Nennygus visits!

This year, my spring break came to me. J Davis (aka nennygus) arrived on March 26 and a very full weekend ensued. She, as always, was a good sport about fitting into the domestic bliss that is our life (editor’s note: she passed up a spa weekend in Phoenix, AZ to hang out with me and toddlers – that ‘s a good friend). She, also as always, had a ton of work today so she didn’t mind my disappearing every now and again to go to rehearsal. Eaw loves nennygus and she is great with him…and, I’ll tell you what, it sure is easier to navigate the needs of a two year old with three adults at the ready. Just so we didn’t get too comfortable, we agreed to babysit eaw’s good friend, Hathaway, overnight so her mother could complete a trip for work. It was fun! On Saturday morning, we packed the kids up and took them to an animal fair at a local convention center. We saw all sorts of animals, from emus to parrots to miniature horses to trained chickens. Plus, we enjoyed a canine agility contest as well as the dog jumping contest, where the dogs chase a ball into a large pool of water. There were even jumpy castles and huge blow up slides, both of which eaw loved!Later that day, we went to our local park and enjoyed some running around and (seemingly) endless swinging. On Sunday, we left the kids with mtw (who fared very well solo!) and drove to Oberlin where mdw rehearsed for an upcoming performance, while nennygus head to Kirtland, OH to take in the historical sites. She had a great time, and mdw and ghd2 are planning a visit when he comes to Columbus in May. The trip ended too soon. Thanks for the memories nennygus, for the delicious healthy food, and for the most awesome outfit for eaw – he loves it. She even got me to feel better about living in Ohio…now that’s a good friend. This one’s for you – O – H -…

My Monkey (mi mono)

See NO evil, speak NO evil, hear NO evil...well maybe just the NO NO NO part:) eaw has always been my little monkey. I started calling him "monkeymu" the moment I laid eyes on him, and I continue to tell him that he's actually a monkey, not a little boy. He loves climbing, swinging, screetching, and eating bananas. Like his mother, he even does a pretty good gibbon call, as demonstrated at the zoo during our last visit. Today he found two puppet monkeys during a morning outing to COSI and proceeded to monkey around, mugging for the camera.

We took our friend Hathaway (from eaw's morning day care) with us since school was closed for a professional development day. eaw and Hathaway had quite a professional development day as well, learning about frogs (check out the poisonous blue frogs that Hathaway is staring down), examining fluid dynamics in the water play; testing engineering know-how while building, and most challenging of all; trying to share. mdw also had a professional development day, carting around two 2 year olds by herself.

Swinging into Spring

At least, we hope so. We continue to enjoy hints of spring with warmer weather, birds in abundance, and even a few buds on the trees. The Wall clan took advantage with some outside time this weekend, including family walks with the dogs (Odin is faring well - not yet limping or needing the painkillers, and embracing the extra attention and treats he is receiving), a country drive, and some good old fashioned playtime at the park. We have a wonderful playground near us, adjacent to an elementary school that serves ambulatory and non-ambulatory children. The playground was built to accommodate crutches, wheelchairs, and canes so it is ideal for the developmental physicality of a two year old as well! eaw navigates the ramps - running up and down and around. Favorite activities include swinging (well, extreme swinging thanks to papa); the slide, and picking up large sticks.

After the park, we headed to a new "hot dog" niche restaurant that left a little to be desired. It was good, but for the price, we both agreed we would rather buy a pack of franks and potato rolls. eaw thoroughly enjoyed his corndog, however. We continue to seek out family friendly eating establishments, and have yet to outdo "Champps" for the food, value, and degree of stimulation for a 2 year old.The weekend ended with some neighborly exchange. The warm weather encouraged most of our neighbors to come outdoors, sharing tales of the dark winter, and hopes for spring. eaw's friend, Colby, knocked on our door and asked if eaw wanted to play football. We put on his letterman jacket and off they went. Colby is 3 and is very good at "teaching" eaw how to do lots of things. There are a half dozen young boys (between 4 mos and 4 years) on our block - the moms were all joking that we will be having much different conversations if we're all still here when they are teenagers. Here's a preview of the boys in cahoots:

Flamingos and Wild Boars

We hit mid-70s again today so eaw and I took advantage and headed out to the zoo this afternoon. It was our first warm-weather visit, and the animals were definitely coming out to play. eaw was delighted by the flamingos - having never seen birds so big, orange, and playful. He spent a good twenty minutes observing them, commenting on their behavior, and asking questions - even trying out the one leg balance now and then. It was fun to see him so invested and so curious. I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon with him (which of course, included many turtles). We had hoped to see the baby elephant, but she hasn't arrived yet - the zookeeper said maybe another week. I mean, after a 22 month gestation period, what's another week?

We stopped by the wild boar statues on our way out, and I remembered the last time I was here with eaw, I had to hold him up on the boar so he wouldn't fall off. Today, he asked to go over to the "pigs", climbed up by himself, and began riding it while providing commentary that it didn't rock like his horse at home - he's growing up.

Transitions

Well, we got a hint of spring this past week - 30s crept into 40s crept into 50s crept into 60s and by Saturday, we had full on 70 degree weather. It was a welcome reprieve from the cold, gray, dark monotony that is Ohio in the winter. The promise of spring has been a welcome metaphor as we prepare to say goodbye to Odin. The vet oncology consultation was disastrous - mostly because mdw went into shock as the list of complicating issues and contraindicated conditions and astronomical costs mounted. At the end of the day, we learned that Odin is not a candidate for the treatments available (including amputation which is the only way to be 100% pain free or palliative radiation which also addresses pain) because of concurrent diseases and neurological implications and limited resources. Basically, we learned that his body is shutting down and we have come to accept that our time with him is short. Our family vet has been amazing, agreeing with our "supportive care" plan to watch for his comfort and quality of life, treating the pain until we see/feel/intuit that it is too much. I hope for the same stewardship at the end of my life - (note to self, make a living will: DNR). In the meantime, we are loving every day with him - taking mellow walks while he is still relatively pain free and spending much time outside with eaw. So far, he is still very interested in walks, mealtime, treats, nap/petting time, strangers coming to the door, and rogue squirrels. Odin no longer chases balls, but loves to be around while Samantha and eaw have their fun.

We had plenty of outside time this weekend, given the good weather, and the fact that mtw was in Philly performing and recording new music with his old buddies and colleagues there. He said it was great to be back in the city of brotherly love, and commented how glad he was that we had spent time there. He drove back from Philly today with a piano so now eaw will have a piano in the house! mtw shared his musical talents with eaw's daycare class last week, bringing in various drums and playing with them. We don't have any photos (I'll try to get some from his teacher) - but it was a huge success by all accounts. His classroom has a big pictorial about the event, identifying country of origin for each drum he brought, and showing the kids and mtw in action. It was really sweet. In fact, the next day, eaw's teacher confessed to me that she now has a little crush on mtw after seeing him play and play with the children. I told her that his music got me too...

mtw had another musical event a week ago Sunday, where he performed with a faculty member in the music department at OSU. He was part of a John Cage 0:00" score that includes a "functional task" that just so happened to be shaving mtw's head: