An Open Letter

Falls

2007-08-20T10:21:00.000-04:00

I saw the scariest thing I've ever seen this weekend.

We were walking downstairs after I got home from work Friday. You were just in front of me and you slipped or missed the hand-rail or something and there you went. Spinning sideways down the entire stairs to our basement.

You hit your head a couple times on the molding at the bottom and landed very scared and crying. I immediately picked you up and then put you back down again afraid that maybe you had really hurt yourself and I shouldn't move you. Your fear changed to crying insistence that you be allowed to go play with your playdo as originally intended and you clearly were OK.

But I remained shaken by the incident. I know that little kids fall all the time and I know you didn't get hurt. But I keep remembering your fall.

I keep remembering you rolling as you fell and at one point our eyes met and you had a look on your face that said "What's going on?" And I knew I couldn't help.

I know this will happen again. It will not always be a physical fall, but it will happen again and I will not always be able to help you.

I know this. But I hate it anyways.

Sesame Place

2007-08-15T20:38:00.000-04:00

We just got back from 2 days at Sesame Place. You had a blast. It might have been the first time we've spent 2 days letting you run around doing pretty much anything you want.

After lunch on day 2 we went to the store and you picked out a Grover doll that you have kept with you for a complete 24 hours now.

My first memory of an amusement park is going to Sea World and getting a stuffed shark. Then I ran down the path throwing the shark into the air and catching it. I think I threw it into a shrub that someone had to fish it out.

Skinned Knees

2007-07-19T08:19:00.000-04:00

We were playing downstairs last night after I came home from work and I noticed that you had two skinned knees and a skinned shin all at the same time.

I think I had at least one skinned knee straight through college given all the sports and other outdoor activities I had. Thankfully knee skin seems to grow back pretty well.

Toys

2007-07-09T21:06:00.001-04:00

There is a new high-end toy store in Rockville that just opened. We were there yesterday for lunch and went wandering through the store. You thought that was great. Walking around touching all the toys.

They had some great, huge trucks from some German company. They reminded me of one of my favorite toys from way back when. I had a large firetruck. It was large in my memory but I was smaller then. The best part was that you could plug a garden hose into the side of it and squirt water out of a fire house on the top of the ladder. Great fun.

They also had a lot of games for young kids, more 3 and up aged games then I've seen in one place before. When we got home you went around behind the bar where I keep my games and asked to play a game from a game book we have that has dice and pebbles in a bag where you can see them. I'm going to have to look into some of those games.

Green

2007-07-08T21:19:00.000-04:00

The early leader for your favorite color is definitely green. Any question involving or possibly involving a color results in the answer being green.

Interestingly, you don't have a solid grasp on color yet, so you don't actually know which item is green.

I don't know what my favorite color was at that age and I don't really have a strong favorite color feeling now. Maybe black.

It will be interesting to see if you still like green best when you actually know what green is.

Pointing to the beach

2007-07-06T20:17:00.001-04:00

You had a great time at the beach this week. We managed to get there twice. I think you think beaches are the world's largest sand-boxes. The second time we went, you knew where we were going and got excited as we got close. I asked you where the beach was and you pointed.

When I was little, my parents took me to the beach in the outer banks. There is a famous picture of me somewhere of me pointing to the beach.

I guess at some point we all get to point to the beach.

First Roller Coaster

2007-07-03T10:07:00.000-04:00

2 years, 3 1/2 months.

We took you to your first miniature golf. That didn't involve a lot of golf.

But the golf place had a carousel. You love carousels so we figured that would salvage the day. While your mom was buying a ticket you saw their kiddie roller coaster. "Train!" "Caterpillar!"

Sure enough, 2 and above can ride.

So you and your mom went. You went wee and raised you hands at the start. I think the top the roller coaster was a couple feet taller then I was, but you loved it.

Of course, if you mom and I were really good parents we'd have pictures. But we're really not good at that. Maybe we'll try to re-enact the occasion later this week.

