Don't Worry

Troy: “Lay down, dada, right here.”

Me: “Okay. What are we doing?” I asked, lying down on the bed.

Troy: “It’s okay, dada. It’s okay. Don’t worry.” He said, as he put the pillow over my face.

That's Enough

Troy: “I want you to scratch my back and mama to rub it.”

 I went up and down his spine once.

 Troy: “Okay, that’s enough scratching. That’s enough. Now, mama needs to rub it.”

First Church

Well, Troy did amazing in church today. He was very fidgety, meaning the vast energy of a three-year old was taking a lot of effort for him to contain. But he simply shifted back and forth between sitting on my lap and sitting in his own chair. He didn’t talk, but he did audibly yawn a few times. I was very proud of him.

After the service, a lady that was sitting behind us came up and told me how amazed she was that Troy was so well behaved. She said she had a three-year old granddaughter, and there was no way she’d have been so non-disruptive. She said she almost didn’t realize that there was a kid sitting there. It reminded me of when we took Troy on his first plane ride.

So, I guess all my fears were unfounded. Yet again, Troy amazed me. He is something special.

The Shoes

We were dressing up for church today, the first time we’ve been back in a sanctuary since Troy was born. Also, Troy’s first time in church (not sure how he’ll do, because he’s rarely quiet when we’re watching it on TV). But the daughter of one of our friends is getting baptized, and we wanted to be there to support her. Anyway, my wife got out a pair of her high heels, which she rarely gets to wear…a beautiful pair of black thick-heel sandals.

 

Troy: “I love those shoes, mama! You got them out, and I love them!”

My wife: “Thank you, baby. You’re very sweet.”

Troy: “But they’re broken. Dada, come fix mama’s shoes!”

My wife: “It’s okay, he doesn’t need to come.”

Troy: “Dada needs to fix them. Dada! Dada! Come here. You need to fix mama’s shoes!”

Me: “What’s wrong with them?”

Troy: “They need to be tied. Come tie them for mama, dada.”

 

So, I knelt down and tied them around her ankle as instructed. My wife was appreciative, and Troy stood watching over my shoulder to make sure I did it correctly.

 

Troy: “Good job, dada!”

Me: “Thanks, son.”

Why?

I used to laugh when I watched the Animaniacs as a kid and listened to Mindy ask “why?” repeatedly to every request from every grownup. Now that Troy has started doing it to me, I’m not laughing anymore.

Me: “Troy, can you please come in to the bathroom, so you can take a bath. I have the water running.”

Troy: “Why?”

Me: “Why do you need to take a bath, or why is the water running?”

Troy: “Yeah, why?”

Me: “Which one?”

Troy: “Why do I have to take a bath?”

Me: “Because you were playing outside and you’re dirty and sweaty.”

Troy: “Why?”

Me: “Because it’s hot outside, and that’s what happens when you run around in the heat.”

Troy: “Why?”

Me: “Because it just is. Now, please take off your clothes, so you can get in the bath.”

Troy: “Why?”

Me: “Because you can’t take a bath with your clothes on.”

Troy: “Why?”

Me: “Because then your clothes will get wet.”

Troy: “Why?”

Me: “Because you’ll be wearing them in the water, and you can’t do that.”

Troy: “Why?”

Me: “You know, I don’t know. I guess you’re right. You can wear your clothes in the bath.”

 

I picked him up, fully clothed, and I dropped him in the tub. Troy proceeded to scream bloody murder when his clothes got wet.

 

Troy: “Nooooo, dada! Noooo! I want to take my clothes off!”

Me: “Oh, so you CAN say something other than ‘why?’ Fine, take your clothes off then and hand them to me.”

Troy: “Why?”

Me: “Honey!” I screamed for my wife. “You’re up!”

Seek

My brother put me onto this app by iNaturalist called Seek. It allows you to identify plants and animals with your phone’s camera. He’d been using it up at his new place to identify plants and animals on his property. It’s been a game changer to say the least. Troy and I have taken to identifying everything in and around our house. We’ve even taken a few driving excursions to find new organisms to scan.

