He was so bald!

So, this is an extremely old photo--if I'd gone and had another baby who was now old enough to be sticking his nose into Easter lilies with such reckless abandon, you would have heard about it, even without the blog. But I've been getting really sentimental in the last couple of days about the loss of Tristram's baby photos on Jonathan's computer that got stolen. We even had them backed up on an external hard drive, and that got stolen too when the mover's van got broken into. So I've been sorting through what I do still have on this computer, and this is an old favorite. Especially since today he decreed that "Mommy's plants will die!"

Robyn and Dan left to head back to Tulsa this morning, but apparently are still stuck in Chicago. Flying in the upper Midwest in winter is dicey. Tristram has been thoroughly enjoying all his presents; he has gone through most of his books (his favorites are the two amazing pop-up books and Dragon's Fat Cat. He keeps pointing at the scarier-looking pop-up sea creatures and saying, "It won't hurt you, Mommy. It's just a predator." (This is funny because he actually knows all about predators. When he watches his dinosaur shows now, he yells, "Uh-oh, predator! Be careful, didelphodont!") I tell him it will only eat little fish, and he vehemently denies being a little fish. It's a game of sorts. He is also so in love with his new tool set and play fort that we had to take both of them away till tomorrow. Jonathan and I have been taking the extra time to get more unpacked (sorting through stacks of paper, hanging art...the late stages).

Jonathan hasn't gotten to test out his new boots yet, since Tristram refused to go outside to play this afternoon. He says he wants to go the zoo tomorrow, so I guess that'll be the big trial. If you've never tried to buy men's snow boots in a size 15, I recommend it as an amusing exercise. The salesmen's faces invariably go through set stages: initial shock, then picturing the man who would wear such a shoe, then deeper shock followed by an awed, "Nooo...we don't have any of those..No-wow-we don't even have a 14...Hey (other employee), do you have any idea where she might find a MEN'S SIZE 15 BOOT?" It's something everyone should see. Repeated enough times, though, it gets old, which is all by way of saying that I will be really disappointed if these boots turn out not to work once we're actually out and about.

Belial went to his new vet this morning. He needs his teeth cleaned, and first they needed to do a basic exam to make sure he won't fly apart into furry bits when they stick the instruments in his mouth (or, rather, the anasthetic in his veins). He was so glad to get home that he even let Tristram pet him. Now Belial and Seker are sleeping on the floor, Tristram is sleeping on his bed, Jonathan is playing Indigo Prophecy, and I am heading off to soak in the tub. Tomorrow, zoo, Monday, 7 am certification test.