An unexpected visit from the Lewises

What's up cuz?

My sister Jackie decided to start the Southern Farewell Tour a day early. My BIL stayed behind to babysat a bureaucrat so that he and his family could be reunited with their belongings which are currently on the slow boat to China (well, to Okinawa, which used to be part of China). Anyhow, what follow is heresay (not admissible in a court of law, but perfectly acceptable for reporting on my adorable son):

The Lewis' arrived - Aunt Jax, cousins Chas, Simon and Mia and Nigel the dog - a week after Dan and I had visited them in Virginia, thus the memory of his cousins and their uber-shaggy dog was fresh in his memory. Plus, Dan and I talk about Chas, Simon and Mia every day before naptime as I point them out on a pillow with their photos. Dan's reaction to their arrival was unrestrained glee. With wide eyes and a big smile, he recognized and greeted his cousins and Nigel. Aunt Jax puts it this way: "His face just said 'I know you guys and now you're HERE, at my house.'" Throughout dinner he would spontaneously break into a giggle. They all laughed back, then they'd laugh again when he'd bang his head on the table. Guess what he did next? Banged his head on the table. He apparently liked the results even if it meant a bruised forehead. Crazy kid. And with four kids in the house, Dan was bound to get into some trouble. We usually keep the bathroom door closed, but the kids left it open. Dan unrolled an entire roll of toilet paper and came running down the hall with it.

And the sweetest part of the visit was watching Dan gravitate toward Chas, now seven, who was the very first baby in my life. He really took to Chas, sitting on his lap, following him around, chattering away at him.

Dan's changing so quickly I can hardly keep up with all he does. But here's a laundry list: He can nearly climb in and out of the tub on his own (The crib is next, I'm sure.); when he's tired, he humps the floor (a little embarassing when he does it in front of others); when he gets a hold of the phone, he puts it to his forehead (apparently, he has a forehead ear); his latest passion is balloons (Jim says he saw one way up in a tree in our neighbor's yard ACROSS THE STREET and reached for it); and that reminds me, the boy has NO depth perception. Dan will get down on his hands and knees three feet and at a 45 degree angle from the stairs when he's ready to go down. He often winds up straddling the door frame or bumping into the wall. I try not to laugh ... well, I don't try too hard. It's hilarious. I wish I could find a video of Kevin Nealon as Mr. No Depth Perception, whose ability to see on in two dimensions caused him to shout at people right next to him or back his truck into a house.