If there is one thing I am fairly certain of with our son, its that this summer he will at least be mostly shirtless if not pant less as well. Whenever it gets too warm for him, which it already has on a few occasions this year, he wants to take his shirt off and if its really warm, his pants as well. Not that there are many bad sides to this at all, but one of the good things is that he knows how to make himself comfortable when he gets too warm. If only it was socially acceptable everywhere to take your shirt off when you got too warm. For most people, that just isn't a realistic possibility. For anyone under the age of, lets say 4, its perfectly OK to do so. Ah, the joys of being a child. Sometimes I wish I could trade places with my son, have that care free life of play and exploration and no responsibilities, yet I know those days are gone for me. Yet, I still get to dabble in that life as a father, throw myself on the floor with him, build towers with blocks, and not worry about taxes or income or estimates for at least a little while. Yes, for me, it all comes flooding back when he goes to bed, but for at least a small time, I get to be a child with my son again, albeit a child that has the burden of responsibility. The age that our son is at right now, a little over 19 months old, is an absolutely amazing age during which to watch a child. There is a plethora of innocence, an abundance of new advances, and a cuteness that no matter what happens makes a parent smile on the inside. Even when he takes a handful of raisins that he had just been eating and scatters them all over the living room floor, it is hard not to laugh inside. Sure, the raisins get taken away resulting in a crying fit, but the simple act of scattering raisins is sometimes just hilarious. Our son is now beginning to test his boundaries, see how far he can push certain issues before we put a halt to them, and while most parents would say its frustrating, its really not that bad. I find that with a little explanation, which he now mostly understands, most situations that could potentially turn into a tantrum can be averted and turned into a learning experience. Granted, this isn't always the case, but I love nothing more than being with my son, teaching him the boundaries, and helping him to explore and grow into the world.
The one thing that I love most about this age is the understanding that he now exhibits about the English language. You can ask him to do almost anything and he understands what and how to do it. When he wants some milk, he goes to the refrigerator and tries to pull open the door. When we open the door for him, he grabs his sippy cup of milk and walks around with it till he has had his fill. When he is done, we ask him to put it back and over to the refrigerator he goes to place it back on his shelf. On Mother's Day, when we had my grandparents and his grandparents over, we had a platter of cheese and crackers in the middle of the room. We would ask him to hand out cheese and crackers to specific people and he would know exactly who to bring the food to. Of course, once he went there once, he would keep on bringing cheese, but none the less, the fact that he could understand our request and execute it was adorable. Even when it came to dinner on Mother's Day, he did very well. He didn't want to eat anything that we gave him, so he simply had to sit in his high chair while the rest of us ate. He didn't freak out, didn't throw a tantrum, and only got a little fidgety towards the end of dessert. At that point, I couldn't blame him for wanting to get out of his high chair and consequently got him out and went to go play with him. A few day's before Mother's Day, I was laying on the floor with him when he brought a book over to read. Instead of sitting up, I laid down and held the book above me to read. It didn't take him long to figure out that he needed to lay down in order to read the book with me. So he got on the floor right next to me, laid his head on my arm, and we proceeded to read the book laying down. After dinner on Mother's Day, before I could even get up from the table, I look into our living room and he has his book next to him, laying on his back, looking at me. It was pretty apparent that he wanted me to come over and lay down next to him so we could read the book together. So what did I do? What any father would, or should do; I went over, laid down next to him, and proceeded to read the book to him. It seems that every day becomes more and more fun with our son. I just can't wait to see what he learns next.
This past Saturday, for the first time, we decided that he needed a hair cut. His hair is very fine, mostly straight with only a few waves in it, and a such was at the point where it was starting to cover his eyes and hang pretty far down the back of his neck. At first, we had him in his high chair and my wife took a small pair of scissors and comb and started to cut his hair. He was doing well, it was just taking a little too long and we both felt that he wouldn't be able to sit there for too much longer without getting fidgety. So half way through his hair cut, we got him out, sat him on the kitchen floor, and took out my clippers with the adjustable setting that I use for my hair and went to town. We were a little skeptical at first as to how he would react to the clippers, but much to our surprise, he did really well. He sat there in my lap as I buzzed through his hair (the clippers were on the longest setting, don't worry) and even when I had to get close behind his ears, I asked him to hold his head to the side and he did it without moving. At 19 months old, I was amazed that he could sit like that for a hair cut without wanting to get right up and run around. But he did, and that's all that matters. One other cool thing that he is learning before I sign off for today. When I was little, I think in nursery school, I was taught how to put on my jacket by laying it on the floor in front of me, sticking my hands into the sleeves, and flipping it over my head sliding my arms into the sleeves. Well, I have taken it upon myself to teach our son how to do that now. He is starting to grasp the concept after only a few days of doing so, and he can almost do it by himself. I am sure it will take another week or two before I can actually do it entirely by himself, but the fact that he is learning to put his jacket on by himself is pretty cool. Of course, by the time he can do it by himself, it will be too warm for a jacket and we will have to re-learn it in the fall, but at least its a start. In any case, he is getting closer and closer to talking and one day, I am sure he will amaze us. For now, I need to get him out of bed and ready for another day.
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