Twenty-Nine Months

March 07, 2014

Seth,

It’s been a month quite out of the ordinary. With knee surgery right at the beginning of the month, I’ve been home pretty much the entire month. Since I’ve only been out of the house twice since surgery, we’ve had lots and lots of time together to play. If nothing else, we can do some serious blocks and Lego building. It’s become quite regular to hear, “Daddy, come build a ramp (tower) with me!” You’ve been so caring with the surgery, and so careful of it when we’re on the floor playing together. The day I came home from the hospital, you asked, “Daddy, did you scrape your leg?” and many kisses it to make it better. After watching me ice it, you also brought one of your teething rings we still have in the refrigerator over to press on the knee, “is it better now?”

Lots of engagement with Molly this month. We figure it’s only a matter of time before she’s all your dog. Maybe when you can throw the ball all the way across the yard. She began sleeping in your room this month – the first time unintentionally, but after that time you ask every night if she’ll stay. She gets to stay until you get completely wound up with her in the room, or you fall asleep, whichever comes first. With her sitting next to you in the room, we’ve been informed on more than one occasion that “I’m going to read a book to Molly!” Don’t make it Clifford, she might get a complex.

It’s been quite the month for conflict. You are working on learning to listen this month, which has made for quite a few trips to your room. It’s also made for the best kind of hilarity:

• “Seth, come here please”…“I’m busy. Playing with water.”
• “Seth, come here please”…“I can’t! Don’t come hear me, I’m sick!”
• “I’m going to run away!” (Any time he’s being sent to his room, etc.)
• “I don’t want to go to bed, it’s beautiful outside!”
• “No! I need options!”

Mommy asked you to go and play in your room while she got ready to go. We went back in to find that you’d taken almost all the knobs off your dresser. Apparently, we should be a little more specific with the range of acceptable activities. This seems to be the broad case in almost everything, but this month’s vocabulary word (maybe this year’s?) is ‘exuberance’, as you bring all your enthusiasm and energy to everything you do. We don’t have any idea where you get most of the things you say and do, but it’s always entertaining to be part of your journey.

• “More tickles, please!”
• “It’s dark outside!” “What happens when the sun comes up?” “It gets beautiful outside!”
• “This is a very nice tower!”
• “What are you doing?” “I’m playing blocks with my Daddy!”
• “Hi, baby boy!” “I’m not a baby.” “Are you my big boy?” “Yes.”
• “a big strong hug!”
• “Lucky me!”
• “I need some medicine.” “Why?” “To keep me healthy!”
• “Can we go to the Hundred Acre Forest and see Pooh and Christopher Robin?”
• “Daddy, can I give you a kiss in the eye?” Tries it. “That didn’t work!” Tries again. “That worked!”
• Picking up my camera – “I’ll take a picture of Daddy! Smile”
• And finally, “watch this!” We expect to hear that on a semi-regular basis, often followed by trips to the urgent care.

We’ve been enjoying the San Diego weather. It’s been 80 some days, prompting us to pull out the wading pool. That bar was raised with the addition of your slide – what, it’s not summer everywhere else in the country? It’s going to be strange for you to move back to somewhere that’s cold in the winter. The end of February brought lots of rain, which you thoroughly enjoyed with puddles and splashing, since you’ve not been old enough to experience a proper rainstorm. Mommy put you in your raincoat and boots and took you out to splash in the puddles. Of course, on arriving back in from the street, you proceeded into the backyard to splash and play in the mud puddles. No shyness about diving into the dirt with you!

You are a walking celebration of the invention of the washing machine. A few minutes after breakfast , you were outside, sitting in your jammies in the dirt in the yard, happily filling cups with dirt. After picking out some weeds and adding them to your cup, you walked over and announced that you had made a pie. It’s a good thing that you enjoy baths as much as you do.

Surgery brought Nana to come and stay with us, and later Papa too! After breaking out your piggy bank for the first time early this month, you were quite happy to get pocket change here and there from Papa, Nana, trips to the store, anyway! You were so excited excited to see Nana you came running out to the driveway jumping up and down! Of course, after a wonderful two weeks with Nana and Papa you’re just at the right age to be absolutely heartbroken about Nana and Papa leaving to go home. Cried the whole half hour home from the airport.

It’s been a pleasure to be at home this month with you, little buddy. I’d have thought I’d be rather stir-crazy pretty quick, but we had lots of time together to play and read. On the flip side, it’s no wonder that you can wear Mommy out. You’re like a self-sustaining fusion reaction – way more energy output than input. We’d let you power the better part of SoCal, but we too much enjoy every minute with you.