One Full Year
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Birthday party, complete
with friends and family. |
Theron's first birthday party
(which actually took place a couple of weeks before his
actual birthday, which is today) was a splendid success.
My wife did most of the planning, and my parents hosted
(mainly because they have a swimming pool). Since it
happened on Sunday afternoon of Memorial Day weekend,
almost everyone we invited was able to attend. The event
featured cupcakes, rice crispy treats, pizza, beer,
plenty of presents, and a very happy Podling. Even the
family turtle (who's been living in the back yard for
twenty years now) put in an appearance.
I was a little surprised by
how long it had been since we'd seen some of our
friends. Having a child has definitely truncated our
social life, but I feel like we try to keep in touch...
so discovering that I hadn't seen one of my oldest
friends in months was a bit of a shock. (He lives here
in town, so it isn't like we couldn't just meet
somewhere...) So, for anyone who missed all the early
chapters of this journal, let me reiterate: if you have
a baby, the baby will eat your life.
Actually, that's only sort of
half-true. The baby will also become your life. (I
firmly believe that this is why most parents constantly,
compulsively discuss their children. They aren't being
egotistical or self-centered, it's just that your
children quickly become the center of your life. All the
new developments in your daily life are directly related
to the kids, and generally you don't have a lot of extra
time to get non-children-y things done. So, really, what
else is there to talk about? I've tried to
channel that tendency into this journal, partly to have
a record of the experience but mostly in order to avoid
boring the [expletive deleted] out of whomever I'm
talking to.) And, much as I'd hoped, the older Theron
gets, the more fun he is to have around. So, in the long
run, it really is worth it.
My son develops a drinking
problem
Theron has been able to drink out of a bottle or a
sippy cup on his own for some time now, but recently
he's started trying to drink out of regular cups. It
works, sort of: water does go into his mouth, and he
swallows it.
Water also goes all down the
front of his shirt, all over his chair, and onto the
floor. (So far, he's managed to miss the cats.) This is
much funnier to watch than it is to describe, especially
since once he's finished taking a (clumsy, messy) drink,
he looks so proud of himself. He grins,
and claps, and looks very excited. He wants us to be
excited, too.
The fact that I find this
adorable should tell you just how far I've fallen. I'm a
rational, cynical guy. I like being
skeptical, and I think that doubt, ambivalence, and
uncertainty are all critical parts of intellectual
honesty. And somewhere deep down, I know that all that's
really happening is that the toddler is making another
mess that one of us is going to have to clean up.
And yet, I'm charmed. I laugh,
I clap, I hand the boy a fresh glass of water.
It's pathetic, really.
So where do we go from
here?
My wife and I have successfully kept the baby alive
for a full year now. During this time, he has progressed
from a sort of flesh-colored lump to a walking,
interactive, inquisitive little boy. I'm not sure how
much credit we deserve for that. I mean, we kept him
fed, but he seems to have done most of this stuff on his
own. It's not like we were training him to walk, or
drink water - or put green beans in his water glass, for
that matter.
We do intend to have a second
child, though probably not soon. It would be nice to get
this one weaned first. Meanwhile, I'll probably keep
writing these - as much as time and inspiration allow,
anyway.
Come to that, I'll probably
keep it up even when we do have a second child. It seems
to have become a way for friends and family to keep up
with what we're doing. Since we seem to keep dropping
out of touch in other ways, it might be a good idea to
keep this one going.
And now, more
baby pictures (click to see them at full size):
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