PlayDay with Sean Patrick

Weekends for the career family mean stealing away precious playtime with the kid. Plus one tries to afford an ounce of energy for projects and such... mind you this is between changing diapers, looking for pacifiers, and feeding a demanding mouth. Today is for Kristin, she went to the gym. Tomorrow Michael will have to work on his graduate paper.
The afternoon? Daddy Michael and I took Sean to the neighborhood Ramen noodle bar for soup and dumplings, and then on to the local park. Oh, does he smile when Daddy glides him down the slide. He giggles and grins. Michael has the balancing act down pat with Sean centered in his lap for the swingset -- up, up and aways. He's a daddy's boy, no question (sorry Kristin!, babies aren't politically correct).
Now home and Sean is sitting in my lap watching Baby Einstein dvd collection "Baby Beethoven Symphony of Fun" while Daddy has passed out on nearby futon sofa... a luxury available only while Nanny Bruce is in town (wink). I'm typing with one hand. Naptime doesn't last long, as the phone rings or a bottle drops to the floor.
Now picking apple bits off Sean's and my clothing, as he merely wants to chomp with his incoming teeth, but no interest in swallowing. It's on to a rice cracker shaped like a heart. Now he's on the floor playing with blocks and toys that make sounds, like the octopus that teaches shapes, and an airplane that makes zooming sounds. His favourite is standing up behind the fire truck and pushing it around the livingroom. It has a horn, bell and siren. He will be walking without assistance within the month!
Sean has the longest eyelashes, bluest eyes, and sandiest hair. A walk in the park is an oogling hour of onlookers who are fascinated and chant "kawai" (cutie) as they go by.
It's taken a half hour for this entry, as I'm on duty and often stop to redirect Sean. My hat's off to you folks who do this on a daily basis.
We talked to Grammy and Grandpa Wells this morning via computer thru a service called www.skype.com which allows you to use microphones on computer to chat live. Excellent and basically free. Remarkable clarity, especially as it was set up as a speakerphone.
I think Grammy Wells is going to slip me an extra bonus if I take Sean home as my one piece of personal carry-on luggage. An international skype chat in this household is a fiveway gab fest (make that six with me here), in which everyone talks in and around and over the other, with very welcome interruptions when Sean decides to giggle or gabble, bibble and babble. Today he distinctly said "Da da, da da..." Although she is missing it, Sean just said "Mama, Mama."
Living at this extreme distance from family and close friends does limit your sense of feeling grounded, as well as the perhaps not so obvious limit of a support system. An eventual transition back to the states is inevitable, and with some patience and planning this international couple hope to be in proximity to Kristin's New England based family. In a place like this that offers exceptional salaries, it's easy for a decade or two to zip by without realizing it. Fortunately this couple knows when "enough is enough." The baby has definitely shifted priorities and assisted in speeding up goals.

When Mommy gets home she probably won't be impressed by the livingroom now transformed playpen. We've taken out the blocks, pots, pillows and blankies and strewn them all over the place. He's entertained, so I can finish typing and check email. Michael's fixed me a cup of hot chocolate and is preparing the curry dish.