Catching Up

We're been busy lately, which seems wrong, somehow, since it's summertime. It's so hot here today, hot and sticky and tornado-warningy. Makes me tired, cranky, lazy. But there's no time for any of that! I'm busy getting Dorothy's second book to the printer this week, and working on publicity stuff for our first book, and some stuff for my own book(s), and we spent a week in Boulder at Naropa where I taught a class called Performances of the Everyday, and gave a reading, and moderated a panel on small press publishing. And of course there is always Dalkey work. Always! Meanwhile, Elijah is busy in all his own ways . . . he started walking the first morning in Boulder. Maybe he needed a change of pace? Or a truly different altitude? He just woke up and walked. Done. And he's started obviously mimicking our speech. He had on a shirt today with a duck another duck and a goose and he walked around saying (sort of) Duck Duck Goose, which I'd said when I dressed him. He also makes a whole zoo's worth of truly adorable animal sounds. Newest additions: goose, snake, rooster. And his pigeon is getting really good. Uncle Ethan would be so proud. He's just so communicative lately. He points and gestures a lot and this morning, after clearly asking to go out for about an hour (we were really busy doing Dorothy stuff and waking up and making breakfast, etc.), he waddled into the kitchen with his sandals in his hands and held them up to me. Kid knows what he wants! He is a very sweet boy. Gives lots of kisses. Has started trying to pick up and hug the cat. Loves his mom and dad very much. And is loved, ridiculously, totally, resoundingly, in return. Yesterday we went to a little petting farm with Katrin and Anton and a goat started to nibble the hem of my skirt (actually, I was a little scared too), and Elijah got so upset. He was pretty obviously afraid the goat would eat his mom and also it seemed he wanted to defend me but wasn't sure how, since the goat was about an inch taller than him, and had horns. Okay, M is getting him to sleep and I'm going to brush my teeth and read. I'm working my way through Anna Karenina during naps. Pictures soon.