Who's Your Daddy?

I went on a road trip this past weekend with the boys. First time ever leaving the him longer than eight hours. It was kinda rough and I missed him -- a lot.

Wifey said that while I was gone he would point at some of my stuff like my shoes, the dining room chair I sit in, and my work ID badge and say "da da."

When I am at home I normally go into his room after his bath and he will give me his towel. Wifey said that over the weekend he would wait for me to come in and said "da da." Course wifey did her best to explain that I wasn't home.

I was very excited to see him when I got back. As much fun as a road trip can be, it was nice to get back and resume our bath routine and I was glad to go in and grab his bath towel from him and see him smile.

I normally read him a few short books, sing him a little song, and put him down for the evening. Last night I added a little twist and held him before putting him down. I stroked his back as he put his head on my shoulder and rocked him in the chair just as I did when he was a newborn.

With his head on my shoulder he reached over, took the pacifier from his mouth and said "da da" and then laughed. I don't know why, but it was such an emotional moment for me. Maybe because it was so out of the blue and surprising but I couldn't help but shed a couple tears of joyful bliss.

He seemed happy to finally be held by his dad and I honestly think he missed me. Maybe not as much as I missed him, but he missed me.

Love you too junior.

It's A Beautiful Day

Today was awesome.

After spending the morning at the Reston Zoo Jr. with Wifey, Jr. and I hung out. Just me and my boy. We biked from our house to Shirlington, stopped and watched the dogs play in the creek and shared a pumpkin cookie.

In Shirlington he bravely walked up to every dog within his reach. He laughed, smiled, and checked everything out. All while holding on to his snack cup partially filled with goldfish crackers. He said "hi" to random people as they walked by, stared at others, and hung close to me when he wasn't sure of the surroundings.


During our ride to and back we talked. We mostly practiced his new words: ball, quack quack, and bye-bye. I could hear him talking while I pedaled. He pointed to things outside of his bike trailer. I can't help but wonder what he was looking at and what he was trying to tell me.

Being a dad has some real kick-ass moments and this was definitely one of them - a nice afternoon with my son.

Wing Man

Jr. has natural good looks, a charming smile, and he's a toddler. It's the perfect trifecta. Course as his dad I'm going to say these things but he seriously really needs to work on his wing man skills.

While at our usual hangout, Target, we were going through the aisles and this cute chica said hi to Jr. What does Jr. do? He stares at her. No smile, no wave, no acknowledgment. WTF Jr?! When a cute girl says hi to you - say hi back!! I told the chica "He'll say hi and wave to you when you leave." Sure enough he did exactly that. Nice.



Later on this not so attractive fat chick walked by (I think she was even semi-goth) and Jr., rather loudly, said hi to her AND waved! She smiled and waved back at him. WTF? Really Jr.?! I told wifey about this predicament and all she could say was "he's a lover. not a fighter"

Eeesh.


Much to learn young jedi. Much to learn.

Gentle Reminder

Wifey's friend came over with her four month old little girl. Um?! Awwwwwwwwww! Very very cute and teeny-tiny. How quickly one forgets! Jr. is HUGE in comparison. Everyone once in a while (weekly) I look at his old and remind myself how little he once was.

Jr. was asleep which is too bad because I really wanted to see how he would be around a little baby (I've been told he's gentle with babies.)

I sat upstairs catching a glimpse of Sunday football which has been a very rare occurrence the last past year or so. While zoning out on the boob-tube I heard a cry. Just a faint cry at first. Then some more. A bit more. Then a full on crying attack. As I perked up from the sofa, just as zoe does when she sees a cat, I had newborn flashbacks. I shuttered in fear and curled up into the fetal position. For a split second I relived my own newborn moments - exhaustion, confusion, panic, fear, and frustration.

After seeing her and holding her I can understand why people have more than one child. Yep. Looks like Jr. is going to be an only child for quite a while.

Mr. Popularity

Maybe the teachers are that smart. Maybe they are just well trained. Maybe they have been at it so long that it's now instinct. I just can't figure out how all the teachers know Jr.'s name!

As we walk down the hall each day every teacher calls out, "Hi Peyton!"
Even some of the parents that I have never met nor know which children is theirs say "Hi Peyton" as we walk down the hall. WTF?! Really? My kid. Mr. Popularity.

My theory is it's because of his demeanor. He's a total flirt, show-off, and all around ham. He smiles a lot, laughs a lot, and is pretty personable. A teacher this morning even commented to me about his hammie-ness. They were looking at the pictures they took and they said the only one that would smile was Jr.

Course Jr. is oblivious to anyone that says hi to him and he just blankly stares at them. No smile. No acknowledgment. Just a blank stare. He must get his natural charm from his dad. :)

And The Streak Continues!

Jr. had his 15 month check up today. Since his last checkup three months ago I've been telling wifey they measured his height wrong. It's a very scientific method they use when measuring a child's height. Lay the child down on the doctor office white crinkly protective paper stuff; make a mark where the foot is and a mark where his head is - then measure the distance between the two marks. See. Totally scientific and no room for human error.

At 12 months they measured him at 32 inches and something. Today he measured at 33 1/2 inches long. I told his pediatrician that I think they measured him wrong. She thought I meant they measured him too short. I actually thought they measured him too long. So they measured him again and he measured at 33 3/4 which 97th percentile for his age.

Nice.

However, I am still not convinced he is really that tall. Maybe it's because I know, deep down, that very soon my boy will not be the tallest in his class but possibly the shortest - - like his pops. As his pediatrician said "the genes kick in around one years old."

I'll enjoy this short period of time that my son is taller than the kids in class.

re: Lord Helmet

Wifey pointed this out. Not only does Jr. look like a character from Spaceballs he also looks like a Super Mario Brothers character too! You decide.