And Then There Were Two

It's been awhile, and by awhile I mean something like 9 years. There's an explanation...a decent one. We had Bebe number two *enter center stage Cooper Frost Manderson. Takes bow aaand continues to stand there. Beau traipses over and drags him offstage* That's legit been nine years of our lives.

We've spent nine years...nine fucking years trying to keep this child alive. It has been no easy feat. We nicknamed him the runner as soon as he could walk. We bought squeaky shoes so we could hear him. We've played referee on the daily keeping his brother from killing him because he just *loves him to death*. 

I've army crawled out of his room at night only to see him staring at me like, "Nice try mommy, now get over here and lay on the floor like a good dog."

I've lost him. His grandmother lost him. Pretty sure his dad did too but he would never tell after my coniption fit at not being able to find him. I don't think their grandmother even knew they were lost truth be told.

We've battled the: not that blue plate, the green one. I'm not drinking out of that. No jeans mom. The shirt just isn't comfy. You cut the sandwich wrong, I can't possibly eat it now. That's the wrong color.

Now big brother Beau is standing in the wings waiting to be tagged in at a moment's notice because he's thought out the demise of this little annoying child. His cherubic face says, "Just say the word and you won't have to worry about him again."

Enter stage left- the therapist. Ma'am he may kill him, maybe not because he loves him. He plays with him, but there are moments when we quirk a brow. To our relief, and many hundreds of dollars spent; the conclusion was reached that they are just normal boys.

So I leave you with this dear readers, what in the hell are they going to do next? They are clever, smart, intelligent, handsome, and the little one is gifted. Now we hear them whisper about us. I'm looking forward to all of the craziness, because I love my BEAUtiful boys!

Mow, Brrrppp, Ahbelle

"Beau"tiful

I wanted to take a moment, before the terrible two's send me straight to the asylum, to reflect on Beau's terribly cute side. In one month Beau will be two years old...how time flies. It seems like just yesterday Evan and I were in the hospital looking at each other like "OMG, he won't be quiet and we have to take him home all by ourselves" so... really not much has changed. The big difference now is that he is mobile and is building a strange vocabulary.

What Beau says:
So most of the time I feel like an utter failure as a foreign language teacher considering the fact that I cannot for the life of me decipher my son's ongoing diatribe. It took me two weeks to figure out that "Joe" was actually Jonathan and not a tree. Evan finally let me in on the fact that "Nigh" meant nine which refers to the Barenaked Ladies song "7 ate 9". Oh, and don't let him try to youtube that himself...it is quite racey. A horse is "Brrrppp" and that refers to Rookie, our neighborhood communal horse. Right after we see Brrrppp he wants to find "Ahbelle", Abel, the neighbor's dog. No sooner has he set eyes on Brrrppp and Ahbelle, he wants to mow. That word he knows... MOW. Usually it comes out like this "Ionah mow" which I figure is "I wanna mow." He quickly learned the word "gahs" or gas since Evan kept using that as his go-to excuse not to have to mow daily. Now, when we say "Not today" he replies "Gahs" as in go get some. Every single morning we say "Rowr, rowr." which means he wants to make smoothies in the blender. Now he runs into the kitchen and says hi to rowr, rowr.

Here's a morning/afternoon/evening in the life:
Beau: Rowr, rowr?
Us: In the morning/Get out the fruit.
Beau: Ionah mow.
Us: Not today Beau.
Beau: Brrrppp.
Us: Horse? Yes, Dada will take you to see the horse later/The horse is asleep(eating, napping).
Beau: Ahbelle.
Us: As soon as we get home you can see Abel./Beau, Abel is sleeping (eating, napping).
Beau: Moose?
Us: Moose is not on now.
Beau: Beau?
Mama: Go ask Dada.

Now, the last "Beau" can be replaced with "Nine" at any given moment ("Beau" refers to Evan's phone as does Moose and Nine). He wants to see every picture and video of Baby Beau. It's a crap shoot as to which one exactly he wants to see and there's screaming until it's found. Other videos have names such as "Na na na na" (a game he and Dada made up) and Roawr (Geaux Tigers...Roar).


When riding in the car, he points out red (the color of the trees), moon (especially if it's night), and bus (whether or not he sees one driving or parked).

What Beau does:
Lately Beau is quite the artist. Equipped with his favorite crayon of the moment he spends time creating masterpieces on paper (mostly squiggly lines). If I leave the paper out long enough I am reminded of Joan Miro or maybe Jackson Pollack(like when he grinds the crayon into the paper). A few times he has grown tired of his current medium and proceeded to color: the door, the lampshade, the floor, the cat(more of an attempt), the sofa, his bowl...the list grows daily. Thank you Washable Crayolas. He has, on occasion, sampled his crayons as witnessed by black or green marks on his face and teeth. I figure he gets so into his creation that it overtakes him or that Crayola makes a mighty fine snack. Thank you Non-Toxic Washable Crayolas. You would think this might deter Evan and I from ever letting him go near a crayon again...alas no, we are gluttons for punishment.

Van Beau







"This is like taking candy from babies"

As I said he is mobile...folks, that's an understatement. The kid is balls-to-the-wall full out 100% of the time. He routinely runs through the house in socks on hardwood taking corners at break neck speed...this has led to him learning to stop by sliding on his knees or barely missing walls. He goes 50mph on his trike and 4 wheeler...Heaven forbid a wall or piece of furniture hinder his progress through the house. He moves chairs to get to the fire and knives in the kitchen. He tries to scale the tv stand in order to get a better view. He swan dives off of slides, sofas, beds (he actually doesn't try to dive...he tries to fall gracefully...it doesn't work). Outside he knows the words "road" and "dangerous"...not that he understands that the road is dangerous.


Best playmate ever!



Bend it Like Beau


Just when I think the tantrums might send me into a tailspin he says "Night night mama" while he plays with my hair and everything is right with the world.

Day Care Woes 2: The Return of Beau ManderSick

Here's a back to school math problem for you: If Beau was at day care one day in February and got sick the first day and has now been back at day care for two weeks and one day, how many times has Beau been to the doctor? Give up? About a bizillion(remember, this is MelissaMath)! Oh, and we could never be so lucky for it to be some measly little cough, oh noooo. Beau has to do it up and break out in a full body rash that makes me itch to think about it, leak green gobs of goo from ears and nose, sneeze out gunk that makes everyone yell "OMG, ewwwww, get it, get it, hurry". Then he does this number: I refuse to eat (thrash around, yell, kick, buck), give me my cup(gobble, gobble, gobble), I cannot and will not eat that garbage you call food (slams plate at me, clamps mouth shut, throws head to side, closes eyes, and grunts), why are you starving me (basically licks the plate and bowl clean). He plays, he won't play, he whines, he screams, he sleeps (we won't talk about where lest I have to listen to or read comments from mothers who wish to berate me about how my child is going to somehow wind up being some freak of nature due to his current sleeping arrangement), because sometimes he's up all night. It's FAB-U-FREAKIN'-LOUS I tell you!

That has been...well, where I've been. A doctor's office...or the hospital, take your pick. It's been Beau, then Mommy, then Beau again, followed by Mommy, and then throw in Daddy for good measure. Then the cycle begins again. We've gone through: tubes, pneumonia, surgery, endless rounds O'antibiotics, allergy testing, immune system testing, end of daycare w/sitter, back to daycare. The end result thus far: 'Y'all are just going to have to wait this out because we really can't find anything horribly wrong'. AKA- you two are some sickly folks. "Gracias, doctor. I really wish we could have cleared that up BEFORE we got into medical debt for 'no apparent reason'?" Yeah, because don't EVEN get me started about the new school insurance for Alabama ("At least it covers Well Baby Check Ups"...yes, well that would have been great when he was born, not so much now.) Vent complete.

I don't feel good and I am trying to finish my chores. Could you puh-leeze leave me alone ?

I know, I know- back to 'el doctor'. I'll get in by myself.

You two are slow. I'll drive myself to the doctor. It's not like I don't know the way.

Deer Toof Feery

Deer toof feery,
Wen u come 2 git my teefs, bring ur chekbook. Deez teefs costed me lots a hurt so dae gunna cost u. U kin forgit dat sissie cwarter stuf dat I heared momma n dada talkin bout. Luv ur work- dont forgit were i liv. Momma sezs u has a key so sea u latar alagata.

Lots a luv and kisies,
Mr. Beau (B-O...not bee-ow) Manderson

Oh an momma sezs tel u I got 2 teefies now, 2 on tha way, n 1 tha just made her n dada sae sumtin I duno how 2 spel.

PSS-Momma sezs tel tha I kin put a toof brush n my mouf wifout hurtin misef 2 much.
_________________________________________________________

It goes without saying that Beau is Urban...and that I will get lots of flack from him about this post when he is older! I think this is one I will save for his senior year:)

The Mandersons Are Coming, The Mandersons Are Coming

We're back from Pennsylvania and all in one piece-for the most part!

Day 1:
Depart Atlanta-10 pm on Air Tran.

"We get to ride in THAT big car...yay!"

We thought (operative word) a late flight would be good because the head of household would be sleeping. You see, I had delusions of grandeur that I would feed Beau on time, he would be sleeping, Air Tran would board the mommies and babies with all their crap first (as in BEFORE every one else, like they are supposed to do and did for EVERY other flight around us), we would board the plane with a sleeping Beau, passengers would smile and give us an appreciative nod, and the pilot would present me with a Mother of the Flight Award.

Not so much. I did what I was going to do and Beau went right to sleep in the noisy Atlanta airport. Passengers smiled (sort of-you know that half smile when they realize they will be on a plane with a baby- yeah, that one). Then Air Tran committed the ultimate sin, they forgot to board the mommies and babies with all their crap first. Soooo, I had to wait our turn then run the gamut saying "Excuse me, pardon, coming through, sleeping baby, sorry about hitting you in the back of the head with the diaper bag..." Thank goodness Beau slept on even as we squeezed into a seat.

My precious gift from God slept right up until 'Mumbles' (the Indian American) sat down and started pestering his kid. The very minute he started a count down "game" that his kid wanted no part of, Beau sat up straight as a board like "Where's the party?". At that very moment I saw eye rolls, and heard groans from the passengers around us. We weren't even off the tarmac yet.

'Mumbles' continued to pester his child, and my child discovered that he could scream in a "fun" way. The other passengers were not as excited as Evan I were that he had a new sound. They were relieved when 'Mumbles' and 'Mumbles Jr.' shut up and Beau finally passed out from exhaustion. Evan and I finally stopped plotting against 'Mumbles'. Needless to say, when we asked for wings for Beau, they couldn't find any.

On arrival to Allentown, PA we took a cab to the Crack (I mean Quality) Inn. We had done our research via the Internet (oh Internet, how you have failed me!) but it didn't mention Creepy Guy in Squeaky Wheelchair or Scary Dude in Elevator. Nor did it mention that the crib we reserved was circa 1776 complete with rusty coat hanger tie. Since it was 2am I decided to make the best of the situation...we were only going to be there until the rental car place opened.

"Does this place have bedbugs? I've heard stories about those."

Day 2:
"Ain't no party like a Scranton party 'cause a Scranton party don't stop."

And we're off...on the PA Turnpike...saying, "OMG, why are we on the Turnpike? Does anyone have any cash? How much is this going to cost? Can you read that ticket? It wouldn't really cost us $30 just to get to Scranton...would it?" It only cost us around 3 bucks and it was the quickest way to get there.

What did we make a bee line to find when we got there? You guessed it...Dunder Mifflin Paper Company...well, the building they show at the beginning of the "Office".

For all the nay sayers out there, it's there along with tons of other "Office" landmarks. We know this because we did a tour and even ate at Alfredo's Pizza Cafe where the pizza does NOT taste like "hot garbage". Alfredo's is also where we were reminded that were, indeed, NOT in the South and could not order sweet tea. There were not enough sugar packets in the restaurant to make that tea sweet. We ordered water which apparently made us look cheap (Learn how to make sweet tea and I'll pay your 2.79 a glass).