Not only is it increasing our knowledge, but it’s made us acutely more aware of surroundings. We no longer just walk through this world, but now we look down and up and all around, because you never know when you’ll spot a spider, or bird, or lizard. It’s also made us appreciate God’s creations so much more. There’s so much variety, and color, and weirdness out there. It’s amazing.

Two Naked Dudes

CC was giving Declan a bath yesterday, and he got in the tub with him like he normally does. Declan was playing in the water, enjoying himself, when all of a sudden he says, “Dada?”

“Yes, Declan?”

“I love you, dada.”

“Aww, I love you too.”

And then Declan went back to playing in the water. CC said that it was so innocent and natural. They were just two dudes sitting in the tub naked, saying I love you to each other.

I'm fine, I'm fine

Troy: “I’m all done with my milk, dada.” He hands me the empty cup.

Me: “You want some more?”

Troy: “That’s okay. I’m fine, I’m fine, dada. Thank you.”

Me: “You sure?”

Troy: “Yeah. I’m fine. I’m fine.”

Me: “Okay.”

Get It!

Troy: “No, don’t scratch both of my legs. Pick one. This one or that one. Pick one.”

My wife: “This one.”

Troy: “Okay…get it!”

My wife began to scratch the designated leg.

Troy: “No, put your hand here. Here! And move it like this. Let me show you.”

My wife: “You’re supposed to be relaxing. I don’t need direction on how to scratch your leg. Just relax and go to sleep.”

Troy: “You can scratch the other one. After you’re done with this one. After. Okay?”

My wife: “We’ll see.”

PhD in Robotics

Who knew that becoming a father would also mean that I’d need to earn a PhD in robotics repair?! Yesterday, I took Troy shopping to get him out the house, and he asked me to buy him a robotic snake. It’s pretty cool, it slithers across the floor, twisting back and forth just like a real snake. This is accomplished by a little wheel located in its head that rotates left and right, and then the body is segmented to allow the snake to ripple behind the head.

Well, it didn’t even last one day in my son’s care before he somehow managed to break it. For some reason the wheel in the head stopped turning. I had no choice but to take the head apart and see if I could fix it. There were so many small parts, and they all interconnect in a precise way. Unfortunately, things started to fall apart the moment I opened the head, so I had to figure out how they fit together, using deduction and dumb luck. Somehow, by the grace of God, I managed to fix the snake, and for the time being it’s slithering again.

Boney

Troy and I went shopping today, just a get out of the house kind of trip. We headed over to Party City, because I thought he’d enjoy the variety of things to look at. They were already putting out their Halloween stock for some reason, so there was a rack of small hanging skeletons right inside the door. Troy was immediately drawn to them, and he was enjoying moving their arms and legs, so I decided to buy him one.

Best…$6.00…I…ever…spent! Not only did I not have to buy him anything else, but he’s loved playing with that thing all night. Truth be told, so have I…maybe a little too much. We might start fighting over who gets to play with it. We named him Boney for obvious reasons, and he’s already had some mishaps and interesting adventures. I even introduced him to my parents, and now they’ve been enjoying the ongoing Boney saga with us. I can’t wait to see what Boney does next!

Laying on the Floor, Looking at the Stars

Since we put the stars on Troy’s wall, I have enjoyed laying on the floor and gazing up at them after I put Troy to bed. It’s almost like looking at the real thing. Every night I try to find new constellations hidden in their glowing clusters. I let my mind wander and see whatever it wants to see that night. It’s amazing how I can look at the same group of stars and see something one night that I didn’t see the night before. Troy and my wife don’t have quite the vivid imagination about the stars that I do, but that’s ok. However people want to enjoy them is fine. I’m really glad we did this.

The Foot

The Lion

The Horse

The Littlest Dinosaur

Troy (looking at his dinosaur book): “I started out small, like this, and then I grew bigger and bigger inside mama’s tummy, and then I got big and popped out. Just like this dinosaur.”

Dada: “That’s right, bud. You grew from this tiny little thing into our very own giant dinosaur all inside mama.”