No!... oh, Yes!

2007-07-02T17:32:00.000-04:00

You're solidly into your no phase.

You had a good dinner tonight and your Mom asked you if you wanted a cookie because you had a good dinner.

You immediately said no!

Then a second later, you actually heard what your Mom had said.

"Oh, Yes!"

I can't imagine

2007-06-26T21:12:00.000-04:00

A friend of yours had a seizure today. Three of them actually.

You didn't see it and do not know it happened. Your mom found out because your friend's mom is mom's friend. Your friend's mom is a mess tonight.

But I can't blame her.

How would I take you having three seizures? I can't imagine. I really can't. I hope I never have to find out.

ZZZZZZZZ

2007-06-24T21:32:00.000-04:00

For months now, you've played a game sometimes where you and either your Mom or I would pretend to go to sleep. You'd get pillows for us, maybe a blanket. Sometimes you'd tell us to close our eyes and go to sleep. More recently you started fake snoring to add to the game.

Then a couple weeks ago, we were up in Pittsburgh visiting my parents and you decided you didn't really want to take a nap. So I go back in and tell you that you really have to go to sleep. So you lay down, grab your burp-cloth and start fake snoring.

You really did need to sleep.

But that was funny.

Fathers' Day Reflection

2007-06-18T08:36:00.001-04:00

Yesterday was a fun Fathers' day. There were gifts and golf, but better then that it was a good day to focus on the father-son relationship. I'm sure its going to have its rocky points in the future, but being a Father is really a great thing.

There are certainly other days of the year when I get to sit down on the floor and play cars or animals with you or watch you run laps at Nani and Pepe's (Marcia and Barry). But because its Fathers' day it focuses the activity.

So yesterday I thanked you mom for having you and at the end of the day I thanked you for being you.

Thanks again.

Think, Think, Think

2007-06-13T08:43:00.000-04:00

Watching you think is amazing. People get old and guarded and concerned about image and annoyed when you stare at them. Children, not so much.

You completely know that words are a form of communication now. You string them together and try new ones out with a purpose. One of the more interesting things to watch is when you are trying to communicate something, but I don't understand. Some of your words sound very similar or maybe you got the word a little wrong.

So I'll tell you that I'm sorry, but I don't understand. And you can see you thinking about that. Running through your options, trying to figure out what to do next, which is usually to repeat the word over again and hope Daddy figures it out this time.

At some point we switch over to a guessing game where I tell you what I think you are trying to say and you either repeat what you are saying (no, I mean ______) or you say "Right, _____"

Watching the process of learning is amazing.

Michael's Exercise Routine

2007-06-07T08:17:00.000-04:00

Two nights ago I got home from work and you wanted to listen to the castle (one of Jodi's snow globes from Cinderella). As soon as the castle was on the end table playing what ever it plays. You started jumping up and down.

"Daddy jump!"

So we jumped up and down for a while. Then you'd take my hands and we'd play ring around the rosy... all fall down.

Then more jumping.

"Daddy jump! No, over there!"

I think you have a future as an exercise class instructor.

I'll Catch You Daddy

2007-06-06T12:30:00.000-04:00

One of your favorite playground activities is to climb up on some piece of equipment and then jump off into the waiting arms of a parent.

Yesterday after jumping off the toddler rock wall into my arms, you strongly suggested in your typically two year old way that I climb up the wall. Then with my feet dangling down inches from the ground you held out your arms and instructed me to jump.

In the end, you held on to a pant leg as I scooted off the rock wall. Then it was your turn to climb and jump. We took turns doing this for a couple minutes before you ran off to other activities.

The whole scene would have been an improbable Hollywood contrivance in a movie script but in real life, it was a lot of fun.

Thanks.

Fast Forward

2007-05-30T08:03:00.001-04:00

I've started having flash forwards.

