Ding Dong Ditch

 Wednesday:

If Pop Pop was watching tennis, Marlo ran to get his tennis racquet (racket?) and immediately transformed into a tennis star- falls and all. Although he's never seen baseball played, at Noma and Pop Pop's house, he had a baseball picture book and a baseball bat. Over time, he has slowly but steadily gained more and more interest in the sport, especially if a diving catch is involved. While here in Greenville, his interest really gained traction when he found the softball in the field. On Wednesday, it was clear that he needed (yes, needed) a baseball bat. Walt quickly ran to Walmart to secure one. Once the stage was set, Walt took Marlo outside to find a blue baseball bat, a tee, and baseballs! Marlo was delighted and wanted to carry his new bat and tee everywhere he went. 

That afternoon, while Marlo was playing (probably baseball), we told him to drop everything and come outside with us! There was rumbling thunder, pounding rain and a "cool" breeze. Marlo was fascinated and enjoyed getting wet (just a little) in the rain.

The last noteworthy event of the day actually came in the middle of the night. First, a little context on where we are staying is needed. The house was recently renovated but is located in a lower socioeconomic area of Greenville. It is in the process of being gentrified, but most of the homes on our street are still very old and run down and the crime rate in this area is higher than other areas of Greenville. I don't feel unsafe going outside during the day but we lock the doors and there are security cameras on both doors. That was the context and now for the story. 

We were sleeping peacefully when all of a sudden we hear the doorbell ring a few times. It's 2:45AM. Fortunately, the babies stayed asleep but Walt and I were wide awake and very confused. Walt looked out our window to see if he could spot anyone and I contacted our host to look at the security cameras. She actually responded right away (apparently she is a night owl and was still awake). She and her husband didn't see anything on the cameras but they only record when movement is detected and they had lowered the sensors because of the traffic that drives by the house. Still, it was a bit disconcerting. I wondered if some kids were ding-dong ditching? But then wouldn't the camera pick them up? While looking out the window, Walt saw a motion light go off at a neighbors house and then a person run behind the house. Soon after, police cars started patrolling the area with their lights flashing. I felt much better when they arrived. Walt decided to call 911 (we couldn't find a non-emergency number to call) to let them know of our experience. The operator told us that there was a woman trying to find help for her boyfriend who was injured. Who knows if that's the real story, but the police eventually left and the rest of the night was normal.

Thursday:

I continued to settle in. I've been purchasing a few items from facebook marketplace for the boys. In the morning, I picked up some baby items for Indi. I now have a baby chair (yay!) and a play mat. The play mat quickly became a home for Marlo's "guys." Multipurpose! That afternoon, I bought a gallon sized ziploc bag full of more "guys" for Marlo to play with. I gave him a few to play with first and so far his favorites are the Cookie Monster (According to Walt, he works at a gas station and sells cookies), Mickey Mouse, a little bobble head kitty car, and a little bobble head mouse.

This happened while shopping at Walmart. Marlo thought this was the funniest thing. When a guy started asking where he had gone, Marlo thought that fun game. But eventually the guy left while Marlo was inside and he became confused when he took it off. Then he tried to do it to other strangers passing by. 

Friday: 

Highlights of the day were: 

*Indi started randomly laughing at Marlo. He really loves to watch Marlo. 

*Friday night pizza, breadsticks (all homemade bread), peach spinach salad, cinnamon roll sticks, and ice cream.