Next we went to a coal mine that had closed for the day (we don't read so good apparently), and went on the ultimate quest to find the old Ross homestead which no longer had a home on it (yep, needle in Pennsylvania). About the quest...here I must pause because this took us through the Greatest. Town. Ever.-Hop Bottom, PA. To get the full effect of Hop Bottom, PA ask me to say it for you the next time I see you (note: you must make a gang sign for Hop Bottom and snap your fingers after PA). This town has a population of about 100, maybe 200. It is completely storybook. I felt like I had stepped back in time. We went into the Hop Bottom General Store and they had ONE of everything. ONE I tell you...well, maybe they had two bottles of water. We also saw amazing vistas (said every single time something cool was seen from the car).

Overlooking Scranton

Lehigh Valley Railroad Bridge near Hop Bottom, PA

Finally on to the hotel. I had such high hopes...then I saw it. Before we even pulled in, I officially revoked Evan's rights to make hotel reservations. Grrrr...no mini fridge, no tub, and there was the distinct odor of old stuff- awesome! Housekeeping was interesting- a Wal-Mart cart full of your basic cleaning supplies along with a Staples basket (inventive I tell you!). Please tell me how this place got "excellent" reviews. Did the hotel pay homeless folks to complete these reviews?

That evening Beau met his Aunt Carol and Uncle David for dinner where Beau decided to show out and play snatch and grab (including Aunt Carol's Bloody Mary). He acted like he hated all food except whatever was on the plate nearest him and had various diaper issues. He wanted water out of a glass and to throw green beans all over the table...fun times for all!

Day 3:
Lakawanna State Park- Ross Family Reunion- 11 am

Evan and I quickly realize that we are there solely because we are the parents of the newest member of the family. We are there for these specific reasons: the baby is A. smelly B. hungry C. cranky, or D. heavy. Also, we are there to hold him while others eat.

I met so many people that there was no way to keep them straight. If someone asked me did I remember So-And-So during the course of a story, I just nodded my head enthusiastically. The one family I will not ever forget is the Kramers…ahhhh, the Kramers. Modern day hippies with a twist. If you were to meet one of the Kramer kids on the street you would think, “Oh, another emo kid, wonder what he is rebelling against?”. Of course then you meet the parents and are puzzled. The dad reminds of a MIT genius, a bit nerdy and the mom is so sweet- Beau just loved her. Because the kids wore the black attire with tons of bracelets/piercings of today, I expected them to be all, “Psha…leave me alone…I need to express myself with some creepy poetry.” Instead they were playing the guitar…all of them…and when the mom said, “Let’s go for a hike.” they all got up (no griping or whining) and went…and seemed to enjoy it. Now according to their grandma they also ALL play various instruments and routinely have “jam” sessions in the basement. I can’t help but think of the Partridge family and wonder if they pack up an old VW van and play gigs.

Let me take a minute to tell you why I’ve talked about the musical talents of the Kramers. You see, Beau was tired…freakin’ exhausted, but he was too afraid that he was going to miss the exciting party so he fought sleep with every ounce of his 22 lb. body. At close to 4pm I bounced, giggled, walked, and sang him to sleep finally. Grandma Debbie found a shady spot under a tree and I finally put him down. Now as I was doing this I remember hearing Evan say, “bagpipes” but I paid him no attention. That is until I looked up and to my horror I see the eldest Kramer sporting bagpipes and getting ready for a show. All I can think is, “You have got to be kidding me”. Alas, no. Beau came alive like someone had tazered him. He gave me a look that said, “What the ….?” and then his bottom lip began to quiver. Guess who never napped again?

Bagpipe Kramer


Evan captured our expressions as the bagpipe played on...thankfully you really can't see mine.

We said our goodbyes and we were off to Fogelsville and a nice hotel (Evan’s rights have been reinstated).

Day 4:
Philadelphia-Fourth of July

Late start due to Beau Kenevil. We get to Philly and I have our day mapped out…where to park, in which order to walk/see things, museums with changing tables, etc. What I did NOT consider was that the northeast was going to be at the start of a record-breaking heat wave and hot as Hades...not good, not good at all…but we’ve got plenty of water and sun block so we soldier on making sure to take plenty of air conditioned breaks!

