7 Quick Takes, vol. 130

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All the talk lately about cars got me to thinking. My grandparents used to take us grandkids on vacations. We would drag a Honda (Civic, I think) behind the RV, and then when we got to a metro area we all piled into the Civic. I remember getting lost in New York City with my grandparents up front, my sister, a cousin and a sort-of cousin in the back seat, and me and another cousin sitting criscross-legged in the trunk, and staring up at the Empire State Building. I was six. It was the first time I ever saw it.

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It’s cicada weather: hot, humid, brutal on the electric bill and the mpg in the van. And it’s making my wedding ring too tight to wear. At least, I hope that’s all it is. I keep feeling like I’ve outlived all my “I never had”‘s in my first three pregnancies (spider veins, swollen ankles, etc.).

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The language explosion begins! (I think–I hope.) Yesterday, I asked Nicholas if he wanted to go outside, and he started dancing with every extremity. “Wye–cah–go! Wye-cah-go!” It took me a minute, but I realized he was saying “ride car go.” I was ecstatic. The kid doesn’t have fifty words yet, and he’s stringing them together! Hallelujah! Then, in the evening, I promised them a movie, and he came over to me repeating something that sounded like “tyack! tyack!” That was a brand new one, requiring more deep thought before I said, “Truck?” (Alex always said “kyack,” so I probably should’ve caught on right away, but I didn’t.) He was asking for his movie about monster trucks & tractors. Go, Nicholas!

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Speaking of Nicholas… at the ultrasound this week, I expected the little ones to look at that black and white fuzzy image on the screen with a big blank expression. Julianna wasn’t terribly impressed. But as soon as the image came up on the monitor, Nicholas started dancing and shouting, “BEEBEE BEEBEE BEEBEE !” It was pretty darned cute.

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A friend sent me this video this week. Although a kid rapper almost has to be annoying–by definition–it was also really sweet. There’s a line in the second verse that says something like “I’d hold her hand all day, if she’d let me.” I thought about Alex spending two years on his (figurative) knees, crying with hurt feelings, before Julianna decided he was worthy to hold her hand. It made me laugh. Especially because Nicholas is pulling the same trick now.

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We have almost crossed a milestone. A milestone entitled “we must run the dishwasher EVERY DAY.” Right now it’s about every 30 hours.

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Alex has been attending art camp through Parcs & Rec this week. And he started real piano lessons yesterday, with a teacher we’ve known for years through church & other connection points. This particular week, we hope, wraps up the worst of the craziness. I’m ready to have room breathe. And not have to pay babysitters to go grocery shopping.