Educating Allan

Fiona offered to watch Allan while River got some painting done. And she went over to pick him up and sit with him in the rocking chair.

It was good grandmother-grandson time that Fiona cherished. However it was Haruo that ended up continuing his painting rather than River who took this time to take a bath and freshen up. Taking care of a little one was tiring and frankly, time to oneself was at a premium.

River did take the time to teach Allan how to talk. It was an exhaustive process but she was ultimately successful.

Haruo went and cut the tiberium in the gem-cutter producing a lot of tiberium to plant out in the yard. The spires and gem-dust would prove to be a good financial investment in their future.

Susan had an emergency at the hospital that she had to deal with and had to fly out the door, regardless of the fact that it was the weekend. Such was life in the medical field.

River finally got a chance to paint mid-afternoon and painted a gorgeous painting.

...while Allan got his daily dose of fibre...yeah...chewing on a mallet probably isn't the best way of getting one's daily intake of fibre (wood grain). And Fiona shook her head wondering how Allan had gotten the eating habits of the Canadian castor canadensis.

River then taught Allan how to walk.

She was proud of her little man when he succeeded in learning how to toddle his way across the floor to her.

Haruo was proud of him too and took the opportunity to pick him up and give him a snuggle, while it was abundantly clear that Allan was content.

Allan loved it when his daddy picked him up and cuddled tightly against his father's chest. He felt protected.

Haruo did the dirty work...mainly potty training Allan. It definitely was a stinky process and the aroma that emanated from Allan's rear-droppings were what Granddaddy Yasunobu referred to as country perfume. It made Haruo wince and his eyes water.

Allan was so smart he mastered potty training in two sittings which spared Haruo's nasal passages.

"It's all done, sweetheart."

"Oh...thank God...I thought somebody's cow died from the stink emanating from the bathroom."

Ah...love = sparing the one that you care about from having to do the "dirty stuff" like changing diapers and dealing with potty training even if it makes you want to power-heave into the nearest garbage can.