Things said in Philly:

Seriously, how far? It's hot. Cobblestone is ridiculous I have about vibrated Beau right out of the stroller-how did they do it with wooden wheels? I wish the stroller wheels were in Egypt. Sorry, I had the map the wrong way…it’s five block in the other direction. It’s really hot. Are you kidding me that’s the line? Are you telling me we walked all this way and they closed early? Is that a guy? Please don’t give my child a pointy little flag, he’s going to put in his mouth or stab himself in the eye. Beau, stop touching that! Beau, stop biting mommy! It’s sooooo hot. Here ye, here ye Beau has been found guilty of being a party pooper. It’s four o’clock and all’s well.(last two said multiple times with British accent while Beau sported his tricorner hat. We looked for a powdered wig but couldn’t find one).

"Why do my parents do this to me? Good thing I'm cute enough to pull this off!"

Things witnessed in Philly that, come on, really, on the Fourth?

"Preachers"(I don't know what they were other than inappropriate)preaching on the sins of the flesh, George Washington protesters (apparently he enslaved the nine and they are ticked off still), pro-lifers with THE most disgusting posters that were way taller than me (the same two ladies seemed to follow us around until Evan finally said something to them about the day being a family day and children seeing those gross pics), and an Obama protester.

When we realized that the major attractions were closing up shop for the big concert and fireworks extravaganza we headed back to the car via Chinatown not realizing that we were within blocks of Gino’s and Pat’s, the two competing Philly Cheese Steak joints. Evan still brings that up and I have to say I would have like to have judged the two. Back to the hotel to pack.

Day 5:
Allentown Airport- 5am

Beau wakes up as elevator door in hotel closes…crap. Drop off rental car. Holy cow-have to walk a zillion miles to check in because no shuttle running. Seriously- no computer check in, and Air Tran homies are slow as molasses.

While standing in security we hear, “Final boarding for Atlanta…”. Panic sets in because security guru is checking everything down to dental work before sending us through to X-ray. Here’s the kicker- we’re held up at security because apparently Little Bosephus is a security threat with his bottles and sealed Gerber foods(neither of which are subject to testing according to the TSA website). Bottles were removed from diaper bag at which point my son had a come apart. He actually yelled and leaned towards her like, “Hey lady, you don’t have clearance to touch the ba-ba! Stop touching the ba-bas now!” She said, “Apparently I’m not very popular today with the kids.” Really, what would make you think that? Another announcement and we aren’t finished with the rifling through of Beau’s bags. At this point Evan gives me the boarding passes and tells me to run to the gate.

Now normally I make it a practice not to run anywhere (the sweat and all), but this time I bolted up two escalators blowing past kids and the elderly (my apologies) all the way to our gate which, of course, was the VERY LAST ONE. I could barely talk by the time I got there because I was out of breath and my chest was on fire. Thankfully the girl seemed bored and understood my broken up, breathy story. She asked if Evan was on his way up the stairs and I lied(dear Lord forgive me) and she did whatever it is the gate person does that got us on the plane. At that point I ran back down the stairs, praying the whole time that I didn’t miss Evan and Beau. My husband is so smart! He only went up one level at a time so we wouldn't miss each other. The fact that he managed both carry ons, diaper bag, travel system, and Beau is amazing. We finally got on our plane only to find out that Mr. Air Tran Check-in Homie screwed up our seats so we wound up having to gate check the car seat. We were the last ones boarding the plane with a very excited Beau. Picture, if you will, the expressions of the other passengers. There is nothing like being the belle of the ball!

Needless to say Beau was up-ready to entertain and be entertained. He did great…he even earned his first set of wings given by a pilot deadheading to Atlanta. Me thinks he may have wanted to shut us up, but whatever it takes.

"Flight attendant, I'll have an infant 5 Hour Energy 'cause I am never going to sleep. This is too much fun!"

Beau finally fell asleep in the Atlanta airport while riding the train en route to get to the car.

6 States in 6 Months... He's on a roll-literally!

Beau Phelps

"One...two..."
"three"
"What in the world? Let's do it again."

Before my father passed away he sent me an email that was a video of infants swimming their little hearts out under water. I'm guessing that he sent it because he thought we should start teaching Beau early...perhaps he felt that we'd let Beau accidentally drown in a puddle. One of these days he'll probably let me know I was wrong and he that he was just forwarding the email to forward.

