Sprinting Dwarves

We decided to let Troy run today on our walk instead of putting him in the stroller. He had been cooped up inside all day and needed to burn off some energy. He absolutely loved it! In fact, we couldn’t get him to stop. As soon as his feet hit the ground, he was off, pounding the sidewalk around the neighborhood. He ran for over a mile with me jogging along beside him and his mother following behind with the stroller. Obviously, he has to take a lot more steps than I do to cover the same distance, so he was exhausted by the time he finally stopped. Running beside him, listening to him breathing heavy, reminded me of the movie, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, when Aragon, Legalos, and Gimli are chasing a band of orcs. Struggling to keep up with his two longer-legged companions, Gimli says, “We dwarves are natural sprinters! Very dangerous over short distances.”

 

Dada Wisdom

I dropped some dada wisdom on Troy today at lunch. He was picking at my wife’s salad, forking things out and then deciding if the treasure he got was worth giving a try. He seemed to be using the sight test, rather than the taste test, to determine if he’d like the taste of something. When he got to these little chopped up red things, he just slid them to the side. So I told him, “If you want the music inside of you, then you have to eat your beets!”

Bungee Jumping

Lately, I’ve been simulating a bungee jump with Troy by grabbing him by the ankles, lifting him off the floor, raising his ankles as far over my head as possible, and then dropping him rapidly toward the floor. Just before his outstretched fingers brush the carpet, I stop his descent and spring him back upwards. Over and over, we do this, and Troy laughs with pure enjoyment the whole time. If I stop and lay him back on the floor, he’ll raise his feet up for me to do it again. He has no fear at all!

Mood Pacifiers

We are still struggling with weaning Troy off a pacifier. He mainly only “needs” it when he’s going to sleep. If we don’t give it to him, he’ll throw a full-out tantrum. Which is funny, because they don’t give it to him at the daycare during his naps. So, it’s psychological to home. We’ll give him one to calm him at night, and then we keep extras near his bed in case he wakes up in the middle of the night. It’s easier than trying to find the one he’d lost.

He has four different colors; green, blue, purple, and pink. He seems to have a preference for which one he wants at which time. It’s like each one expresses a different mood. I’ve started to refer to them as his mood pacifiers, like the old mood rings that would supposedly change colors with your mood.

Last night, he had gotten one to go to sleep and one in the night, so he had two in the crib with him. He had somehow found them both and was holding one in each hand, changing them back and forth. It was like he couldn’t decide what mood he was in. Or maybe neither fully expressed his mood, and he was using the combination to come up with a new mood altogether. Either way, it was fun to watch him.

Playground

They had a positive Coronavirus result for one of the staff at Troy’s daycare, so we decided to keep him home for the rest of the week. This means we (meaning my wife) have to entertain him all day now. Not an easy proposition when it’s 30-40 degrees outside and raining, so you’re stuck indoors. Luckily, today warmed up to almost 60 degrees, so we decided to take Troy to the playground and enjoy the sunshine.

He was pretty excited about the slide. I walked him up the stairs and then slid down with him the first couple of times. After that, he wanted to go solo...again and again and again...and again...and again. But at least he got some pent-up energy out running from the slide to the stairs. And we had a blast chasing him around. This might need to be an every day thing if it helps him sleep tonight.

And when he needed a break from the slide, he'd sit down in the mulch that they had all over the playground and dig it up with a stick that he'd found. I'm not sure what the allure was, but he was having a blast flinging mulch in every which direction.

Nightmare

Last night, Troy refused to go to bed. He just sat in his crib crying...for three hours. We tried to just let him cry it out, but he out-lasted us. After an hour of hearing him wail, we decided to try to distract him, calm him down, and try it again. It didn’t work. Once he got going, he was in full tantrum mode. We tried everything, and at one point he seemed to have drifted off, only to wake up crying again 30 min later. It was well after midnight before he finally passed out while laying on my chest. I laid down in the bed and let him go completely out before sliding out from under him.

This is the second night in a row of this. And he’s crying longer each time. This can’t go on...

Mine...All Mine!

Troy has started to throw a temper tantrum every single time we try to change his diapers now. If we even mention that he has a pooper and make a move in his direction, he takes off running across the house, crying. After we wrangle him into the bedroom and onto the changing table, he proceeds to twist and flop and kick and scream the entire time. 

We have read that this could be related to him not feeling in control and feeling helpless or vulnerable. Or he could be in the middle of an enjoyable activity and doesn't want to stop. It could also be that he's possessive of his...uh...emissions.

