Days 147, 148, 149, and 150

Today started great: I remembered all of my supplies for the grocery store! We didn't need a lot there, but I was fully prepared. This is my first personal "little victory" in quite some time. Way to go, me!

We overslept for baby storytime yet again, so after the grocery store we stopped at the mall for lunch and a little shopping. I saw Gymboree was having (surprise, surprise) a sale, I figured I'd stop in and get some stuff that Mommy would approve of (forgetting that Mommy had just placed an online order with them the day prior!). Thankfully, I only purchased two items that were the same, and one of them was for our upcoming delivery. Bullet dodged!

When we got to Gymboree, my son walked right to the back of the store and set up shop in their small play/ TV area. He grabbed all of his stuff out of the stroller, spread it all around him, and sat down in one of the chairs. When I went back later after lunch (thinking that I had dropped a pack of wipes that turned out to be at home), I left him in the stroller while I searched the area. When I looked back at the stroller, I saw that my son had stood up and stolen my lemonade right out of the cupholder. I guess he figured I had had enough.

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Mommy had the day off yesterday so we could go to the doctor and check on The New Boy (TNB). Since we were both home at the same time for more than an hour, I finally got around to painting the ceiling in TNB's room. Give me a break- I worked hard to get that room empty.

There was a small turnout at music class today. My son and another boy spent a portion of class chasing each other around the classroom, and at one point they ended up in an adjacent stairway. I always close the door when we get there because my son isn't able to open doors just yet. This boy is. Before I knew it, they had gotten through and the other boy door slammed the door behind them. I got to my son rather quickly, but the other boy was up two flights of stairs by the time his mommy got there. For a moment I pondered my responsibility in this situation: should I chase/ grab the boy? Would I want a stranger putting his or her hands on my own son in a situation like this? Would I ever even be in a situation like this? No, because I know where he is at all times. You're on your own, lady.

Now that the painting has begun, I finally got some "me time" during my son's daily nap. It's been a long, long while, and it feels good. I knocked out last 5 or so episodes of Justified: The Complete Third Season over a couple of days as well as some other stuff I had been working on. I know time like this will be few and far between in about four weeks, so I'm enjoying it while it lasts.

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Our local minor league baseball team, the Reading Phillies, had an 11:35 game scheduled today, so I called up my dad (being at "the ballyard" is one of Pop Pop's favorite things) and we met him there. We found some empty seats along the right field line and he sat quite comfortably for a couple innings watching the game and enjoying his snack before losing interest and exploring the rest of the area. He really likes the "strongman" mallet game (that Mommy despises).

Pop Pop has made many friends in and around the stadium over the years, so he was able to finagle us some seats right by the screen behind home plate. This gave us a great (and safe) view of the game. One of the aforementioned friends even tossed my son his first* foul ball! My son and I split a couple slices of pizza and got through about 6 innings before he decided it was time for a nap. The team has a couple more early games between now and TNB's opening day, so hopefully we'll get to do this again.

(*While he was still in the womb, I got a foul ball hit by Chase Utley at a Spring Training game in Dunedin, Florida.)

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On days like today (cold and overcast), we have to find ways to keep ourselves active. Recently, my son has taken a liking to having dance parties with the "Top Lists" area of Spotify. Together, we've discovered some pretty darn awful pop music. OK, it's not all bad. I suppose I am the one hitting "play", after all! Some of his favorites are "We Are Young" by fun., "Call Me Maybe" by Carly Rae Jepsen, and "What Makes You Beautiful" by One Direction. Good stuff. Much like Daddy, he doesn't get the Gotye hype and continues to mow the carpet, stairs, and window when "Somebody That I Used To Know" comes on. It's a good way to have some fun (and get him all tired out before nap time), and it's not at all embarrassing when neighbors walk by and see me jumping around like a fool.

Days 142, 143, 144, 145, and 146

We missed baby storytime this morning. It seems that sleeping with the fan on in his room causes my son to sleep a little late. No complaints here.

We started the day at the post office, as someone in the house accidentally deleted Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2 from the DVR. I have to get that Netflix queue moving so we can have it in the house again!