Beau absolutely loves the water. Bath time is his favorite time of day unless a certain 'Lil Bocephus get slippery and tries to jump out of mommy's arms to get his whale causing a little bitty "incident". Additionally his Grandpa Carter loves to stay out on the boat all summer (that is until Beau's Aunt Baylee broke her elbow by falling through a sliding door) and his Grandma Debbie lives in Panama City, where we now have to swim at one of the resort pools due to the craptastic oil spill...thank you British Petroleum! Now that I think about it, how odd is it that THIS is the summer I decide he must be comfortable in the water?!? Anyway, once you look at all of our "normal" summer activities you see why I decided Beau needed to begin to learn to swim.

I went straight to the internet and googled "infants, swimming, lessons, blah, blah, blah". Beau eventually got doctor clearance so we were set for Beau to become the next Olympic gold medalist in the (insert his strong swimming point here). Like a good parent I had very high expectations for my six month old.

I found an indoor, heated, saltwater pool with swim instructors who work with infants. I patted myself on the back. We had to go for an evaluation. Yep, Beau had to take a test at six months that had nothing to do with weight, height, or whether he could pass an object as small as a raisin from one hand to the other. By the way, why would I intentionally give Beau an object as small as a raisin to play around with? That would be another doctor visit and blog in which I have to tell the world just how dumb the idea was...jeez. When they asked about the raisin thing I said, "Yes" and we moved on. Sorry, back to swimming-I was told the evaluation was to make sure he didn't freak out and try to drown the instructor as he attempted to exit the pool. He did great...I mean, there was a moment of him looking around like "What are you people about to do to me now?", but that ended as soon as he realized it was nothing more than a huge bathtub.

"What are you two going to do to me now?"

We showed up two weeks later with Beau looking very dapper in his new swim trunks that Aunt Amy and Uncle Darren gave him for Easter. He was ready, set, go for swim-completely excited. Slight problem...Chattahoochie Scuba wasn't. In the typical Manderson family style things did not go as planned ie. paperwork lost, no schedule, Beau getting cranky, mommy getting crankier, daddy wishing he were anywhere but there...you get the picture.

"Look how excited the parents are and how worried the six month old is."

Finally Ear Infection Annie took Beau's lesson (fitting-right?). She was really good with him even though she felt horrible. They changed our lessons to a different time so that we would have Carlos for the remainder of the lessons. I was all, "Fine, fine...let's get this show on the road" until I realized that the new swim time was right around nap time...boo, seriously, boo!

The following day Beau was in a good mood and was ready to show Carlos what he could do. We learned "kick, kick, kick", "splash Beau splash", "blow bubbles Beau". We had to repeat out loud everything we wanted Beau to do about a thousand times then cheer/clap-Beau loves lots of positive reinforcment. If you didn't cheer he thought whatever it was that he just did was awful and he would start to cloud up. The constant repetition of events led to doing the same thing at home ie. "jump Beau jump", "poo Beau poo...yay, clap, clap, clap", etc. This seems very normal until you are out in public.

So here's what Beau can do in the pool: float, roll over, glide from parent to parent , kick, splash, "jump" in the pool, and finally he will go completely underwater on a count of three. It's amazing that he automatically knew to hold his breath for most things.

"three already, three..."

"Hey, are y'all just dunking me in a huge bottle of Little Noses now? I swear I'll stop fighting the booger sucker...jeez."

Now about Aunt Baylee's little crush on Carlos... She thinks he looks like Taylor Lautner. I didn't realize she had a crush until I gave her the camera to take pictures (apparently I trust her A LOT to give her the holy grail of cameras what with having a cast on her arm and walking around a slippery pool). Every picture she took of Beau just so happened to include Carlos. We have pics of Carlos holding Beau and posing for Baylee, Carlos gliding Beau through the pool, Carlos getting Beau to "kick, kick, kick", etc. There are a couple of Evan and myself with Beau taken by each other...but at least we'll never forget Carlos.

So was it worth it since he will have to do this all over again next year? Yes, if for no other reason than my baby was completely excited and happy for an hour a day. At least now I feel a little more comfortable when he get around water. If only I could just manage to count to three before he goes under...

"Watch mommy!"

"Dear DHR, We are NOT drowning the child. Please read the entire post and save yourself the call. Thanks."

