Tyler Growing Up, still

The benchmarks keep coming. Tyler has started rolling from his back onto his stomach, though it's pretty rare. The most common place to see this phenomenon is actually when he is in bed. We put him down in some random position and he kicks and squirms and shakes so much that when we come by to pick him up he's usually facing a completely different way and is occasionally on his stomach. We got him from a nap this afternoon and watched him scrabble and grab all over the bed. I wonder what he was dreaming of. He was in a bad mood afterwards, though, so it might have been a bad dream. We picked him up and calmed him down, though, which always makes you feel like something of a superhero.

We've also started to get a lot more sounds out of him. I've had entire conversations with him that consist of nothing but squeals. I'm not sure what information he thinks he's conveying, but hey definitely enjoys the interaction. There's often a subtle but critical transitions between squeals of delight and the early signs of crying, though, so it pays to pay attention.

Tyler is starting to interact with the cats, too. We mostly just supervise and let Tyler feel their soft fur, which he really seems to enjoy, even if it is clear that what he really wants to do it grab them and stuff them in his mouth. Anyway, the cats are starting to like it too. When they're nice to Tyler, they get treats; an arrangement they're quite happy to support.

We had a gaggle of family visiting this weekend. Still do, actually. Jessie's grandmother is here with us for most of a week. She's been as entranced as anyone by his charms and cuteness, even though he is great grandson number 10. And she also has number 11 already. Clearly he is the cutest one, though. So since she was here, some near-ish-by family dropped by and spent the night last night. Good thing we have a big house. I'd have to bust out the family tree to be absolutely sure how they are related, but let's just call them an Aunt, a Cousin, and a Second-Cousin and just call it done. The second-cousin was 10, and it was nice to see her interacting with Tyler. She and he got along really well, and she even went out running with us, which was really nice. Made me feel like a nice, supporting influence. Getting ready for when I get to do stuff like that with Tyler. Anyway, we went out to dinner with everyone, chatted a lot, and generally had a really nice time.

Then I've been playing video games all day today. And if you haven't noticed, and you care about video games, today is the final day of the steam summer sale. You can pick up a bevy of games for very, very low prices. Jump on that if you like. And then add me to your friend list. Considering all the people I know, I have a surprisingly small number of actual friends to play video games with. Come on, Nana, let's go play some Grand Theft Auto!

July 4 came and went with little fanfare, not the least of which because we've been seriously drought-cursed for a while and everything is far to dry for amateurs to be setting off fireworks. Probably not a bad call. It's looking like a short but intense bout of rain might be on the horizon, which would be great for checking to make sure our roof is fixed. Last time we got a burst of rain we discovered a leak over our breakfast nook. We had someone come by earlier this week to try and repair it, and they re-did the layout of some of the tiles and got rid of some rusty nails and improved the sealant. I would like some good rain just to see if it worked. It's been dry enough, though, that whatever water got in there has almost certainly dried out completely.

Man, pictures. I need to sort through some, but we had the four-generations come through on Jessie's side of the family and so we had a photographer drop by last Saturday and get some great photos. We'll share them soon, I hope. Our new, sexy camera has been getting an occasional workout as well. It takes a whole lot of pictures, though, and I don't always sort through them. Good way to use up a hard drive.

-N

Things that Happened

Stuff happens, I report on it.

We’ve been pretty busy here at Case de Preecs. The big upcoming event is a big roller derby tournament this weekend, with teams coming in from all over the country, from LA to Michigan. How exciting! Furthermore, Jess is an alternate on the LA team, so that means she gets to skate! She’s just a Rookie, but she enjoyed going to the tournament practices so much that eventually gave her a spot. The likelyhood is that she’ll be skating on Saturday only. She’ll be helping out for everything else, though, so big excitement! Very busy weekend.

Also, Jessie’s mom is visiting! She came out here on a road trip, bringing out various, random thingies with her. We’ve gotten some flowers, several fruits and vegetables, and even a hanging, swinging chair that she got for xmas several years ago that wouldn’t have fit in the apartment. Well we certainly have room for it now! Pictures will be forthcoming once we set it up. We’ve already taken JessieMom out to a couple of flagship Austin restaurants. Rudy’s BBQ continues to impress. She’ll come out for the tournament, too,

My experimental flowerpots are blooming different flowers now. The red-and-yellow ones are producing seeds. I figure I might as well let them. Now there’s some sort of strange, but very pretty, tiered purple flower. JessieMom also wants to head out to the red barn garden center and maybe tune up our front garden a little. I’m all in favor.

I have mostly been playing video games. Between Infamous, Prototype, and Red Faction, my free time is being well spent. And then Fight Night Round 4 in a few weeks. Mein Leisure!

-N