This weekend your allergies were really bothering you and you kept getting white goop in your eyes. Its sticky stuff and hard to get out and you hated the whole process. So there you are screaming no and kicking and waving your arms and holding your breath while I repeatedly try to get white goop out of your eyes.

At that moment there was no doubt that I was going to get the goop out despite your protests to the contrary. I know you didn't like it and got upset by it, but it had to come out and you weren't going to like that no matter how it happened. When your two, your parents get to make these kinds of decisions.

In fact, we'll get to make these kinds of decisions without your input for a while now. Right up until you declare "I'm not a baby anymore!" because you wanted to take the car out that night and we said no for no particularly good reason and then we suddenly realize that you aren't 2 any more and we don't just make all your decisions for you because you can't really be trusted to make them yourself. Its not because we're evil, its because we know we really need to get that goop out of your eyes even though you disagree.

First Joke

2007-05-27T16:15:00.000-04:00

Last night you told your first joke.

We were out to dinner with Aunt Heather, Uncle Scott, and most importantly Cousin Mitchie at the beach. Mitch was telling jokes, some of his favorites being knock-knock jokes.

Then you decide to get into the act: "ding dong"

"Who's there?"

"Moooo." You say.

"Moo who?"

"That's a cow."

Pretty funny, first joke.

Snow Globes

2007-05-24T12:08:00.000-04:00

So your mom has a collection of snow globes. When you were really little and crying, I'd play a snow globe and spin you around the living room. Music always seemed to help.

Its been a while, but you have rediscovered them. Not only do they play music, but some of them spin and they have bears or castles or princesses or turtles or horses and snow inside.

Unfortunately you want to touch them too and hold them, and then one evening you took the castle snow globe and pushed it across and off the end table I had set it on. Some how it did not break.

Of course the funny little secret here is that your mom's snow globe collection is very close to accidental. Somewhere along the line she got a couple as gifts and then everyone else noticed them and figured she had a collection and now she has 10 or so. I gave her a couple when we were dating. But she never really asked for them, they just started showing up.

Don't think that means you can break them though.

Being the Second Parent

2007-05-24T11:54:00.000-04:00

Lots of people talk about mothers fighting to strike a balance between their desire to be involved in their child's upbringing and their increasingly common need to earn a living. I know its something your mom has tried to strike a balance with. While I think she has found a compromise that works for her, she probably make different choices if she could. I suspect very few people are completely happy with the balance they have.

My balance is very different. While there are certain advantages to swooping in an hour before bed-time to save you from an entire day with the parent you may have grown tired of interacting with (or who has grown tired of disciplining you on your bad days). In the end, that adds up to a whopping 5 hours during the week?

There are definitely days that I wish for more. You are growing up so fast and there are so many good stories your mom has from her time with you -- "Stop it Elmo!" -- that I would share here but they aren't really my stories.

I certainly do not begrudge your time with your mom. I'm glad it works out. But I'm also looking forward to the long 4-day weekend coming up.

Of course there are also days when you are showing off your 2-year-old credentials that I do not envy your mom.

First Milk Shake

2007-05-17T09:21:00.000-04:00

This actually happened a while ago, for some reason I thought about it this morning.

You had a sore throat and weren't eating so your doctor suggested that we should feed you a milk shake so we went down to the crepe's place in the Kentlands. You didn't even want to try it. Somewhere along the line we decided to let you run around a little in the plaza there. With me chasing around behind you trying to get you to eat milk shake. You finally decided to have some and decided you liked it. By that time the milkshake had turned into soup. Combined with your instance on running around while eating the milkshake, you ended up with half of it on your shirt.

Don't get any bright ideas from this though. No precedent is intended by letting a sick 18 month old run around eating a milk shake. Sometimes you just got to do what you got to do.

Business Meetings

2007-05-14T14:08:00.000-04:00

You are 2 plus a couple months old. So this is certainly not the first time I've been away for a long stretch of time since you've been born. In fact its the third time I've been gone for a week long business trip (BIO's annual meeting each time). But this one was harder.

