weekend update

another fun weekend in llvj-land ...

saturday was ambitious. we started out for a pre-9 a.m. haircut at the barbershop. we mentioned last week that jack needed a haircut. and we also refreshed your memories about the difficulties that past haircuts have presented.

so, it was with a modicum of grit and determination (not to mention a healthy dose of trepidation) that mommy and jack departed for the barbershop.

as we waited for our turn, we watched the birds they keep at the barbershop, examining what they were eating and what their little house inside the cage was like.

when called to the big chair for our turn, jack was slightly skeptical. but he saw mommy gamely put on a cape, and he accepted his own cape before climbing up onto mommy's lap.

while spiro snipped, mommy kept up a steady patter -- asking questions about the bird, the book we were looking at, and the big fishbowl of lollipops that they keep for just these such visits.

jack enjoyed a 9 a.m. lollipop ... a *rare* occurence ... and mostly just said that the falling hair was tickling him. he never approached tears, even as the clippers came out -- normally the scary part. we just pretended that bees were tickling us. oh yeah, because tickling bees is way less scary than clippers ... whatever ... if it works, we take it and run with it.

we emerged a little bit hairy, but with a very cute looking boy and a hungry mommy. so we headed to breakfast, where we split a spinach and feta croissant and an egg and cheese croissant. jack wolfed his portion down with gusto and soon it was time to head for our playdate.

despite a very rainy forecast, our playgroup had scheduled a meeting at a local park. as it turned out, only two of us were intrepid enough to brave the damp playground. but ... it was the right two for the occassion.

kevin and jack are kindred spirits -- wild men who like to run around and exasperate their mothers. they have run into each other at our neighborhood playground before and so jack was excited to hear that we were going to see kevin. and they had a great time playing together.

to wit:

please note jack's very cute haircut in the pictures ...

after a fun morning, we headed home for a lunch and nap. the first one was well-received by jack. the second? well, let's just say ... not so much.

and more rainy weather didn't dampen jack's enthusiasm for our local park, so he and daddy headed off with a ball, only to return 90 minutes later in a state that required jack's clothes to be stripped off at the front door.

sunday was a similarly nice day. after a morning full of playing around the house, featuring many rounds of "hide from the monster" game, jack and mommy headed to the supermarket. jack enjoys going to the grocery store ... mostly because our first stop is at the deli counter where he always gets to enjoy a sample. taking him turns the trip into an hour-plus-long odyssey, but we do have a great time weighing our produce and picking out just the right kind of frozen waffles.

we returned in time for lunch and nap. again ... not so much on the latter. mommy and daddy began to panic. was this the beginning of the end? was nap rejection already beginning? i mean, jack's never been a great napper (in fact, "crappy nappy" was once a working definition in our household) but we didn't dream he'd quit napping at 28 months!!

well, the panic was short-lived. after 30+ minutes of calling out, "i want to come ooouuuttt!!!" mommy went in to tell jack that he didn't have to sleep but he had to have quiet time in his crib until we came back to get him (sort of the toddler's version of "you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here"). sure enough, about 10 minutes later, all was quiet and he slept for 45 minutes. not great, but at least our panic has been assuaged for now.

the delayed nap meant we were late heading off to see our beach friends for our biweekly happy hour. but we made it and had a great time. again, it was too wild to even snap any pictures. we all agree, as the ranks of kids have increased arithmetically, the wildness has grown geometrically. malthus has nothing on us.

what a weekend!