"Hah, that was easy-peasy!"

"I wasn't ready Carlos, I wasn't ready."

"Please, please catch me."

"Whew...mommy got me."

"Floating is relaxing..."

"...until mommy sees if I can do it myself."

"Kick,kick,kick"

"Hey Carlos, I heard you...kick, kick, kick...let go already. I've got this!"

Gutter Child of Calcutta

Conversation in car post-Beau meltdown that lasted about twenty minutes:

Me (sweating profusely): "Don't you just love how we plan and plan and plan every little thing so the trip goes smoothly, then...WHAM...Beau decides today is the day to be ill and there go all those fabulous plans and we end up looking like complete idiot parents flying by the seat of our pants?"

Evan (after a few thoughtful moments): "So...does that make him God?"

Me (dumbfounded): "Whaaa?"

Evan: "You know humans make all the plans but really we're all supposed to be following God's plan."

Me (peering at sleeping Beau): "Hmmm. Nah..."

Welcome to THE SUMMER OF BEAU- 2010!
This is the summer in which we intended to get him out of daycare and completely well within a week and then travel, travel, travel. Bahahahahaha! But seriously folks, God has a plan for Beau's ear infections and colds and in time he will reveal it.

Apparently it was not for Beau to get well within a week and travel, travel, travel because here we are well into June and Beau's ear infections are still hanging out. Add to that the fact that he began teething and you having the makings for a child-star of a horror film (read: The Omen or Exorcist). We sat Beau down and told him that the ear infections are not his friends and that if those were the friends he chose to hang out with then we were going to start choosing his friends. He laughed at us.

So you may be wondering, "What were Beau's plans?" As far as we can tell eating was pretty high up on his agenda. He's eating solid-ish stage 1 foods and he loves 'em! So far he has loved everything at first taste except peaches (funny- considering that he was born in Georgia).

Beau apparently looked at the milestone calendar this month and decided to knock out three in as many days before his 6 month birthday. Evan and I realized at that very moment that our son was a procrastinator just like us...we hung our heads in shame. In a way we were proud at least he got in there and got the job done on time. He rolled over from tummy to back, sat up on his own, and sprouted a tooth.

Interesting story on how he sat up on his own the first time. Remember the horror of Easter pictures? Well, I decided you can't keep a good Manderson down and signed us up again...at Olan Mills...at one slung up in KMart...because I had a coupon. Here was the deal $9.99 for a huge package of one pose. So I decided that it would be neat to have pics of Evan and Beau taken for Father's Day. They dressed in their Florida State best and off we went. This time I was smart enough to get the first appointment on a holiday. Beau had eaten and napped so we were good. He took such awesome pictures...even when the photographer laid him on his tummy! Then she asked, "Can he sit up?" We replied, "Not yet." but she sat him up anyway and just as I was racing to catch him he just grinned at the camera like he'd been doing it his whole life...for like 10 seconds then toppled over. Evan and I just stared at him and each other like, "Did he just do that?".



Beau has been experiencing plenty of growing pains this summer and to ease his pain (and our own) we do whatever makes the child feel better. That has included things that I swore I would never let MY CHILD do (I was so uppity). For instance, he's so hot natured and it is so hot that I started buying him sleeveless tops, when that didn't cut it, I just let him run around in his diaper like a gutter child in Calcutta (this I swore I would never do). I have also tossed the socks, but I do still try to keep sandals on him (when he's dressed).



Add to his pains a diaper rash from antibiotics and you have the makings for some real entertainment because that's when mommy and daddy say to heck with the diaper, throw down old towels, and make Beau's day...it's NEKKED TIME! The child loves nothing more than his thirty minutes twice a day of rolling around on the floor in his birthday suit. He just laughs and giggles and talks up a storm. He only gets upset if he sees you go near a diaper. You see, Evan and I know what we've set ourselves up for...embarrassment, that's what. Evenings, or days, of Beau running into the middle of company naked as the day he was born laughing and giggling the whole time or undressing in public- whichever is more humiliating at the time. That's OK though we'll get him back with bubbles...they scare the bejeezus out of him! So much for all of the fun times Baby Center promised us.

For the time being we'll just let our child run around (roll around) in his altogether having the best time of his life...so far.