Partly because you change so much now -- behaviors and mannerisms and language. Mostly its because I think you realized I was gone. That was hard. You are old enough to know I'm missing, but not old enough to understand explanations or to be aware of when I'm coming back.

I really missed your adventures -- especially climbing the ladder to the bunk bed at the Struass beach house while your mom was in the bathroom. But I know there are more to come.

Sorry, You're Going to Have to Get Used to This

2007-05-01T13:20:00.000-04:00

We took a short jaunt to the playground last night. You had a good time on the equipment, especially the slides.

You normally only use the larger slide on our playground, but last night you used the shorter one a couple of times. The only draw back to that one is that the "door way" you have to go through to slide on the slide is about an inch shorter then you are. So you just plowed ahead and conked your head on it.

You looked at me with the surprised look on your face and a hand on your head, like 'why did that happen?'

For what it means, you're trending taller then I am. So this just might have to be something you get used to. Sorry.

Play

2007-04-30T08:11:00.000-04:00

Its really interesting to see your play change recently. Over the last week or so you've started to play the roles of some of your toys.

Last week you re-enacted Nemo with a set of four rubber Nemo toys you have. You've only seen the movie a couple times but you know everyone's name and would have them all say hi to each other.

This weekend, we took the cars from your magnetic Cars book and went up and down the mountain that is a chair in our living room. You would hand one to me and say, "Daddy, you Mather." And you'd take Lightning McQueen and we'd drive off to the mountain.

First Carousel

2007-04-30T08:07:00.000-04:00

So, we went to a family day carnival at Glen Echo Park this weekend. They promised balloon animals and puppet shows and they have a carousel, so we figured that sounded fun.

Turns out that's all they had, but the carousel was worth waiting for. It only cost $1 a person and we just missed out on the ride before us so we got your first choice of animal, lion. Giraffe was the back-up animal.

You had a silly grin on your face the entire ride. Which was quite fast and Mommy had a headache already from the bad weather moving in and nearly got sick.

But it was all worth it.

Mastering the Non-Sequitor

2007-04-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

One day this weekend, you woke up from your nap with the decleration of "I'm poopy!"

As I take off your pants to change your diaper, you ask me "Where's the tiger?" In your jungle themes nursery there is a small tiger garbage can on the changing table. So I point to it: "There's the tiger."

"Oh, there's the Tiger!"

At which point, I've discovered that you were, in fact, not poopy. "Michael, you're not poopy."

Then Mommy comes in to say hi, so you update her on the goings-on.

"I'm not poopy. There's the tiger!"

What you doing?

2007-04-25T09:28:00.000-04:00

I bailed on work early yesterday because I ended up working all the night before and by 4:30 I had completely run out of steam. It was really great weather out so we went outside to play.

You saw a squirrel sitting on a fence post down by the neighborhood playground and thought that was pretty cool. In fact, we then had to run after the squirrel, which the squirrel did not seem to like. After the squirrel fled to the other side of the little run-off creek, you yelled at the top of your lungs, "What You Doing Squirrel?"

The Squirrel decided that this was most likely a war cry and promptly ran up a tree.

What you doing is another of your current favorite phrases. Usually it is followed by Mommy, sometimes Daddy.

Which reminds me, on the way down to the playground I'd periodically ask you "Which way playground?" To which Mommy suggested "Why don't we talk in complete sentences?" Which of course, I agree with, I had just gotten carried away channeling you.

But later, it occurred to me that you are just channeling your 'Burgh heritage. I've always felt that Pittsburghese was really an exercise in leaving out as many words or parts of words as possible while still communicating effectively.

Prepositions and helping verbs are strictly optional in Pittsburgh. If letters can be sliced off words and still be understood, great. If two or more words can be squished together, even better.

Hence: "Et yet? No, jew?" (translation: Have you eaten yet? No, have you?) or, I suppose, "What you doing Mommy?"