I don't have a car today or tomorrow because my wife sold hers (we're buying a minivan tomorrow!), so all adventures will involve a certain amount of walking. Though the post office is in the exact opposite direction from my house, we packed a lunch and walked back to the park to eat and play.

Once again, there were a few girls there that my son wanted to follow around. Two of them were accompanied by their daddy! He wasn't off his phone long enough for us to develop any kind of relationship. That's a new pattern that I'm starting to notice. More on that later.

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Day two of no car saw us returning to the playground once again. Another day, another texting dad. Granted, his daughters were considerably older than my son, and therefore he doesn't need to watch them as closely, but it's still a little odd to see someone take so little interest in his children- especially when they are running and climbing all over the place. It's tough not to judge someone in situations like that. I've got a lot to learn about this whole parenting thing, and I'm by no means saying I'm any better at it than anyone else. However, when it's just my son and me, I try to only bring out my phone when I need to take a picture. I can't say that will always be the case, but honestly, I'm the only one he can count on to keep him safe. I don't think I can afford to be doing anything else.

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Today at music class, my son walked over to the one pregnant woman in the class and stood and stared at her for the longest time. She's been pregnant for quite some time, but perhaps he just noticed. He doesn't pay much attention to the other mommies there, but maybe she seems a little more familiar to him

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I had been wanting to take my son to my college, The University of Delaware, for a while. When I found out that I didn't have to go to one of my scheduled sporting events this afternoon, I checked the weather and packed for our first road trip in a while. The trip can be either all highway or all country roads, and I chose the latter, believe it or not the faster of the two. He loved seeing all the cows, horses, and chickens along the way and even let out a few "moo"s all by himself.

We parked on Main Street and I could immediately see many differences on and off campus. Many new restaurants and stores have replaced some of my old favorites- all in the name of progress, but it didn't appear that any of the buildings where I actually had classes had changed much.

After eating lunch on the lawn outside the student center that was relatively new when I was in school, my son began an unusual amount of flirting (at least with women much, much older than him). There were a few girls sitting on the same step as us, and he eventually made his way over to them. He did the usual stand-and-stare for a while until one of them laughed at him. Then he threw his head back and returned the laugh, and it was on. One of the girls would say or do something, and he would imitate it. They would laugh, he would laugh, and it would all start over again. Eventually we left (surely these kids had to go to class at some point) and made our way to "The Green", also known as "The Lawn" or "The Quad" on any number of other college campuses.

I let him out of his stroller so he could run around before we headed back to Main Street and he was ultimately confined to his car seat. I didn't expect him to run right up to the closest group of girls and repeat the process all over again. A male student who was talking to the girls approached my son and asked for a high five. He walked right past the guy and got right up in the girls' faces. His favorite girl was the blonde with the large bag- reminiscent of Mommy's diaper bag/ purse. He pointed at it and told the girl how much he would love if she would just put it down so he could reorganize its contents all over the lawn. At least, that's what I think he was saying. His second favorite was the brunette wearing a cap. He let her know that he always puts a hat on before he leaves the house, too. He didn't like the brunette in the middle one bit.

The girls went on their way, and I chased my son around campus for a while before we walked to the brand new bookstore. It's a strangely grey building with a coffee shop in the front, but it's big and located in a practical spot. I was able to find some fun clothing for my son and his eventual little brother before he made it clear that it was naptime. We crossed the street, bringing back memories of when every single car would stop as soon as I entered the crosswalk, and I changed his diaper before we got back on the road.

Once in the car, he decided that he was no longer tired. We pulled over at the first park we saw, and he played with three little girls (two being completely ignored by, you guessed it, their dad on his phone) and two large dogs until he could barely stand. He still stayed awake for much of the trip home, probably distracted by the anticipation of seeing all those cows, horses, and chickens again.

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I sold another book this morning, so we walked to the post office in our pajamas. Actually, I get kind of embarrassed when I take him out in his PJs, so I dressed him before we went out. On the way back, we stopped for lunch at The Tomcat Cafe, a rock-and-roll-themed restaurant on the main street in our town. The food was fantastic (I had the "Sound Machine" Cuban sandwich, he the grilled cheese), and the staff was kind enough to find a place to stash my sizable stroller while we ate.

