The weekend in review: The Boy is still cute

We got to see the Boy twice in three days, which was a real treat, I tell you.

On Friday, my sister-in-law snuck over from her town to mine, a drive of about an hour. I say “snuck” because my brother was busy that night and didn’t know that his wife and child traversed 60 miles of interstate and back over the course of an evening.  He is now in the know, so I can stop keeping the secret. This subterfuge was necessary, as my SIL came here specifically to pick up birthday presents for my brother. She dropped the Boy off at our house and then went out to shop in peace, while the Boy kept us entertained.

I know every aunt is prejudiced about her own flesh and blood, but on Friday night, the Boy showed me just how smart he is for a 14 month old. To wit:

• Even though he hasn’t been here in a few weeks, he went over to my pantry and started using ASL to let me know he was hungry. What he did was make the sign for “more” which is his way of saying, “Aunt Jen, I really am feeling a bit peckish, so could you please open the pantry and pull out some of those yummy organic treats you always feed me?”
• Later on, he went into the living room, pointed to the stereo, and started dancing. You haven’t lived until you’ve seen this little guy shake his booty AND do jazz hands. Even better — as if jazz hands weren’t already most excellent — he appears to have different dance styles for different genres of music.  I am not making this up.

Amazing news: On Friday, the Boy decided that he no longer hates Uncle Pete and that perhaps Uncle Pete is not a vile, horrible, terrible man who kicks puppies and eats small children for breakfast. Uncle Pete appreciates his rise in the world and will try not to abuse his nephew’s trust.

On Sunday, we went to my brother and sister-in-law’s house to surprise my brother on his birthday. The menfolk spent the day at a nearby amusement park, while the women and children did other fun things that didn’t involve heights or vomiting (the two words that best describe my  take on amusement parks).

At this point, I know my mother is thinking, “Yeah great, but what about the photos? Did you take any?” Yes Mom, I did take a few … dozen. Here are some highlights:

Here’s the Boy on Friday night practicing his best shit-eating grin:

And here he is helping Uncle Pete with the stereo:

And here is the Boy demonstrating his vast intelligence at lunch on Sunday by ordering from the menu:

Yes the menu is upside down, but that’s just proof of how smart the Boy is; he can read right-side up or upside down.

While the girls painted some pottery…

… the Boy explored a bit:

(Yes, you discern correctly that Elegant has a short ‘n’ sassy new hairdo.)

What I failed to get photos of is the Boy sharing his sand/water play table with his cousins.  The table is chest-height for the Boy, but knee level for Graceful.  The contrast was delightful and I wish I had taken photos.  I’ll do so next time without fail.

And that’s the weekend in review.