Whatever the reason, it's becoming a constant struggle. Which drives me crazy, especially when I have poop-covered wipes flying everywhere as an uncontrollable toddler kicks and slaps them out of my hands. I'm going to have to find a way to stay calm and distract him, so it's not such an unpleasant experience for either of us. I don't want him to hate or be stressed by getting his diaper changed.

Emergency Room

Today did not start out well. We spent all morning at the emergency room. I was awoken by my wife at 3:45 am, complains about abdominal pain. So, I packed up our bags, woke the baby up, and got us out the door and to the hospital. I felt bad for waking the baby up so early, as he was sleeping deeply and peacefully. But I told him that mama was sick, and we needed to get her checked out by a doctor. It was weird. Normally, he’d be upset and crying if I disturbed his sleep; but when I said those words to him, he immediately calmed, looked at me sleepily, and laid perfectly still. It’s like he knew the seriousness and importance of the situation. He was a perfect angel. He didn’t complain or act up once, even when they threw us out of the emergency room and told us to wait in the car. He and I ate a little breakfast and watched videos on my phone for the next two hours.

After the sun came up and the temperature warmed a little, we went for a stroll around the park outside the hospital just to get out of the car for a bit. All told we spent four hours waiting before my wife called and told us to go home for a bit. And when she called us at home and told us she was being discharged, I told Troy that we had to go pick up mama. He immediately stopped what he was doing and ran to the door of the laundry room. He stood there waiting for me impatiently. It was amazing to once again see him grasp or sense the importance of my statement and react perfectly. He’s such an amazing little boy.

And yes, my wife will be okay. She just had an intestinal infection. Some antibiotics and strong pain killers should do the trick.

Sesquipedalian - Part 3

Troy is a sponge with words, sounds, recognition, and regurgitation. He's to a point now that he can repeat things after hearing it once. It's amazing how far he's come. Not everything is exactly correct, but it's close enough that you can tell what he's trying to say. Here's a list of the latest developments.

Panda is represented as "bamba."

Pumba from the Lion King is represented as "Boomba."

Backhoe is represented as simply "hoe."

Deer is well "deer."

Orange is also simply "orange."

Nose is likewise "nose," but is also accompanied by him pointing to the correct body part either on himself or one of his stuffed animals.

He also has a list of objects that get a sound effect instead of a word.

A motorcycle gets a very realistic high-pitched engine sound with variation when he "changes gears." The amazing part about this one is that he has a deeper-pitched engine sound for a car and will use them differently depending on what he sees.

A fire truck gets a siren sound.

A train gets a horn sound.

A goose gets a loud, deep honking sound.

A cat gets a "eow."

A dog gets a "wuff, ruff."

An owl gets a "hoo, hoo."

A bird gets a realistic high-pitched bird sound. The interesting thing is that he has two sounds, one for crows; which is a deeper, throaty trilling; and one for all other birds, which is a higher trilling.

A sea lion gets an "Ort, ort" along with him slapping his hands on his stomach to simulate clapping flippers.

A crocodile gets him clapping his outstretched arms (sideways rather than up-and-down) to simulate chomping jaws.

And a bunny rabbit gets a hop, either by making his stuffed animal bounce up and down, or by him doing it himself!

Fist Bump

I've been working with Troy to take his "high five" to the next level. So, I'm trying to teach him to give me a fist bump instead. He understands the concept and that we do it when he does something amazing and awesome. I hold out my fist, he balls up his little hand in a fist, and then he sort of swats my fist with his. I'm still working on the "bump" part, but he'll get there. Then, I'll have to teach him to "explode." And then we'll develop a secret fist bump with a sequence of complicated maneuvers that only he and I do! Maybe have some foot and booty action too...we'll see how dedicated he is.

Coils

My wife had finally had enough of Troy's hair. She felt like it was gotten out of hand, so she took the scissors to him, despite my repeated protestations. I was so upset about it that I couldn't even watch her "butcher" his hair, so I went for a walk instead. Much to my dismay when I returned, I found that she'd cut off all of his beautiful "coils" in the back. It's not that he doesn't look good, or that she didn't do a great job. She did. It's that I loved his flowing locks, and now they're all gone. I'm sure they'll grow back eventually, but...sigh...I miss them.

The Trike

We received a photo from the daycare of Troy riding on a three-wheeled trike. He seemed to be having fun, so I decided to do some research and get him one for the house. Being an uber nerd and loving things that grow and morph as he grows and morphs, I found a trike with adjustable wheels that fold up into a two-wheeler. We ordered it, and it finally came today. We haven't been able to get Troy off of it! He can't quite work the pedals yet, but he likes to just scoot along pushing it with his feet. He's driven it all over the house. We may never get him to walk again!