We stopped and visited the puppies at Al's Doggie Dresser before returning home for a nap. We had our first actual band practice in a while later in the day, and he got in a good amount of sleep before I had to wake him up to go. When we arrived, he immediately pushed a stool up to the drum set and pulled himself up while holding his sticks. He then played a cymbal with one hand and a drum with the other to create what almos resembled an actual pattern! He's the greatest kid in the world.

Days 138, 139, 140, and 141

We went to the playground today. He decided to leave at one point but did a literal 180 degree turn when two little blonde girls pulled up with their mommy in a minivan. For the next hour or so, he chased them around while holding some sort of conversation with the younger of the two. The older sister, roughly 4, just tilted her head like a dog trying to interpret the weather report. We're getting there.

Haircuts are fun. My son's hair grows at a speed somewhere between Usain Bolt and some other fast person. His hatred of haircuts falls somewhere between my hatred for linebeards and "ill" shirts. In order to get him to cooperate today I bounced him gently as we watched cars through the picture window of the hair saloon while my wife paged through a magazine featuring photos of dogs and the hair dresser snuck around us in an effort to not be noticed. I think it worked.

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He woke up today and decided that he was going to wave and say hi and bye to everyone and everything he saw today. It's tied with "everything except bodily functions and most forms of screaming" for "cutest thing he's done yet". Doggies, clerk at the Reebok outlet, empty living room, music classmates, bottle, photographs- pretty much anything and anyone except when we ask him to do it. "I'm not your monkey, Dad!"

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A recent decision to list all of my books on Amazon.com has caused me to make several visits to the post office. My son is generally very well-behaved when we are there, and today was no exception. He even got a sticker from the clerk to enjoy (read: look at quizzically). Unlike our last trip, everyone in line seemed to understand that you need to put the address on a package in order for it to get to its destination. Take notes, son.

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I'm sure I've mentioned his lawn mower before. He takes it all over the house and uses it to mimic both the lawn mower proper and the vacuum cleaner. Up the steps, in the window, over the dogs- it doesn't matter; he's mowing. I saw another child pushing one of these around the neighborhood, and I've been having trouble getting him to stay on a straight path on our walks, so I thought I'd see if the lawn mower might make a difference. Whenever he tried to make an unnecessary turn, I pushed it the correct direction and he followed. That is, of course, until I tried to demonstrate it to Mommy! Regardless, it kept us off the street and other people's yards. I'm going to have to call that progress.

Days 136, 137, and Easter break

Storytime continues to be a challenge. I think there are just too many distractions (toys, computers, and most important of all- things to take off of shelves and organize elsewhere). We'll keep going (it's free!), but we'll really have to work on the whole sitting still and listening thing. At least he still likes the bubbles.

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I had to take my car in for a few (!) recalls, and I forgot to take my stroller out of the trunk before I dropped it off. As a result, my son had to ride in the regular stroller (with its hard plastic tires) on the sometimes rough terrain between our house and the dealership. He took it rather well, and we arrived without incident. However, when I claimed my car, an attendant told me he would get it for me. We waited. And waited. And watched. Apparently my car stumped him, as he sat in it for several minutes with no progress. Finally, he dejectedly returned and explained that he couldn't get it to start.

Throughout all of this, my son stayed completely silent and content. I, on the other hand, was not so content. Generally, when one drops off a car in good working order for some minor service, he can assume it to start upon reclamation. Naturally, this is what I expected. I grabbed the key from him and quietly stormed out the door. As soon as I opened the door and sat down, he told me he realized what he did wrong: he didn't use the key.

Yes, apparently we have come so far technologically that we have forgotten how to handle essential tasks such as starting a car. Either that or I just need to get a new car.

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We went back to swimming class last night. I had to miss the first one last week, so I was excited to go back. While he threw up on my wife last week, I managed to get him completely under the water a few times with little more consequence than a surprised and wet face.

