Halloween

I took Hayden to the dentist for his first regular visit today. I can't believe I'm at the point in life where you do things like take a kid to the dentist. Ever since he was born, life has been a series of milestones, and I guess for me, the reality of being a parent has manifested itself in things like:

going to the mall with a stroller
getting highchairs at restaurants
having little cars and trucks parked on the bathtub ledge
having cheerios in the pantry
saying the word "potty"
and now, pediatric dentist appointments

It's so strange, but these are all like rites of passage - and each one is sacred.

Deluge

Too. Much. Rain.




Here is the part of our backyard that is under about three inches of water.




This part of the yard has been under three inches of water for two days now.




This is one of the many, many giant puddles that has accumulated in the leaking sunroom. This one happens to be seeping through the threshold into the kitchen, saturating the grout on the kitchen floor. There is also an accompanying wet-dog smell. Lovely.





This is the raging river coming down the street from above my house. (It was barely sprinkling when I took this picture).




And this is the raging river continuing down past our house. There are firetrucks going up and down our street. My neighbors' pools are filled with mud and rocks.

I hope the worst is over. As soon as I finished typing that, it started to pour.

a new family tradition

hooray!!

neil and i are going to see wilco in l.a. in november!!!! i'm so glad i was able to find tickets. i found a pair on ebay for a reasonable amount (okay, three times face value). other seats were going for a lot more, so all in all, it was a good deal. and i got a good rate on a nice room nearby (kind of). i am so excited! we haven't been to a concert since we saw radiohead at coachella - and that was five months ago!!!

wilcoweb

the only girl in the house

I just told Hayden to finish up his breakfast while I went upstairs to get ready to go for a walk with our neighbor. He said "You're not drying your hair, are you?" I didn't think I'd feel so outnumbered so soon!

I don't think it's possible to really feel the enormity of being a mother until you realize that your child knows you exclusively as "Mom." Hayden is going to be three in February, and to him, I am and always have been the person trying to teach people to use the potty, persuading others to eat food they don't want, announcing bed times, and hauling people away from the park. I'm sure he assumes I've always used phrases like "Chew up those grapes before you do another somersault" and "We don't wash our hands in the toilet."