The Pumpkin Patch

We took Troy for a stroll today to enjoy the absolutely perfect Fall weather. We wandered down to the park near the neighborhood visitor's center, so he could get out of the stroller and run around. As we chased him through his seemingly-erratic path, we noticed that they had a small pumpkin patch set up in front of the visitor's center. There was a scarecrow, hay stacks, and dozens of pumpkins and squash laid out in the grass. Realizing that every kid needs a requisite Fall picture, I thought this was the perfect place to snap some pictures of Troy. He didn't care as long as he got to explore the different colors and textures of the pumpkins and squash. So, while he was distracted, I went to town with my camera. I might be extremely biased, but he has to be the most adorable little kid I've ever seen in my life!

Pouring Rain

Some days when it rains, it pours. It was one of those days for Troy today. When my wife picked him up from the daycare today, she noticed a bright, red mark on his arm. Upon further inspection, she saw that it was a full set of teeth! We hadn’t been called about and incident, so she went back in to inquire about it. Nobody knew anything about it. He hadn’t cried, so they were oblivious as to when or how it happened.

Crying is a stupid benchmark that something went down, in my opinion. Troy is a trooper, and he rarely cries over injuries, unless it’s to his head or pretty serious (which I’ll relate later in this post). This goes back to he and I playing rough. We’re in the moment, it’s go big or go home, we don’t stop to ponder injuries! So, he didn’t cry. But how does nobody notice this large, red mark on his arm for over half the day?! We’ll never know the answer. Chalk it up to how many licks does it take to get the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop. It doesn’t appear to be bothering him, so we’ll ride it out for now.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, a few minutes after we put him to bed, I heard him whimpering. I ran to see what was wrong, and saw him at the very end of the crib. Assuming he was “upset” because he was pressed up against the side of the wood, I went to move him back to the middle. But he wouldn’t budge. I felt around in the dark, and I found that he had his foot somehow wedged between the slats of the crib. I screamed for my wife to come help me ASAP, because I immediately knew that this was a bad situation. I tried to hold him still, so he wouldn’t keep pulling on his leg and injure his ankle more, while she came rushing into the room and flipped on the lights. For the next few tense moments, I twisted and folded his foot in every possible way to try to get it free. He had somehow gotten his foot through the bars and past his ankle, and the ankle bone was now holding his foot between the bars.

I was finally able to work it free, which wasn’t easy when you have a screaming baby wiggling and tugging on the other end of it. His ankle was severely swollen and red, so we tried to put some ice on it while also calming him down. I could tell that at the very least, he was going to have some serious bruising, but I feared that he had broken it as well. He was able to put pressure on it without indicating any pain and walk around without any noticeable trouble, so we decided to just observe it for now. He eventually went back to sleep, but now we’re worried about if he’s hurt and if he’ll do something again. It’s going to be a long night...

Sasquatch

Troy’s latest growth spurt means we also had to get him new shoes. He’s already on his third set, although for months we didn’t really have him in shoes while he was home for the pandemic. He’s up to a size 8 1/2, which means his foot is approximately the size of a three-year old’s! His foot is also very wide, the exact opposite problem that I have, so most shoe brands don’t fit him. The only brand that seems to work is New Balance, which seems to have a wider fit to them. Luckily, we’ve been able to find shoes with Velcro, in his size, and in several colors. They say you can tell how big a dog will be by the size of its paws when it’s a puppy. If that works on toddlers too, then Troy will be big.

Moved by the Spirit

We were watching church on TV this morning. Even though the church has opened back up, we’re still leery about going back. So, we stay on the couch in our pajamas and watch in our den. My wife had Troy snuggled between her legs, resting against her stomach. She likes to raise her hands during certain songs, when she’s feeling moved by the Spirit. All of a sudden, Troy lifted his hands too, and kept them raised for the whole song! I believe that children sense God more fully and purely than we do, and I got to see that with my own eyes today. It was beautiful.

Terrible Twenties

The weather was nice this evening, so we headed to Merrell Park to watch the sunset and dip our feet into the lake. It was pretty packed, but we found a little spot on the beach with nobody on it. Troy was really excited to run around, but unfortunately the beach is uneven sandstone and loose rocks. He was finding it hard to keep his balance, so I made him hold my hand. Saying that he doesn’t like to hold our hand is an understatement. He has it in his head that we’re encroaching on his freedom and independence, so he vehemently jerks his hand out of ours and slaps our hand away. Not only does this irritate me on a normal level, but the fact that he doesn’t realize that I’m doing it for his own safety pushes me over the top.

