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| Your fire truck picture. |
I am not quite sure how this happened but for the past few months you have been obsessed with "the olden days". I am pretty sure it had something to do with Gammy. You are constantly asking "Did they have TV's in the olden days? They had to use leaves for toilet paper in the olden days, did you know that? Look, There's an olden day car!" You are a million and one questions. So, finally, Gammy and I decided to bring you to this Restoration Village. We used to take class field trips there when I was a kid. I remember it being really cool. You could watch the blacksmith make chain links, buy penny candy at the general store, take in a lesson at the one room school house. Maybe we went on an off day, maybe they have cut a lot of funding, maybe I only remembered the best parts. Anyway, it was kind of boring. It was pretty much lots of old houses that Gammy and I had to make up stories about to keep you interested. I think your favorite part was the out-house. You can just not possibly fathom people doing pee-pees in a hole in the ground. Needless to say, you only really ask about the olden days now when it pertains to toilets.
Two things happened at a party at Drew's brothers house. I am not sure which is of more importance. Drew has 2 nephews and a niece so I knew you were going to have a blast. You usually play with PJ, the 2 year-old, but this time you gravitated more towards Katie, the 5 year old. You and her were inseparable. Katie went to find a toy in her room and you followed. I stayed outside enjoying the company. About 5 minutes past, 10 tops, and you still hadn't returned. When I went inside, I found Katie's bedroom door closed. Hum. On opening the door, I found Katie on the bed and you standing on the floor, both of you with NO pants on (underwear on, Thank God!). "What are you doing?" I asked. "Playing doctor." You answered, quite matter of factly. "Ok, pants and shoes on. Lets go outside." I am positive that it was innocent but isn't 3 and 5 a little early for Dr. games?!? I watched you a little more closely for the rest of the evening. Drew found it amusing (Thank God!). And I found it even more amusing when Drew found your hat on Katie's bed post. You are learning fast, my son. The second thing, was you took your first solo ride on a dirt bike. Drew's brother has this little one the he messed with so it only goes 4mph plus its actually has training wheels on it. I'm less concerned that you rode one. You loved it; Drew never let go, you wore a helmet, and only on the grass. Its more about it is it the gateway drug of you getting on bigger and faster things. They also had this Power Wheels Motorcycle
thing that you LOVED. You rode that bike for hours (some of the time with Katie on the back.) I just wish we had a garage to put it in!
And then I calmed down a bit. Mostly because Wyatt just adores him. But as our relationship progresses, it brings more issues to light. I have brought this man into Wyatt's life. Wyatt doesn't know that there is a possibility that he might leave. That maybe he should be a little guarded. Wyatt is in this with his whole self. He talks about Drew. He makes Drew pictures at school. He brings in Drew's dirt bike magazines for show-n-tell. If you ask Wyatt what he wants to do when he grows up he says "I want to be a dump truck man and a fire truck man like Drew." He loves this man with his whole heart. Is it foolish of me to let them get close? Am I setting him up for disappointment? Do I want this to last because they are close, because they get along so well?
I love Drew. We have a great time together. He keeps me focused when my life feels blurry around the edges. He's not perfect but neither am I. But having Wyatt makes dating more complicated. It is not just about if I love Drew. Its also about if he's a good influence for Wyatt (which I think he is). If Wyatt feels safe with Drew. If Drew understands the parenting lines, which often get blurred when there are a lot of adults around. Its about Drew accepting that I will always put Wyatt first. That my future is based on Wyatt's needs and not my own wants. Its about Wyatt and I as a package deal.
