Week 152 Pictures

Happy birthday, Reilly Bean:

July 9th

Last night, when I told Reilly that she would go to bed age two and wake up age three, she seemed a little horrified at the concept, that somehow she would change in a marked way—grow three inches, or have to start driving herself to her swim lessons in the morning. No matter how I tried to soothe her, she would say, “I don’t want to turn three! I want to stay small forever.”

When I told this story to Shawn, she just nodded, which I knew to mean, “That makes two of us.”

One small gesture

Last night, Reilly called me into her room not long after we had put her to sleep and told me, “I don’t think I like my bed,” which is code for “I want to sleep in mommy and daddy’s bed.”

Typically I don’t grant this wish, but I wasn’t feeling well and didn’t have it in me to fight it out with her, so I put her in our bed and settled in next to her to wait for the sandman.

Unfortunately, I kept coughing, and each time I did so, Reilly would stir, put her little hand on my forearm, and say, “Daddy, are you sick?”

Week 151 Pictures

Happy 4th of July everyone! For this week's photos, click here.

To all those concerned, an update:

Grandma had a stroke—a blood clot in the brain—which eventually burst and caused an open bleed in her brain. Though she can move her left arm and can move her head a bit, all other bodily functions are beyond her scope of ability, and that goes for everything from speaking to using the bathroom. She will remain in ICU for a bit longer, and then will be transferred to an assisted care facility to live out what remains of her life, which feels like a very sad, sad thing to write.

What shape is a banana?

This morning, while peeling the banana I had just given her, Reilly said, "Hey daddy, what's this shape?

I replied that it was crescent-shaped.

"Nooooo, Daddy," Reilly replied, "it's not a crescent, it's a rainbow!"

The bathtub: it's not just for bathing anymore

I have discovered that there is one drawback to Reilly learning how to swim. Last night, while in the bathtub, Reilly decided to demonstrate her "big kicks" and after flipping over to her belly, proceeded to churn and splash the water with her little legs and feet. Afraid to discourage any type of swimming, I let her go, and the result was about a quarter inch of water all over the bathroom floor.