Thirty-Two

Tadpole,

You are now thirty-two months old. You are a funny, sweet, fierce little man. Interestingly enough, now that your Daddy and I finally have your brother a bit calm at night, you no longer want to sleep. Bedtime was not your idea and you do not appreciate it. Thus, you come to our room several times throughout the night to 'check on [me]". You are a little stink!

This month has been another few weeks of adventures. At school, you continue to adore circle time, art time, and playing outside. You also love it when Mr. D comes to your class to play his guitar. Dance class with Ms. S seems to be a treat for you, too. At home, you spend most of your time leading circle time with your own guitar. You also love to play cars, play with your farm, and also to play kitchen. When not playing, you're typically out socializing with the neighbors. Like your Daddy, you have a knack for delighting people.

After several weeks of you asking, Daddy and I were finally able to take you to the cabin. Gosh, you love it there. You and Daddy built forts with blocks and he took you sledding for the first time. While you looked a bit terrified coming down the hill, you were also filled with delight. On the way home, you started to cry. When I asked what was wrong, you revealed that you had to go potty. You knew that we were not near a restroom and feared for the condition of your beloved Superman undies. Alas, Daddy helped anoint you into manhood by pulling off the road and showing you how to pee on a tree. You were in awe that such an action could be performed and thrilled with this accomplishment.

You, your brother, and I have started going on a number of mini-adventures in an effort to get us out of the house and to allow your Daddy the opportunity to sleep prior to his shifts. Often, we drive aimlessly and just stop at whatever park we can find. One day, we went to the Children's museum. On another particularly gloomy afternoon, you told me you wanted to go on a "Cookie Adventure'. I took you to the fancy grocery store where you picked out a cookie from the bakery cases and then we walked around the store taking inventory of the beautiful produce and live seafood.

Speaking of sea life, you have an odd obsession with octopus. As I researched the cost of admission at the local aquarium, I found that there is a live cam in the octopus tank. Whenever we are home during the day now (the octopus only keeps camera hours from 9 am to 6 p.m. -- which is dumb, because we've learned he's actually nocturnal), you want to check on the octopus. One time we watched him play with a football helmet. Typically, he only sits in a corner hiding though. Luckily, the seals and otters have live cams, too, which entertains us.

You were a supporter of the Seahawks this year and were happy to see them go to the Superbowl. We had our friends, K, T, and E over to watch the game. We were a bit bummed to see the 'Hawks lose, but thought it was a good game. Watching the game allowed us the opportunity to talk about the purpose of sports and the importance of fun, good sportsmanship, and trying one's best. It is so cool to have such conversations with you now. Daddy and I are amazed at how insightful you are, how big your vocabulary is, and how completely capable you are of discussing most things.

As always, this month found us in awe of your awesomeness. We remain grateful for the opportunity to witness and guide you through this part of your development, my sweet boy. We love you so much.

Love,
Mama