The other night Gianna was over for dinner. (Not entirely unusual. I'm sure she would eat here every night if I let her.) Gammy had grilled some shrimp. I asked Gianna if she had shrimp before (yes) and let her go to town. About 10 minutes later she says she's itchy. Of course, classic tale of neighbors kid lies and eats something new, has an allergic reaction. I walked her back to her house and her mom swears to me its fine and she has definitely had shrimp before. I was mortified. I guess I should have called over there first. I felt a little better when she thanked me for telling her but didn't thank me for feeding her kid dinner. They will buy you ice pops every once and a while so I guess it evens out. (By the way, she was back over the house the next day at 9am. Maybe it was just mosquito bites)
I had the great pleasure of attending Mia's wedding this month. As luck would have it, it was a Christmas in July wedding and the Big Man paid a visit. I am not one to ever miss out on a teaching moment. When I got home I mentioned this to you which at first you didn't believe. I showed you a picture. I told you that I told Santa what an amazing boy you are. But Santa was a little upset that you still used a binky. Santa said maybe he could only bring you baby toys since you still used a baby binky. You haven't touched your binky since. When you asked for it last night, I told you I didn't know where it was. You didn't ask again. I am not proud of lying to you. But hell, if it stops you from using that damn binky, it will be my most ingenious parenting idea yet. And trust me, I am sure you will do the same with your kids. (Mia - thank you so much for this amazing opportunity to bribe my child with a mid-year visit from Santa. I owe you one!)
I know that I have a tendency to be a somewhat lax parent that is desperately trying to pull in the reigns. I'll make you something different for dinner if you ask. I'll buy you that matchbox if it gets you through the grocery store. I still get you dressed and sit with you in the bathroom reading you books while you poop. You rarely get time outs because you rarely misbehave and I like to pick my battles. I think that you are finally understanding that you have it pretty sweet. When we were grocery shopping, you asked me if you could open the bag of pretzels to eat in the store. Of course, open them up. Your whole face lit up, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!!" Honestly like I just gave you $100. Sometimes if I am sitting on the floor, you will jump in my lap and give me a hug. Or come up with elaborate adventures for us to go on asking "That's a good idea?" You say I'm beautiful when I am trying on dresses at the store. You ask to hold my hand while you are falling asleep. I know we have our fighting moments. Times when you're not so sweet and I might consider offering you in the free Craigslist section. But for the most part; after you're asleep and I reflect on the day, I remember the happy moments. And most of the time, I come to the conclusion that I am genuinely over-the-moon happy. I hope you are too.
Jen has made a big move down to Long Beach. I was sad to see her move father away from us but it has turned out really awesome. We make day trips down to "Jen's beach" and you are in love with the ocean there. You are so not afraid of the sand. Its weird. You slid down the lifeguard stand on your butt, rolled down the sand hill, at the end of the day you have sand in place I have only imagined. You are so content to run around, playing with your trucks, setting up your chair and having cocktail hour with us. (For the record, I did not teach you about cocktail hour. That was a Nana and Grandpa 2's revelation while we were in FL. But you have remembered it. You take your juice box put it in the cup holder and chat. Clearly, imitating Nana. Its hysterical if not a little terrifing. All the other moms think I am an alcoholic.) You make friends and dig for sand crabs. I have such fond memories of Jones Beach trips as a child and now you will have yours. You love walking in the water, holding my hand of course. You are still a little timid of the big waves. But I would rather have you be a little timid then run into the undertow. After about 5 hours at the beach, we head to Jen's apartment, shower, change then go out to dinner. We hit up this BBQ place with extra spicy peanuts. I told you that you probably wouldn't like them but sure enough you LOVED them. Ate like it was going out of style. I could barely eat two without having a sip of water. I couldn't open them fast enough for you. My adventurous eater. The one that lives off of baked clams.
We've gone to a few more Met games. You were so excited for them that I got you a hat so you could match Pa. You told Auntie B that the actual game is "kinda boring." But you absolutely love walking up and down the stadium stairs to get various things to eat. Hot dogs, french fries, popcorn, peanuts, cotton candy. As soon as we sit down, you think of something else that you would like to eat. Of course, I usually wouldn't indulge you that much but you actually eat all of it. You also get a real kick over doing the wave and all the cheers. You have got "Let's go Mets" down. Over all, I think you and I have a similar interest in baseball. All of the social eating none of the baseball.
