Week of October 30, 2002
Traveling with a child is an anxious thing. We had a full weekend planned, 2 hours away, visiting friends we don't get to see often enough. Our fingers were crossed that our health would remain good, and Owen would survive the traveling and the change in routine and still stay his happy self. Despite our fears, the weekend went off without a hitch. Fortunately our childfree friends are used to small children, although I do feel they got to spend a lot of time watching us chase Owen. There is so much less time to socialize than in the old days (pre-Owen). The time between when Owen goes to bed, and when Scott and I are exhausted and have to retire, is all too short.
But any visit is better than no visit, and on the bright side, they had the foresight to live near a Panera Café. And a Dunkin Donuts. It's hard waking their wonderful dog with our early morning noise, and then letting them wake up too as a result. At least we're able to leave the house for a while in the wee hours, we can let them sleep until a more civilized hour.
We met a brand new baby as part of our trip, which was a treat. Anna was 3 weeks old, helpless and adorable as they are at that age. It's hard to imagine Owen being that small. In fact, it's hard to imagine Owen as anyone but who he is now. I look at "old" pictures and it's hard to comprehend his older selves in those pictures. His personality is so integral to how I perceive him, it's hard to identify with the time when we were still getting to know each other. When he could do so little and was just starting to comprehend the world around him. Will I feel this same way in another year, or 2 or 5 or 10?
Owen was a little jealous of my holding the baby. I thought he would be indifferent, as he often is when I pet the cats, but I think lately he's caught on to the fact that attention going to someone else makes him feel left out. He held it together for a little while, but then he started wanting to interact with the baby in a way that made me think that he wanted her outta there. Interestingly, when Scott and I kiss, it makes Owen beam. Perhaps that will change, but he seems so delighted at our expressions of love for one another that it tugs on our heartstrings. Scott's okay, but small babies apparently are not.
Owen continues to learn about the world around him. Lately he's figured out how to make his little vibrating ball turn on by himself. This has a button on it which starts it vibrating (hard!), but it's actually very difficult to press the button down and get it to work. I have trouble doing it! Owen's figured out that if he puts the spiked ball on the ground with the button centered at the top, he can push down hard with his finger and get it to start. I was very impressed with his resourcefulness! Getting it to stop is much harder, and I'm not sure how one does it without sturdy finger nails. He used to be testy when we stopped it, but now that he can turn it off, he delighted for more chances to show off his skill.
He's mastered pushing the buttons on his Play a Sound books. That seems so simple, but not all the squares are easy to maneuver, and you have to get them in the exact center. I've been maniacally looking for interesting Play a Sound books on EBay. I have a Peter Rabbit one that has a good cat noise, and a Babar that has the sound of a sour lemon! He'll fixate on a few buttons for a few days, and then move on to another toy.
We're still working on the business of using a spoon. He has used one very well at times, but I think this is one of those tasks he's not particularly interested in so he tunes it out. And since he rarely will let us feed him, small (or liquidy) items that you can't pick up with your hand are excluded from his diet. Even ice cream is an insufficient lure for using a spoon.
Playing with a spoon is a different thing, and he's delighted to bang them on any surface, or pretend to feed himself (as long as there's no food). He was playing with a piece of our flatware at home, and when he was done we watched as he ran to the kitchen, opened the dishwasher, threw it in, closed it, and then tried to fiddle with the dials. Scott and I stood there with our mouths open, proud yet horrified.
And this is the little boy who hasn't yet figured out how to push the popcorn popper around. Ah well.
But it's humbling to think of him observing us so carefully, I don't think he's seen us run the dishwasher all that many times. We usually do it once he's in bed. What else exists in his mental notes? A lot more than I would like, I imagine, since he's recording everything (not just the good stuff!).
We're not dressing up for Halloween this year. Although it was tempting (those cute frog outfits at Old Navy), there's not much incentive when your little child is in bed by 6:30. And we're hoping to conceal the existence of Chocolate for as long as possible. Owen's already experienced chocolate chips from the pumpkin cookies at Rao's, and those are a hit, so I know he's going to have a sweet tooth. We have a pumpkin to carve, so we're getting into the spirit in a small way this year. One thing about having a child, it's a wonderful reason to celebrate every seasonal transition there is. Part of the joy children bring is provoking effort you wouldn't make for yourself. I love calendars and rituals and time and seasons, and yet for just myself and Scott, it was hard to feel enthused enough to make preparations for holidays. It's nice to have an excuse now, although I'm sure a time will come, when it will feel more pressured than joyful. But that's the kind of pressure people miss when it's gone….
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