Micronaxx

“I once was lost but now am found…” — Leo, Lion Buddy to the Stars

Finny, Dad-O, and our beloved, dirty-tailed little friend had quite a scare last Saturday. The three of us had headed to local hardware store/child sensory bombardment theater OSH, dubbed “GOSH” by Finn. After spending an inordinate (but delightful) amount of time inspecting sprinklers (“That a little windmill! Make it turn-turn-turn!”), spoingy hoses (“That look like Mom-O!”–presumably in the hair department), and more, we departed to get wood at Home Depot. Well, Finn and I departed, that is. Getting out of the car, I got that gut-turning feeling: Where is the little buddy??

Back we drove as fast as the Ocho would carry us, making a beeline for the shopping carts (no Leo) and Customer Service (no sign of him). Having a team of backup “stunt Leos” strategically cached around our house, I’d already begun prepping Finn with a story about how “maybe a dude brought him back to our house,” calling Margot to prepare a swap. We retraced our steps, checked everywhere, but no dice. And then, at the last minute… our cashier said she’d seen someone throw Leo in the garbage!

An lo, there was much rejoicing! Finn gave Leo a giant “skeez,” hugging his buddy all the way home. Given the little guy’s condition, we did arrange a quick swap (“Oh, Leo has to take a bath”) to a cleaner version. Whew–all’s well that ends well. And thanks again, cashier-lady, wherever you may be.

We just wrapped up a lovely evening with the boys. Apparently it was Nack-Boy Meltdown Theater™ earlier this afternoon, so our nanny prescribed a late afternoon nap for both Henry and Finny. They slept from 4:15 until I got home around 5:15, and when they got up, both were absolutely in top form. Finny was happy and keeping himself busy, and Henry was the most pacific he’s been in ages. Super cuddly and babbly and 100% nice-to-be-around.

We decided to go out to the pizza place for dinner since bedtime would be getting pushed back, and we all had a great time. Finn was excited to watch the pizza man squash the dough in the press, and also thrilled to wash down his pizza with a little chocolate gelato afterwards. Henry remained cool and calm the whole time, quietly eating his dinner and observing the goings on. It was such a nice way to spend the evening. Now Henry’s in bed with nary a peep of protest, and Finn’s on his way, having just finished his bath.

Eyeing an empty stem from which a large petal had detached & descended:

• Finn: “What happen to that flower up there?”
• Mom-O: “Oh, it got kind of old, so the top part fell off.”
• F. (earnestly insistent yet quizzical): “Fix it?!”
• M.: “Um, yeah, it doesn’t really work that way…”
• F.: “Duct tape?!”

Hip Hip Hooray, Henry Nack is A-OK!!!

We’re just back from the pediatric urologist, and have fantastic news. Henry’s kidneys and ureters are absolutely perfectly fine. He has no blockage, everything is draining as it should, and the issues we were seeing before have resolved themselves almost completely. Hooray!!!

No more antibiotics, no more tests, no surgery, and no more worries about our guy’s kidneys. We’ll do one more ultrasound in June to check on the slight remaining swelling in the left ureter, but the Dr. assures us Henry will outgrow the issue completely, and that we have no reason to worry about anything.

Speaking for both John and me: “Whew!”

Whew–what an evening. Things were running pretty much as usual, with everybody happy and active as ever. During dinner Henry got fussier and fussier, so after we finished I gave him some gas drops for his tummy. Who knows whether that was the trigger, but immediately afterwards–well, let’s just use the word “projectile” and leave it at that. Poor little guy. I can’t recall seeing anything quite like it, putting the fountains of the Bellagio to shame.

“Finny saw that!!” his brother declared excitedly. Eyeing the carnage, he pronounced it “Disgusting baby food.” After being shooed out of the room, though, he returned to do something profoundly sweet: Bringing in his beloved lion-buddy Leo, Finn said, “Bring lion over to help him out a little bit!,” making Leo peck Henry on the head. He may have been thinking of The Lion and the Mouse, a new favorite book from cousin Anne Nack.

Fortunately a good puke seems to have been just what the G-Man needed, and from that point on he was his regular content self.

Bonus Finny bits o’ the eve:

1. Margot observed him talking by himself in the kitchen, making each of his hands into a little talking wedge. “I would like some more graham crackers, please!” one hand told the other.
2. During his bath Finn was making up a bunch of crazy jibberish, saying, “What that mean?” I told him, “You’re a strange boy.” “And good!” he replied. “Strange and good!”