Yes,
I am combining two months. It’s the only way it seems I can catch up on
your monthly letters in what is an increasingly busy life. Speaking of
busy, you are. All the time. You want to “go, go, go” (and tell us so
frequently) and you point to “that, that, that” when you don’t know what
something is called. Most times, you do know the names of items, so
your “that” pointing is getting less and less. I value the time when you
want to read a book or snuggle while watching Cars because it seems
like our quiet time is becoming squeezed between all of this going and
doing. You’ll come up to me and say “Mama, lap.” And I stop whatever it
is I’m doing to have you climb aboard.
I
feel like every month I tell you that you vocabulary has taken off, but
it is such a big part of your development these days. You know so many
words, including important things like Florida State’s coach’s name
(Jimbo), Florida State’s horse’s name (Renegade) and what we say when
the Gators come out (booooo!). But you also know how to read parts of
your books to me and your daddy. My current favorite to hear you read is
a new book you got for your birthday called “Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay
Up Late,” during which a pigeon gives every excuse under the sun not to
go to bed. We get to a page where the pigeon, after yawning, yells “I’m
not tired!” Each time we get to this page you try to yell as fast as you
can “I’m not tired!” except, in your speed to get it out, you tell “I
tired!” and I just smile when looking down at your beaming face.
Your
daddy and I understand most of your words, but there is one mystery
word that has been escaping us for about a month. You say it at
different times and in different locations that share no common
connection, so it’s been especially hard to figure it out. Your daddy
and I have affectionately named the word baba ganoush, although we are
pretty sure you aren’t asking for a Middle Eastern eggplant dip. It’s
just that the mystery word sounds just like baba ganoush, and it
gives us a good laugh. You, however, do not appreciate being laughed at
when saying baba ganoush, so we have to hide our pleasure at your cute
words.
We
spent nearly every weekend in August going to our community pool and
you have no fear of the water. I have visions of us, a year ago, with
you floating along in your baby float at the pool. I was torn from this
daydream as we trample back and forth from the pool to the baby pool to
the splash pad. Repeated over and over and over again. You know, because
when we’re enjoying one of the three there might be something
so!incredibly!exciting! that you’re missing out on in the other two. I
always have to give you plenty of “five more minutes until we leave”
warnings, not because you understand the concept of time, but rather so
that you know that leaving the pool is something you actually must
eventually do. And even with a plethora of warnings, leaving normally
involves tears because you want to stay and play more.
As
the weather has started to cool (a bit), I have been trying to run more
while pushing you in the jogging stroller. In doing so, I’ve learned
pushing a 32 pound boy isn’t the hard part of this scenario. Rather,
it’s the fact that you now know where the park is and that it’s along
our jogging route and you ask to go from the moment we leave our
driveway. (See the “go, go, go” reference above, except it’s “park,
park, park, park.”) So, we’ve adjusted my run a bit to include a stop at
the park halfway through my run. While leaving the park often evokes
similar emotions as leaving the pool, I find people only look at me a
little bit strangely when I’m pushing a crying baby around the running
track.
Another
new recent trick is your learned ability to stall your bedtime routine.
While you’ve always wanted us to read just one more book, your latest
tactics are when you are actually in your crib. First, you say “back”,
which means you want for us to rub your back. After we’ve done so for a
minute and then get ready to leave, you say “water.” So we’ve learned to
have sippy cup of water already in your crib. With your two “go-to”
tactics easily sidestepped by me and your daddy, you now want a hug and
kiss and hold both arms up in the air while lying on your back for a
hug. Clearly you know you’re not going to be denied hugs and kisses.
Finally, we prepare to walk out of the room and we say “love you” to
which you yell back “LOVE YOU.” Except you don’t just want to say it
once. You want multiple exchanges of “LOVE YOU” going back and forth
between you and either me or your daddy through the closed door.
Eventually we have to end it with a “love you, now go to bed, Graham” or
I think you would do it all night.
While
it adds time to your bedtime routine, hearing you yell “love you” each
night over and over as you get ready to go to sleep never gets old.
Love,
Mommy
PS…while you don’t know it now, we’ve started your bedtime routine earlier to make up for all of your stall tactics. LOVE YOU!
