Turkey Hill and Sweet (smelling) William

Two days down, six to go. We're thankful this isn't a terribly long trip, Jesse! And I should immediately say that so far we're all still healthy, yesterday's events notwithstanding.

William, as has become usual over the past couple of weeks, had a terrible time with me leaving him this morning. He sobbed. (I wonder if it's a side effect of how much more time I've had with the boys most of the summer? How we're going to get him to start preschool next week is beyond me right now; if he suddenly can barely manage staying with your parents, who've watched him most days of his little life, going to school is going to be a stretch.)

Your dad is a champ, in any case, and worked hard to keep him distracted while I got out of the house. Sadly, I had no one to distract me from hearing William's wails and seeing his outstretched arms while I pulled out of the driveway and headed off. Ouch. The consolation was knowing Jim had tickets today for the Turkey Hill Experience and would soon be heading out with both boys for a fun morning. To my great delight, this popped into my email after lunch:

I was home by 3:00, and the boys were full of stories about a ball pit, ice cream samples, and all sorts of fun activities. William, who as you know is in love with "capkick," was especially thrilled to tell me that he'd gotten a chapstick of his very own that morning in a grab bag of treats and samples. Ah, yes—that explained the sweet, fruity smell emanating from his wee personage! He had applied it liberally as usual...including heavily slicking portions of his hair. 

After dinner, both boys protested the thought of a bath, so I proposed at least washing William's hair in the kitchen sink. That idea was met with such approval that Josiah found a camera to document the event and also demanded his own hair wash and head massage! Seeing as I made mountains of pancakes for breakfast followed by warm foot baths this morning (I hadn't noticed the grubbiness of their little boy feet before bed last night!), their day was bookended by some serious pampering. 

All that to say, I guess the kids aren't hurting too much for love and care despite being down a parent...but that hasn't stopped us from talking about you lots and missing you, Daddy. Josiah was wondering today if Ukraine was a country with malaria, by the way, so I reassured him on that front. Stay safe and come home soon, okay?