FBR in Residence

A Very Happy Grandfather

I haven’t written in a few days because I’ve been decisively engaged with welcoming the FBR into the house for a weeklong stay. I spent all of Friday in Boston on some NLRB silliness but all issues were quelled with a very entertaining observance of the First Friday of the week with the Keene Friend in attendance. I kid him by saying his stellar attendance record at First Friday will go a long way in making him a success in his boss’ eyes.

Presents!

My daughter and Wingman have a Missouri wedding to attend this week and their day care provider also closed for the week which meant they needed grandparental support which we were more than happy to provide. My daughter drove up yesterday and arrived with the FBR

having fallen asleep twenty minutes before their arrival. This boded ill for her needed afternoon nap, my daughter’s fears more than realized later.

Trike Time with Abuela

The FBR was delighted to wake up in her abuela’s arms and quickly located the presents she’s come to expect when she’s around us. This time it was a Moana doll and a radio flyer tricycle, both of which were certainly well received. She was soon doing laps around the first floor with grandpa pushing the trike. I learned the valuable lesson that this cardio exercise wasn’t what my body had in mind for the day but I can deny this young lady nothing.

Backyard Walk with Grandpa

My daughter attempted to get some rest while the grandparents assume control of the FBR or vice versa. I found myself reading books, playing dominoes and then administering wheelbarrow rides around the house. Did I mention cardio workouts? I’m under the impression the healthy benefits of grandchildren extends beyond the emotional side as any extended time with the FBR dwarfs the amount of calories burned during one of my swimming workouts.

Wheelbarrow Rides

Grandpa - The Window is Coming Up

It was not all pell-mell action (although there was plenty of that) as I redeemed the promise that we made each other every time we talked on the phone over the past month and watched Rudolf the Red Nosed Reindeer. We appropriately hid every time the bumble appeared on the screen. We also made a call to my son and the FBR refused to get interested in her cousin, the BRS, despite talking about her at length just before the call. It must be a cousin prestige thing. We all talked about the photos below which shows the BRS next to a picture of her dad, our son. Since the BRS arrived everyone, including myself, have struggled to see any resemblance to her dad, opining that she thankfully looks a lot like her mom – the ABFA. These two pictures however give my son some hope as they both have the same photogenic “grouchy” look for photos.

Son (l) and his Daughter

We measured on the wall mounted scale just before bed time and found that the FBR is cracking the 3 foot barrier. She provided her usual debate against retiring for the night but her frenetic pace since her arrival finally caught up with her. That same pace took the understandable toll on the adults involved and we spent a peaceful evening in the Man Cave steeling ourselves for the morning to come.

Stealing her Mother's Seat in the Cave

The latest innovation the FBR’s parents have instituted is an alarm clock which lights up at 7:30 in the morning. The FBR has learned that she’s expected to remain in bed and quiet until the light comes on. This prevents the 5am wake ups and attendant chaos as she now falls back to sleep until the appointed hour. Her grandparents were watching their own clock this morning and promptly at 7:30 we heard a clear announcement from the guest room, “Mom, the light is on!”

Dancing with Abuela This Morning

The fun started right up as we made breakfast together and tried to get my daughter on the road before the predicted ice storm blew into town. I know! It’s April 15^th and I’m alluding to an ice storm. I believe the operative phrase in this situation is “W.T.F!”  Luckily she made it down safely to New Jersey and immediately set out for some non-toddler encumbered shopping.

We are having so much fun with the FBR in residence although we’re going to have knock the rust off our parenting techniques. Fully one half of the FBR’s lunch ended up on the floor after an unfortunate choice of lunch plates. I couldn’t help but look out the window to Buddy’s grave and think how much he would revel in having food strewn about the floor.

Dominoes

Looking out the same window I noticed that a pair of doves is setting up a nest in the corner of deckzilla. My wife would hear nothing of my desire to prevent this and enlisted the support of the FBR (who thought the doves were cool) which of course was the deciding vote. When the ice storm did start up my wife wanted to put an umbrella over the nest location but that was a step too far. It will be fun tracking the nest occupancy and the FBR’s interest in it.

Playing with "Her" Flashlight

Building Towers

So this should be a more than interesting week with the two year old dynamo in residence. During this afternoon’s nap my wife and I were asking ourselves how we managed to do this with two children. This is definitely a young person’s game, but still, so rewarding.

Abuela's Texture Game - Pure Chaos