Ju-Ju

Ian spent last week not only with Grammie and Pa, but also with Aunt Julie and Uncle Eli. Aunt Julie is a great Ian-admirer, but hasn't gotten to spend a whole week with him since just after he was born. So it was great to see them hang out together, and we appreciated the help Julie provided in taking care of Ian while we worked and Lisa (Ian's nanny) had the week off. In addition to being his aunt, Julie is a professional -- she teaches a two-year-old preschool class -- what could be better?

Unfortunately, we don't have any good closeups of the two of them, because Julie was the one taking most of the photos (we'll do better next time). But here they are together as he checks out his rocking horse:


In addition to a book and a moose, Julie brought Ian some new long-sleeved big boy 3T shirts. This is great because Ian has eczema on his left elpit (not the medical term, but the logical name for the inside of the elbow). We treat it with ointment twice a day, but have to keep him in long sleeves to prevent him from scratching and/or getting ointment everywhere. It's amazing how quickly a small boy can dirty a whole bunch of clean shirts. It was tricky to get Ian to pose in one of his new shirts (I don't think he has a future as a model), because he's very, very busy. Here I caught him as he ran between rooms:

And here I surprised him as he was coming around the Christmas tree:

I'm sure Ian does not appreciate his new shirts as much as we do (I estimate that it will be at least 12 more years before he enjoys getting clothes as gifts), but he is having a lot of fun with Julie's other gift. Ian is getting quite good at puzzles and enjoys doing several each day. So, along with four new puzzles, Julie gave him this puzzle rack -- he likes sliding the puzzles in and out, it's like a puzzle of puzzles!:

Apparently puzzles are a standard size (who knew), because the puzzles Ian already had fit in the rack too. It fits nicely into Ian's trofast (toy bins). I am very proud of this view The labeled bins make me irrationally happy. It's like we're actually organized:

Hopefully Ian and Julie will see each other again soon. He points out "Ju-ju!" when we go through our photo album, so we know he's still thinking about her. He's a lucky boy to have both an aunt and an uncle who are want to be involved in his life. Next up on the aunt/uncle (there should be a collective word for that) cycle: Uncle Greg returns in late January . . .