At one point, Troy took off running down the beach, heading to where the bramble bushes were, so I picked him up to take him to another part of the beach. And that’s when the whole situation suddenly took a turn for the worse. Troy let out a blood-curdling scream, started trying to push himself out of my arms, and was crying until he was red in the face. I’d finally had enough of his tantrums.

Not embarrassed, but conscientious of the other people trying to enjoy the beach, I decided that he was done for the evening. So I headed to the car with a screaming, raging, out of control baby in my arms. I put him in the car, slammed the door, and let him cry. My wife came up a few minutes later and tried to calm him down, but he was inconsolable. Not because I wasn’t going to let him play on the beach, but because I wouldn’t let him do it his way. And he cried, and cried, all the way home...for fifteen minutes straight.

I didn’t think the terrible twos were supposed to start until they were two. I mean it’s right there in the name. How did we get the terrible twenties (twenty months)?! This is going to be my least favorite phase, I can tell already. I don’t have the patience for this every day.

Darth Dada

Today, when Troy woke up from his nap, I was watching the baby monitor. He was throwing pillows off the side of the bed and saying, “Uh, oh,” so I decided to try to freak him out a little bit. The baby monitor has a microphone button that allows you to talk through the camera into the room. So, I pressed the button and said in a very deep, James Earl Jones-like voice, “Troy...I am your father.” Troy stopped pushing the pillows off the bed, looked straight into the camera, smiled, and said, “Hi!”

Telephone Kisses

This morning, I put Troy between us in the bed because neither my wife nor I was ready to get up when he was. He seemed content to hang out with us, although he wouldn’t stop messing with us so we could drift back off to sleep. But it’s hard to be mad when he’s so adorable. So, I kissed Troy, and he turned over and kissed his mama. I said, “Ha, it’s like telephone kisses, where you pass it down the line from person to person.” So, my wife kissed Troy back, and he turned and kissed her again. Wait, what?! How did I get left out of the loop when I started the game to begin with?!

Eels and the Wheelchair

Today, my wife arrived at the daycare at the same time as a father in a wheelchair. Troy was brought out before the man’s kids, and when he saw the man, he immediately went over to him. Not sure if he was going to point out the man’s disability and completely embarrass her, my wife tried to guide Troy away. The man told her it was all right; and Troy ran up to him, pointed at his wheelchair tire, and said, “Eels, eels!”

He didn’t see the disability at all. All he saw was wheels. You have to love kids. They definitely see the world more purely and innocently than we do. We could learn something from them about seeing people for who they are rather than how they are.

Oh Shi...!

It is a common fear that as a parent you’re going to say something inappropriate in front of your child and that they will immediately absorb what you said and repeat it. Probably at the worst time and most likely over and over again. You can try to teach them all kinds of educational and useful things, working with them constantly, and have zero success. But the one time you say the wrong thing, that’s when they’ll choose to suddenly have the ability to pick it up on the first try.

And that’s exactly what happened to CC. Something happened one day, as it does so many days, and he slipped and said, “Oh, sh!t.” And though Declan has been slow to progress with speaking actual words, that phrase was picked up on the first try and almost perfectly. So, later that day when Declan was in his play pen, he dropped something over the side onto the floor. He casually looked down at it, and he said, “Oh, shi...” (He struggled with the “t” sound, but the intent was clear.) And CC immediately knew that he’d screwed up. THIS was not what he wanted his son to take from all of the hours spent teaching him things. And THIS was not what he wanted Declan to say in front of his mother.

That night, CC and his wife tried out some new nighttime diapers to see if they’d be more absorbent than regular diapers. The next morning, they woke up to find the diaper completely dissolved into a gooey, gelatinous mess. Whatever substance they put in the diapers to be more absorbent had leaked out everywhere. They took Declan to the tub to try to clean off the sticky, amazingly resilient substance. CC got in the tub with him, and imagine his surprise when Declan looked around the tub; taking in the crap stuck to him, stuck to CC, stuck to everything really; and he said, “Oh, shi...” CC laughed and said, “Yep, pretty much, bud.”

On the same day that CC was relating this story to me, I was talking to my wife in the car on her way home. Right in the middle of our conversation, she starts screaming at some other driver on the road, “What’s your problem, @$$hole?!” When she had calmed down, I said, “You know the baby’s in the car, listening and absorbing every word you speak. You need to watch what you say.” And now, I’m imagining her getting pulled over by a police officer one day, and Troy turning around from the back and saying, “What’s your problem, @$$hole?!” The police officer asks my wife, “Did you teach him that?” “No sir, it was his father.”

Spurt!

Tonight, Troy caught me in the kitchen, and he walked over to the growth chart on the wall and stood in front of it. He said, “Dada!” to get my attention. Seeing him standing in front of the chart, I said, “Okay, bud, let’s take a measurement, although I’m pretty sure you haven’t changed in the last month.”

