Twenty-Eight Months

February 07, 2014

Seth,

We have no problem with green energy around here (not just because it’s California). As far as we can tell, you’re a 100% renewable energy source, and you have more than enough every morning to outrun at least two adults, maybe more. You’re always ready to run, wrestle, and jump. You come charging into the room with no pause and jump right up on our legs, or the bed, or the couch, or anything else. Hours of play, and you’re ready for more. The only way we know that you’re getting tired is that you just get more sassy. “Seth, are you sassy?” “No, I’m not. Not, not, not.”. Also, if we name you so, we’re rapidly corrected – “hey, bossy!” “I’m Seth!”

That is only one of the age-old questions you’ve been answering for us through the timeless eyes of a two-year old. Among these important questions: What do you look like with wet hair? “Look like a pirate!” Each day makes it so apparent that you’re listening to everything around you. On being asked where you lived, you broke out the full sentence, “I live in San Diego with my Mom and Dad,” as if you’ve been practicing just to answer that question for us.

You’re more and more assertive, knowing exactly what it is you want. “Daddy, come play catch with me!” “Daddy, come build blocks with me!” “Daddy, come build a fort with me!” Move often than not, accompanied by a little hand taking mine, pulling me away from whatever (rapidly diminishing in importance) project on which I’m working. More often than not, it’s to build either ramps for the blocks, or forts out of blankets and whatever else is handy. Fortunately, when you have the support of the adults in your house, you can leave half the living room as a huge blanket fort for a couple of days. Though, the usage pattern would indicate that it’s way more fun to build the forts than to play in them, since the dog spends way more time in the fort than anyone.

January has brought the run-up to the Broncos in the Super Bowl. You’re our proxy jersey-horse, so you know who the Broncos are because you wear the shirt. Not knowing a thing about football makes for a fun fan experience, though. Pointing to the huddle on TV “Daddy, are they all wearing Broncos’ shirts?” After a particularly impressive tackle. “Daddy, are they pushing each other?” Finally, you apparently picked up the general excitement from the air that they made it to the Super Bowl. On Saturday night before the game, Mommy said something about wearing Broncos shirt tomorrow, and you yelled “Superbowl, yeaaah! Go Broncos!” and went charging off down the hall toward the front room to try to open the TV cabinet.

Bedtime has become more difficult for you. Through a combination of books and awareness, you’re realizing that nighttime brings some things that might be a little scary (Addendum: you’ve also realized that the more time you can keep Mommy and/or Daddy in the room, the longer you get to stay up). We have a set of books that have been banned from the house for any reading, let alone bedtime. We’re working through the little fears, and you always eventually manage to fall asleep. More often than not, you can deal with the repeating fears yourself now (I hear a car door! The car wash!).

Bedtime can be the most fun time of the day, or the most frustrating, generally alternating in 30 second windows. Everything from reasons not to fall asleep, “I can’t sleep on my pillow! My head is too big!”, to the ridiculously literal, ‘Seth, turn the light back on please." "I can’t! I can’t see the light switch!" Even the rapid sutiation-caused lessons, where you were singing “no more monkeys jumping on the bed” while, of course, jumping on the bed. At which point, you promptly fell down and cut open your lip. If only all our lessons in life were that clear. Still, it’s always a joy to read with you and to snuggle you before tucking into bed with your blankets and babies.

We’re crossing over into the realm of things that I remember from my childhood now, which is both strange and wonderful. The other night, you asked to ride on my foot into the bedroom, the “step-thump” ride that we used to get when we were kids from your Grandpa. Even just repeating the first few activities I remember really cements the experience of being a parent to a wonderful little boy. I know there’s so many new things to look forward to, but there’s many things I remember from childhood to which I can’t wait to introduce you.