Vacances Chez Grandma

Mr. Meh went for his first one-night sleep over at grandma's two weeks ago. It went well. I took him there in early afternoon. He crawled and explored everything. It was probably nicer than at home -- at least there was no dog hair and there is wall-to-wall carpeting. And my parents have a plethora of chachkis (don't know how to spell this) for Mr. Meh to get in trouble with.

The coffee table is made of glass. On it are porcelain candle sticks with candles in them and two big porcelain bowls. Under the table, there was a dozen or so little class teacandle holders. Next to the table on the floor are a few house plants. There are also some 100 CDs on the floor, nicely arranged. Mr. Me, of course, was fascinated with all of them. He kept taking the tea candle holders and trying to put one on top of the other. He likes to join and take things apart. Not a big deal. I know what he's trying to achieve cognitively. I can see him think. Except he's not really aware of his strength, nor is he aware that some things (like those made out of glass) should be handled gently with care.

Then he decided to play with candlesticks. He kept pulling the candles out and trying to put them back in the candlestick, which of course didn't work. Then he proceeded to put the candles in the glass bowl that was on the table. This game took a big portion of the afternoon.

I was getting upset with my dad because I was trying to move everything out of his reach, while he was telling that I need to keep a better watch on the baby. (At our house, however, he always comments that we need to move all sort of things, like the plants that spend the winter indoors, out of the baby's way).

Then I left, and Mr. Meh stayed for the night. It went well. He liked the crib they got for him. It's a big white crib, quite different from the one at home. He didn't mind sleeping there at all. Wasn't fussy at all. My mom put some toys for him in the crib, so he likes to look at them and talk to them (I'm always curious what he tells them)

So this experiment from two weeks ago went so well that on Sunday day, my parents picked up Mr. Meh and took him again to spend a few days with them. Basically, my dad was expecting some deliveries and it was easier for him to take care of Ivan at their house than here. Then they called this evening, if they can bring him back on Wednesday morning instead of tomorrow. We said fine. Ivan seems to have a good time there. He's been crawling everywhere. Playing with the phone (the transparent green landline phone) for over an hour.

He aparently also learned how to get off the bed today. When my parents put him on their big bed, he'd crawl to the edge, look over then turn around and go down feet first. I can't wait to see that.

On the home front, we miss him. It's been oddly quiet. Both of us got lots of sleep last night -- we both went to bed at nine. I should've done the same thing tonight, but instead I'm writing.

I also stayed at work late, as in my pre-Mr. Meh days. I got caught up on some work that's been lingering around. It was weird being the last one to leave. I definitely don't miss that.