Trinity

Grandma Sue didn’t get too much luck in the way of her flight to Grand Rapids; delays, mechanical breakdowns, inclement weather. Well, three’s a magic number according to those old Schoolhouse Rock videos from Saturday morning cartoons when I was a kid… and this is the third grandparent-ly visit. Her luck started turning around after she landed. As Gm Sue started walking toward the main terminal, I hefted Ian up on my shoulders in the hopes she’d at least see him on her way to say hello to us… Ian immediately and enthusiastically started waving hello. We giggled and beamed with pride.

Time passed, we had a lot of fun. Gm Sue and Ian played outside, we went out to eat, and when it came time to go to bed, we jokingly offered up an Ian good-night kiss to Gm Sue. Now, he’s kissed Melissa and I before. Historically it has been like taking a 2-liter bottle of drool, pressing the top of it against your cheek, and maybe giving the bottle a slight squeeze. Ian kissed Gm Sue in a much improved way, his little mouth actually sliding shut after coming in contact with her cheek. Still no puckering of the lips, but better!

More time passed, we dodged some horrific weather, Melissa cooked, or maybe this was the day where we went shopping, went out to eat, etc, I can’t remember. Regardless, as we put Ian to bed we showed him, again somewhat jokingly, how to blow a kiss by putting your palm to your lips, make a smacking sound while also say “mmmmm-MOI!” and opening your palm outward. Somehow he pulled off a close approximation of this by putting his hand up, and saying “mmmMMMM.” With his tiny voice, it sounded hilarious, and the gesture was a cute summary of what we had shown him. So there you have it a trinity of love for Gm Sue.

Other notes:
• Ian is somewhat clearly saying “don’t touch” and striking a similar pose to that of Pocoyo in one of his episodes of the same name.

• Here’s a fun game — Ian said this: “BAHBETBAW.” What is he trying to say? The answer has been written in the comments section.

• While we’ve had some exceptionally crappy weather, Ian continues to sleep like a dream through the rain and thunder between, say, 8 and midnight. At around midnight on he wakes up from time-to-time but typically only needs his zooey/pacifier to go back to sleep.

• Ian’s Greatest Hits II and III are almost ready to go. I need to find some more photo paper that doesn’t get off track in my printer. Sigh.

• Gm Sue watched an important tennis match, and the moment it was over, Ian stood up and successfully turned the TV off using the button on the front of the set. (He turned it right back on again, but it was a first worth noting; and seemed a whole lot like commentary about the match.)

Here’s some pics!
That’s a happy grandma! If he somehow manages to say “Sue” before she goes home I think she’d be impossible to photograph, as she’d be so whole-heartedly dancing a jig.

“Yup, its worse than I feared, ma’am; the whole exhaust system is fried. That’ll be $700.”

“Of COURSE it’s not working, Dada. The negative power coupling has obviously reversed its polarity. Pfft.”

Grandma Sue and Ian take some time to play outside in the sunshine!

We all tried to look as vacant as when Ian watches TV. Did it work?