Saturday, April 14, 2007

Good To Have Grandparents

Ian had the day off on Thursday, and Speck and I decided to celebrate this rare occasion by being sick. Actually, I don't know that Speck felt sick, since she maintained her trademark liveliness, but I felt like a big ball of swollen, nauseous pregnantness, and spent the morning feeling sorry for myself while Speck cheerfully worked my midsection. Ian called in his mom and dad, and the three of them took Max to the zoo. While I wish I could have gone along, too, I was extremely grateful that I had a whole afternoon to rest, without having to feel like Max was enduring a boring day stuck at home. Ian's mom sent me some pictures of the adventure, which oddly do not include any zoo animals. They do, however, showcase what Max considers to be the highlights of the day.

According to the adult Tillmans, this slide had a rough texture that minimized its slideability. Max had to push himself down with his hands to maintain momentum, but he yelled "whee!" the whole way down with his usual cheer. I did not receive any reports of Ian yelling "whee!", but he looks happy in the picture, at least.

After the zoo, The Tillmans Four went to lunch together. Max got his own dish of strawberry ice cream, which evidently comprised the bulk of his lunch, and which he deeply enjoyed. Max is entering into two family traditions here: the ice cream comes from a place called Vic's, where Ian often tells stories about going with his grandparents when he was little, and he is eating strawberry ice cream, in honor of his middle name, which is also Ian's mom's maiden name and which means 'strawberry'.

Clearly, Max did not exactly suffer without me. Look at him lick his chops! It is truly a wonderful gift to have so many relatives living near us, who are so willing to be involved in Max's life (and Speck's, when she emerges). Juggling being a thousand months pregnant while caring for a young and increasingly active toddler would be exponentially more difficult without all the backup.

1 comment:

Ian said...

That was a great day. And now I am at work and it is rainy. Plus, I have no ice cream. But I will always have that Thursday...sigh...