The New York college where my Older daughter is currently teaching is on break, so the facilities department is doing lots of construction work. Unlike his parents, Little Guy is obsessed with big machines. "Dig, dig!" he says excitedly while making a scooping action. Both yesterday and today we walked on campus to watch the mini-excavators, cement mixer and other unknown Cat products. :) He would have stayed for hours!
He was entranced when this mini-excavator picked up the pieces of concrete to drop them in a different area. "Boom!" he said over and over. Older Daughter and I had a long discussion about how children like what they like, independent of their parents' interests. I reminded her of her own father's dislike of ballet/dance and choral music. Yet my late husband was at every concert and recital, full of pride in his daughters' accomplishments.
Because the weather has been decent, we've gone on several leisurely walks around the area. Yesterday we spotted this family of deer. Son-in-law held up traffic (a Smart car) so that the group could cross the road. Actually, the Smart Car would have fared worse than the deer in any close encounter, don't you think?
Besides playing rough the first day and bloodying my finger, Ziggy has been charming. He's a beauty, isn't he? After starting out shy, Little Guy is back to snuggles, giggles, baby jokes, and sparkle. He talks SO much more and even signs! He knows colors, and the names of most of his daycare classmates(rough pronunciations); he also recognizes and even tries to say most body parts. I was shocked when he showed me his neck and said an approximation of the word. Do you know what I didn't expect, although it's perfectly natural and stage appropriate for 17 months? Tantrums. I would say they're cute, but that would be a lie. ;) Fortunately, most of the time, Grandson is a lovable, funny sweetheart, and I'm incredibly thankful to spend these two weeks with him!
