What is our favorite P-K hybrid up to nowadays?
Well, it's been a heck of a year so far.
Mostly, we are recovering from the many months long illness and death of FRK's mother, Nan, aka Bunting's Mamaji. It's very hard, in and of itself, and also in the context of the fact that both my parents are dead, and now Nan. FRK has three grandparents still living, all in their 90s. At age two Bunting has three that are already gone. It is a bitter pill to swallow some days.
Nan had a great laugh. When one spent any time in her presence a significant portion of it was spent laughing. We are so grateful that she knew of Bunting's existence, and that they had the brief time together that they did.
Almost the moment she laid eyes on him, Nan dubbed Bunting the "Joy Boy". Well, actually, the day he was born she declared that he looked like a windswept Tibetan monk, and she was pretty sure that they had made a grave error when they chose the most recent toddler Dalai Lama. If you knew her, you are nodding your head, murmuring, 'of course she did'.
And it's true he is our Joy Boy, we have been gifted with a child who is a beam of sunshine wrapped in a giant-headed, barrel chested, strong like ox (to use a phrase Mama Lucy was fond of) package.
FRK was in a ZZ Top phase for a while.
Candid shots are a challenge nowadays, not only because we are pretty much sprinting to keep up with him during his waking hours, but also because this oft photographed child pulls an absurd cheeseface the moment he senses a photo is afoot. To wit:
fully stocked, post park visit: Ribby (#1 frog lovey); banana; fruit snacks; juice (Honest Kids, which is low sugar, organic, etc-- FRK refers to it as 'water juice', and thinks it a fraud and a crime perpetrated upon consumers and small children)
More Ribby love:
Thai food in San Francisco. Sat in a chair like a champ, charmed the pants off the waitresses, got a free bowl of ice cream just because. I tried to demur, but he proclaimed "Oh ice cream, dee-yish-ous, thank you!" and that was that. Sigh.
Daddy's loyal gardening assistant. If you define assistant as "get underfoot as much as possible, climb into raised beds, proclaim "I did it!!" and dance in circles, turn on water at random intervals, and move trowel-fuls of dirt from point A to point B without rhyme or reason". Which we do.
It's a major case of Monkey See, Monkey Do around here. He is an amazing little mimic, and is in what I refer to as the parrot phase. We really have to watch our language nowadays. It was equal parts amusing and horrifying to hear him proclaim "JESUS!!!!!" with exquisite timing and cadence at a particularly loud and booming firework on the Fourth of July.
Ugh, so many emails to get through
OSHA compliant from the waist up
As always, an excellent helper boy
One warm summer day, I decided to give myself a pedicure, whilst the boys puttered around the garden. Bunting was busy troweling and watering and whatnot, but as always, he was paying close attention.
I was in the kitchen when FRK hollered "Babe, get out here!!!" I hustled outside, and FRK was holding Bunting with arms akimbo, laughing hysterically. When he laid eyes on me, Bunting exclaimed "Oh Mama, big mess, need wipe!"
Yeah.
(don't panic, that is not blood- Mepher informed me I must preface with that)
I went inside to investigate dinner, it took mere moments for him to find the nail implement box, work it off the counter, find the nail polish, and open it. Open it! This is challenging for some adults.
so cooperative, lifting his pant leg so I can get a good shot
One night as FRK was putting Bunting to bed, he began narrating the intro to the Six Million Dollar Man, making all the cool sound effects, etcetera.
The next day I found him doing this:
Our little mini Steve Austin
Bunting loves numbers and letters, and can identify A-Z, and 1-10, both receptively and expressively (i.e. "where is the K", and "what letter is this?") Mind you this is through zero effort of his parents- no Tiger Mama I, though it is still early days, heh-heh.
2 years, 3 months old. Please note the expression and side eye when he says "seven" for the number 14. It just kills us with the cuteness.
Two months later
We continue to be so very fortunate to see Mepher and UJ almost every week. When we can, we visit them in San Francisco; the vehicle gene that seems to be present in almost every XY child on the planet has fully wakened, and the City is a vehicle loving young boy's paradise. Articulated buses, motorcycles, scooters, emergency vehicles, delivery trucks galore, all in close proximity.
Gorgeous Mepher and her doppelgänger nephew, windblown on the streets of San Francisco
Scoop! (It was pajama day. And 'Piderman is a favorite in these parts)
Yet still, in the throes of our grief, every day we recognize how blessed we are. We live in a free country, not at war, with a roof over our head, plenty to eat, and lots of love. Human and canine.
with Herbie, our favorite canine pal. He came to visit and oh is our boy in love.
Bunting does have a Grandma and Grandpa on the East coast who love him to bits. And next month, we get to hang out with Grandpa Richard and Grandma Joanne at the beach in the Outer Banks, a place FRK has been telling me about for almost 20 years. We are so excited and looking forward to lots of sun, water, and family time.
I promise we will take lots of photos and be back soon with a full report.
In the meantime...
Stay cool