My wife's Easter break started on Wednesday, and we kicked it off an appointment to check on l'il baby Hoodie Purrfect. Everything's good. Back off. ;-)

There were no fewer than four egg hunts completed and several new treats enjoyed. He's a big fan of carrying a bag, removing items from said bag, and returning those items to the same bag. Naturally, egg hunts seem right up his alley. While he didn't quite get it at first, he eventually figured it out. Unfortunately, his final egg hunt came right in the middle of naptime, so the main thing being sought was a dark room and soft mattress. He ultimately found them, and we all got a good deal of deserved rest over the long weekend. Back to the grind tomorrow.

Days 131, 132, 133, 134, and 135

Today marked the return of Baby Storytime at our local library. Based on our behaviorial advancements at music class, I was excited to see how these skills would translate. Things started off very well, as he grabbed a chair and sat down soon after we took off our coats (all of the other children sit on the floor or on a lap). After I sat down, he came over and sat on my lap for a little bit but soon got a little distracted by some magnets. I attempted to redirect him, but I was met with a very angry series of "DAHDAHDAHDAHDAHDAH DAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"s. We retreated to a magnetless area of the library and returned just in time for the bubbles. We certainly didn't want to miss those.

We stopped at the grocery store afterward, and my streak of forgetting an essential grocery accessory continues. This time it was the reusable bags. I'll get it next week- I promise.

Pop Pop G was doing work at the house when we got home. While I unloaded the non-reusable grocery bags, my son snuck out the back door and led Pop Pop on a tour of our block. There were no reported bumps, scratches, or street crossings.

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Let me tell you about a little film called Beverly Hills Chihuahua 2. My son somehow recorded it on the DVR a few weeks ago, and little did we know how important this would become. I've never seen a second of the first film, and honestly I had no idea they made a second one (or a third one for that matter!). In the film, a litter of chihuahua puppies somehow thwarts a bank robbery ring by sneaking into a bread factory and hurtling pans and buns at the bad guys. French Stewart and the girl who played Al on Step By Step are both in it. A true classic.

Did I mention the dogs talk? That's kind of significant, as it causes my son to freeze wherever he may be, grab his chair, and sit and watch quietly until we turn it off. He does not get bored. He does not get distracted. He watches and legitimately enjoys this movie. He laughs at the funny parts, dances to the music, and is in all other ways completely engaged.

I don't want my son to be too interested in TV, or video games, or the Internet. I don't want TV to become the babysitter that I see many parents allow it to be. However, much like Scout, this thing just works. This morning, when my son decided he needed to get up VERY early and watch Mommy leave for work (which resulted in quite the fit), I was happy it was there. After several minutes of trying to calm him down the old-fashioned way, I gave in. Power, My DVR, Down x3, Right, OK, calm child. We watched that whole darn movie straight through. Then we went back to bed. I still don't understand what they were doing in a bread factory though.

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Today we witnessed likely the worst meltdown in the history of toddlers. Luckily, neither of us were involved. There was screaming, crying, stomping, and punching. As it turns out, it was all because mommy entered the building through a different door than what the kid was expecting. I'm not looking forward to that age.

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I had planned on taking a daytrip to Delaware today, but plans changed when Baby 2.0's crib was scheduled to be delivered at some point in the day. I was somehow able to whittle an initial window of 11-5 down to 11-1. Though this still didn't allow us to take our trip, I wasn't too disappointed because the weather wasn't all that great, and there will be other days. Now I just need to clear some space so I can put this crib together. We should also start working on a name slightly better than Baby 2.0, too. How about Zwei-Dos?

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We started the day with a quick trip to Philadelphia to pick up race materials for a friend. We couldn't stay long because we had band practice later in the day. We made it just in time to wait for it to start.

My son is getting a little more serious about the drums each time we play. Today he attempted to push me out of my seat and eventually succeeded. He still alternates between hitting the drums and banging on the piano, but it's getting more and more uneven. I'm still going to lightly nudge him towards the piano, but I won't be upset if he chooses both. Or more. Or something else entirely.