Ian dancing to his OTHER favorite song, also from Cars. (His favorite movie :)

Home. Toys. Toy Story.

It is a nice breezy afternoon and both Sarah and Ian are sound asleep. Toys are strewn about the floor and I really don’t care. It’s funny how that would have bothered me 6 months to a year ago, but thank God, I’m easier-going now. I could pick them up now, but they’ll just be out there again after he wakes up! Sarah took a walk today and Ian and I watched Toy Story together. He actually sat in my lap for almost 20 minutes during the beginning, which quite a long stretch for my monkey boy. That was only the second time I’ve ever seen it, the first being while Sarah and I dated. I must admit, it’s nice to be home. Sarah and I are often on the opposite ends of the spectrum. She’s home most of the day(s), and wants to get out on the weekend; however, I take pride in the fact that it’s almost 2 PM and I’m still in my pajamas. And Ian. Like father, Like Son. (No, not the bad 80’s movie. I digress).

It’s funny how I used to feel like we HAD to do something on Saturdays, before Ian was born. It then felt stifling being “stuck” at home often after he was born, especially on weeknights. Our routine has changed. Saturday days are now fun “family time” at home while we go to bed early on Friday nights. Having to wake up at 7AM every Saturday and Sunday does that to a couple. I’ve grown content with it, a quieter contentment than I’ve ever known. Watching Ian spin in circles in the morning, dancing to “Life is a Highway”, beats the crap out of the sleeping in every weekend, “what-are-we-gonna-do-today?” pre-parenthood Saturday. That being said, I know things will change as he grows older, and when we have a new baby. I’m enjoying the new, temporary calm of this routine.

Round 2....

Sometimes I can't believe that we're doing it all again... by we, I mean Sarah doing all the work of building the baby while I write blog posts. :) Seriously though, I look at this picture of Ian and remember the awe, exhilaration and utter strangeness of knowing this little person was growing inside of her. I wonder what it will be like to have two. I remember feeling like it was "Sarah/Me and the Baby" for the first 6 months or so of Ian's life. He grew, in my mind, to be come "Sarah/Me/Ian". He is now a fully integrated member of our family, infusing it with his life and personality. I'm amazed at the miracle of it, and thinking that his personhood was encapsulated in that zygotish body, with his personality yet to develop. I celebrate it and am awed by it. I cannot wait to see the picture of our next little person, and to feel him or her (or as I say to Sarah, "himmerrereorherr") grow from "the baby" into an amazing person that I will cherish.

This is the first time Ian walked from the house to the car! (About a week ago.) I was so proud of him. He would scream and not hold my hand when I first started letting him walk with me, but he stopped doing that after a few times. I guess he got tired of going rigid and screaming as loud as he could. Anyway, he is doing awesome and loves to walk everywhere! I just can’t let him get away, he’s quick and wily….

Drive Home

This is about the first time I drove with Ian by myself, soon after he was born. He was crying and I tried to keep him calm. I came up with the chorus on that drive, and was singing it to him while driving.

Saturdays Rule.

I can’t believe how awesome our weekends are. I know that’s basic and simple, but it’s simply true. By the time I get home from work, Ian has had a long, mis-adventurous day of playing in sand and/or woodchips at the park, throwing bouncy balls around the house and yelling when getting his diaper changed. He’s quite worn out for the 90 minutes a day I get with him during the week. Saturdays rule because I grab him in the morning and foggily drink coffee on the couch while he does laps between the kitchen door and the front door. I’m not joking; he literally runs laps. He’ll go back and forth without stopping, often laughing most of the way. I may then lay down on the ground and let him attack me. (This is unique way I’ve found of interacting with him AND laying on the ground like a slab of beef. I CAN have my cake and eat it too).

We later (all 3 of us, I don’t mean to exclude my awesome wife) walk the long way to the park. I can’t remember the name of the park. It’s in the County Club area. We often come across nice, well-bred, well-grammared parents ask us if we live in the area. We always say “yes”. They’ll then ask where. We give a vague answer, “oh, a mile or so away”, hiding the fact that we live on the OTHER side of NW Radial, which is a bit more…economically diverse. I would tell them that, but I don’t want them to spew their Cherry Mochas in my face and run off with their children. Besides, Ian likes rich kids.

The point is, Saturdays are awesome because I get to see the spectrum of Ian’s personality, not just his end-of-the-day, eary-evening tiredness. I also get to see him longer, which is obviously nice. I can’t think of a clever way to round out this post and finish it up, so I’ll just stop now. Thank you.