I knelt down and eyeballed his height, but I immediately thought something must be wrong because he looked like he’d grown an entire inch! Figuring that his hair was poofing up and making him look taller, I decided that I needed to be more diligent with the measurement. So, I got him all straight and lined up, pushed his hair down, and took an actual measurement. He was 35.75”, which means he grew 3/4 of an inch since his doctor’s checkup in September!

I couldn’t believe it. Over two months with no growth at all, and now he’s grown 1 1/4 inches in the last month. He still weighs the same at 34 lbs 2 oz, so he’s just stretching again. The most amazing part of this is that it’s like Troy knew or sensed something was different. He wanted me to measure him. I couldn’t tell by looking at him, but he felt something inside himself. I find that fascinating.

The Sporadic Pandemic Vacation: Bonham State Park

So, our weekend trip this week was to Bonham State Park. The weather was gorgeous, and even though it’s a smaller park, it was perfect to enjoy a picnic by the lake and walk around a bit. In comparison, Bonham State Park was deserted. So, we had plenty of room to roam around without bumping into anyone. They had the camping closed, so it was just a few day trippers like us.

We had a nice lunch under their covered pavilion, enjoying the strong breeze that gusted off the lake and kept the warm air of the sun under control. Afterward, my wife and son took their shoes off and dipped their feet in the water. Not the same as swimming, but water nonetheless.

Then, we decided to hike part of the Gnarled Root Trail, because let’s be honest, it just sounds awesome! And it was, except not really stroller-friendly. It was aptly named for the abundance of cypress roots poking up and crisscrossing the trail. It also dipped down into a ravine and back up again, so we had to navigate the roots and hills. Troy was happily bouncing around in the stroller as I lifted up on the front wheel, then tilted him almost completely backwards, and then twisted around roots and trees. He thought it was some amusement park ride, and he loved it.

It reminded me of going mudding with my mom and stepfather when I was younger. My stepfather had a jacked up red Ford Bronco named “The Tonka Toy,” and my brother and I would be bouncing around in the back of it as he drove up and over hills and ravines and through door-high mud. I was laughing just like Troy was today. Some of the best memories of my life.

Afterward, we decided that the trails might not be the best option, so we headed down the main road back to where the campsites were. They had the road closed to cars, so we were able to let Troy out to run amok. He enjoyed stretching his legs, picking up rocks and acorns, and racing me across a meadow.

It was a great day to get out and hang out with the family. We were feeling more low-key this weekend, so the park was perfect for our mood.

Cinnamon Roll Kisses

Troy and my wife were enjoying cinnamon rolls for breakfast this morning. Troy prefers the soft, gooey middles, pushing the crunchier edges to the side to get to the good stuff. Eating cinnamon rolls is a full-body experience with Troy. I don’t mean he feels it in every part of his core. I mean he literally gets cinnamon and sugar on his full body; from the top of his head to the tips of his toes and everywhere in between.

My wife had him sitting on the table today, and he was leaning back against her while she happily munched on her own cinnamon roll. After he had sufficient coverage on his face, I told Troy that mama would love a kiss. He turned back to her and gave her a messy, gooey kiss right on the cheek. She was shocked, but laughing nonetheless. So, I told Troy that mama loved his kisses and that he should give her more. She didn’t particularly want anymore cinnamon and sugar stuck to the side of her face, but how can you refuse baby kisses?! So, he proceeded to kiss her over and over again, completely covering her with gooeyness until she looked just like him.

Wash This

My wife gave Troy a Nutella-covered biscuit today for breakfast as a treat. For those of you unfamiliar with Nutella, it’s a chocolate spread...imagine peanut butter but with chocolate instead. Troy immediately proceeded to get the chocolate everywhere. She looked at him and said, “It’s okay, we’ll wash this,” while gesturing to everything in the immediate vicinity...the baby, his clothes, the high chair, the table, the wall, the floor...

No, No

Unfortunately, Troy learned to say the word “no.” Although, he says it as, “no, no,” which we never say repeated like that, so I’m guessing he learned this at daycare from someone. So far, he’s not using it on us to “back-talk,” but it’s only a matter of time.

This reminds me of one of my friends at work. He said his daughter learned to say, “no means no,” because that’s what he and his wife always said to her when she continued to try to push her limits. One day, he tried to get her to eat something she didn’t like, and his daughter told him no. When he tried to force the issue, she looked him straight in the eye and said, “no means no.” It’s hard to argue with that logic! So now, I’m waiting for Troy to use this against us somehow.