!

Friday morning we learned Sam will be a big brother. We told him in the late afternoon. Neither of us can remember his exact response, but it was gleeful, something like, "Awesome!" I took my mom's advice and made the focus, "YOU will be getting YOUR OWN baby brother!" I think that helped him see it as gain.

At some point in the weekend we were talking about the baby and Sam started acting babyish to get attention. I took a moment to point out all the things he can do which the baby can't. Hopefully we can keep the focus on that. A friend, Jim, has two boys with the same age difference. He says the first year with both was not rough on the older one. It was only when the younger became able to crawl and get into his stuff that it got hard for him.

Last night we made a trip to Babies R Us to buy some essentials. Susan had Sam pick out a couple of toys for the baby, which Sam appreciated. The weather mirrored our mood--it was warm and the sky was aglow with a beautiful sunset. There's something magical about wandering through a nearly empty B-R-Us on a Sunday night, as if the store were reserved just for equipping our new family member.

Took Sam to the Play Museum on Saturday. There is a new Tinker-Toy exhibit. We sat building toys for quite some time at a big table filled with U of R engineering frat brothers. (One said "Damn!" and the others scolded him sotto voce for cursing in front of a minor :-) The P.M. was also hosting some sort of Princesspalooza, including a station were girls could get their hair made up. Fortunately we came in on the tail end of that and just got to wade through the rubble afterward. Which is why you see Sam playing with a castle. The P.M. also has a new toucan, so we went into the Butterfly room. High 80s and humid--a nice taste of things to come.

This weekend we also finished stripping and scraping and priming the walls of the nursery. My good friend Andy helped, which somehow made it an incarnational moment. It's impossible to overestimate, I think, the value of just being present in others' lives. (His is ours, in this case.) One reason why we are so excited to see Uncle Stu on Tuesday, and my parents and sister in May, and Sue and Kevin and Emily in June, and Katie in the summer, and Ruth and Paul and Jon and the other Gilberts and Mansons as soon we can get out their way!

This morning Sam went off by himself and sat on the family-room couch holding a stuffed bunny which itself was holding a tinier stuffed bunny. During the drive in he said he liked it because it reminded him of him and the baby.

This morning we played the "Would You Rather" game. Would you rather fall from a building or from outer space? Would you rather eat worms or ants? Etc. Classic little-boy stuff.

Oh, and another sign of spring: A mallard pair enjoying the stream last Friday morning. New life everywhere!