Valentimes 2015, and 21 Months

Once when I was a kid my dad insisted that it was Valentimes Day, when I knew perfectly well that it wasn't, and that he knew good and well that it wasn't, well-educated as he was and is, but nevertheless he had me going for quite a while.  Oh, Dad.

Anyway, we had a lovely Valentine's Day.  Our attention is rather occupied these days by the impending arrival of The Poppy, but we still were able to celebrate our love for each other a little bit.  It's nice that it was on a Saturday this year, because I could spend the whole day doting on my love and occupying The Boy so the pregnant mommy can take it easier than she does on a workday.  We started out by heading out, just us guys, to pick up some supplies.  He helped me pick some flowers and chocolates, and then we grabbed Mommy's favorite breakfast burritos on the way home for some breakfast in bed.

Such a good messenger... And Mommy was still (almost!) in bed when we returned home with the goods.

We surprised her with little treats and presents throughout the day, including this little number for The Poppy's nursery that arrived JUST in time.

They're harder to find these days than one might think.

We had a fun and delicious time at our traditional family-couples sushi dinner party at my sister's house, where we brought sticky rice (of course) and an amazing cake The Wife made.  We didn't get to have a super fancy date (yet), and we didn't even get a chance to watch our traditional Disney movie together, but we'll get around to those things once the schedule allows it, and in the meantime we were glad to be able to be together and get ready for our upcoming addition.  Too well do I remember the Valentine's Day we spent some 1000 miles away from each other, that dreadful February of 2009, and ever since we were reunited I've never taken our togetherness for granted again.  The webcam was fun and all, but in-person is of course SO much better, and (so far...) we haven't even had to spend a single night apart (especially as last month's business trip was canceled at the more or less last minute).  I do so love that lady of mine.

OH, and there was this surprise that I did a few days early as part of a 30 day art challenge.  I call it The Wife: An Ode To Motherhood.  At first I almost didn't include The Boy, but then what was I thinking?!?  The point is to recognize and celebrate this woman and the wonderful mother she has been and is and continues to be, so he had to be in there.  Happy Valentine's Day, Wife!  You are my forever love.

And just a week later marked The Boy's last three-month mark before hitting another big birthday (The Wife posted a fun and photoful post just yesterday here).  He's growing like crazy and looks less like a baby and more like a little kid every single day, which continually blows my mind.  He's much more independent and strong-willed, but he's still sweet and (sometimes) snuggly and always amusing.  His appetite comes and goes, even when it comes to his usually favorite things (like bananas and avocados), but he'll always be glad to have bread anything, sometimes to the point of spurning absolutely everything else.  He looooooves going outside, even when it's nippy (not that this miserable excuse for a winter has given us much reason to hunker down anyway), and is getting better at resigning himself to coming inside after a fun walk to see the horses down the street or jumping on the trampoline or going down -- or, more preferred, up -- the slide.  His vocabulary is exploding, and it has a lot to do with how well and how much he mimics what he hears.  We were just driving in the car and talking about something, when he repeats, "Ooohhhh, maaaaan!", much to our delight.  He sometimes mutters little "prayers" while we're blessing the food and he likes to jump in while reading books with the parts he knows.  He's learning that he's much more likely to get what he wants if he says, "PeeeeeeeeEESE?" and he's pretty good at thank you too.  He sometimes wakes up pretty early, but he's always glad to just sit and play in his crib for a while until we get up and fetch him, and he's always glad to see us.  He always gives a nice, "Bye!" or "Sya!" (See ya) when I head down to work, and he always rushes to the top of the stairs when he hears me heading home at the end of the day.  Few things give me greater delight as I'm heading to the store or coming home from a run than looking up at the windows and seeing my boy peeking down at me and waving with a huge smile on his face, and his mommy sitting beside him.

Time for some Instapictures!

The Boy knows BCEs when he sees 'em.

Riveted!  And rightly so. (Also, Goodnight Moon.)

It's amazing to see him discover totally everyday things.

Such a good one!  He was a bit of a snuggly duckling this morning.

He prefers the original too, I think.

It still doesn't feel like a Disney movie, but he liked all the go-karts.

Aaaaand THE END!  It was quite a year.  Also, he started crying the instant LIG started.  Make of that what you will.

Coloring!!!  He loves it.  At this point he knew green and purple, but by now he knows just about all the major ones (though he still sometimes struggles with red for some reason).

Many thanks to Baby Einstein for making haircuts an easier and more pleasant experience for everyone involved. (And also for helping him get through the occasional rough morning.)

Free day at the zoo!  It has changed a lot in the last 20 years.

I thiiiink this might be a little above your reading level at present, son.

These stickers provided days of entertainment as he passed them from one canvas to another.

He's loving the out of doors these days!  He wouldn't take those mittens off all day, and recently his snow boots have been given the same treatment.

The static hair on the trampoline makes me laugh every single time.

Ummmm, wherrrre did this come from??

We're starting to get to that point, with two weeks until our family changes forever, where we are realizing that we'll never have this time to spend with just him, which is just something that we haven't thought about that much in the rush of everything that's been happening.  We've had so many good times, and I know for sure we'll have even more once The Poppy shows herself, but we'll never be a family of three again, and it's a big change, so we're trying to take in every detail and spend as much individual time with The Boy as we can for now.  I know he won't really realize how much things have changed right away, and he won't really remember being an only child that much, but it's still something to think about.  (Then again, things changed forever when HE came along, and even before that when we were married, and every phase has been better than the last, so there's no reason to expect anything different from this one.)  He gladly points to Mommy's tummy when asked where the baby is and loves spending time in the nursery with his old toys, and we're sure he'll be a most splendid big bro.

Happy 21, Boy! It's so crazy that he's just that close to turning two... We love our little man.