My father turned 62 today. This is an issue for me because in my mind he is still in his thirties. (Yes, I recognize I am in my thirties and therefore cannot also have a father in his thirties. Call me delusional.)

Anyhow, for as long as I can remember we have celebrated his birthday by going to the circus. Of course in recent years this hasn’t happened because of proximity, but this year my mom scored some great tickets and we scooted off to America West Arena for P.T. Barnum’s legacy. I fear Mr. Barnum would be disappointed in his followers, but we still had a heck of a time.

Seven months old may be a little young for the festivities, but Jack was a trooper. He kept peeking at the stage to see what was going on, but he couldn’t fully commit his attention:



He did like the elephants though:



About 45 minutes into it he had a bit of an overload so I took him out for a little feeding and resting. He came back and promptly fell asleep:



Seriously. I battle this little guy to nap and then he falls asleep in the middle of a three ring circus? I can’t believe it, but it’s true. Here’s our happy family, with the resting babe looking oh-so-peaceful.



Also this weekend was the completion of the yam project. Here are the cooked and peeled yams being reviewed by Inspector 29:



Then off to the processor. There were too many for our little baby food maker, so we used the blender. (I use the word ‘we’ very loosely here. My participation is restricted to photography.)



And of course one final inspection before freezing:



104 cubes of yams were frozen and sealed and are now ready for consumption by our little angel. What an ordeal!

Thanks to everyone for the feedback about the “rules”. I think the consensus is that it depends entirely upon your relationship with the caregivers as well as proximity. I am fortunate that we have a fantastic relationship with both sets of grandparents and I really don’t worry when Jack spends time with them. One interesting comment came from my mom’s friend Claudia – she said “Well I follow the rules as long as I know what they are!” Fair enough. (She has 5 grandchildren I think, or maybe more.)

Anyhow, I am not anticipating problems on the grandparent front. I can’t believe how lucky Joe and I are to have such great parents. They are crazy about our little guy and have been more help than I ever could have imagined.

And hi to cousin Jan! I’m happy to see you commenting here – my mom told me you were reading. I will make sure and post more often so you don’t think we’re sick or injured.