Daddy-D

This weekend was a big weekend for Davis - known to Oliver as "Daddy-D." To swim the English Channel one needs to have completed a six hour swim in water that is 60 degrees or less. While Davis has completed many swims over the past year and half, he had not yet completed this prerequisite. Saturday was the big day. Although I would have loved to have been on the boat cheering Davis on, the idea of keeping Oliver occupied (and out of the water) for six hours made me think twice. So while Davis was busy swimming, and swimming, and swimming... Oliver and I went to a birthday party - partied and ate and partied and ate (and we only felt a little guilty that we were enjoying cupcakes while Davis was sucking down Goo and protein drinks (ick)).

We did meet Davis and his amazingly wonderful support crew (Andrew, Matt and Al) at the dock after the swim. Oliver gave his Daddy-D a big hug and a kiss.



Cheering Davis on, watching him swim, driving to strange places to see Davis jump in - or out - of the water, waking up to Davis being gone (swimming)...all of these things have become so common, I think Oliver, a lover of routines, is going to be a bit confused when Davis has swum the Channel and turns into a couch potato.

Thankfully Davis' six hour swim didn't turn him off from the beach - we spent much of today there, enjoying the ridiculously hot (again) weather.

Anticipation

Let me first make it clear that in way do I consider myself a Scrooge. With that out of the way --

Over the last several years the holidays have lost much of their sparkle. Finding the perfect tree has become much more about compromise and finding a tree that actually fits, rather than finding the biggest and craziest Christmas ever. And a white Christmas has become more about shoveling and wondering if our travel plans will still work given the forecast rather than be super excited because Santa will be delivering presents in the snow. Speaking of presents - Davis and I decided when we got married to forgo presents to each other at holidays and birthdays and instead focus on doing fun things throughout the year. While this arrangement takes much of the commercialization out of the holidays, it also takes away an element of excitement (not that I want to re-institute gift-giving - our arrangement, much to the horror of some, works very well for us). Another thing about the holidays - they are in the fall and winter - times of the year that tend to be chilly if not downright cold. I am not a big fan of cold and much prefer the balmy days of summer. All of this being said, on Sunday afternoon the "A" got put back into anticipation and the "e" back into excitement and I am so looking forward to the holidays this year.

On Sunday I was looking at our town's upcoming events and saw that at the end of November Santa and Mrs. Claus will be arriving in town, via boat, to light the town's Christmas tree. Unlike the past two years Oliver will be able to understand a bit about what is going on and I think he will be beyond excited to witness their arrival. And since Oliver is now much more in tune with what is going on, this year Davis and I have decided it is time for our family to start our own traditions. We both have wonderful memories of Christmas with our families and we both want Oliver to look back at his childhood with the same joy. I can't wait to go and have Oliver choose the Christmas tree, decorate the tree, read holiday books, make and decorate cookies... I recognize that this year most of these activities will be accompanied by a vacuum, mop, numerous loads of laundry, and a constant fear that Oliver will try and scale the Christmas tree, but I am not worried - it will all be part of the fun and memories. (The only thing I am worried about and need to start thinking about is - where to hang the stocking. We don't have a fireplace and I don't think I can add a fireplace to our house, and don't think we'll be moving anytime soon.)

Oliver has become a very imaginative child. At the playground he usually finds sticks and mulch and pretends they are tools - he picks up each "tool" and tells me what it is - a hammer, a nail set, a screwdriver - and then spends his time at the playground "fixing" everything. He confuses many children by telling them, for example, that the slide is broken and he needs to fix it before they play on it. I feel like his imagination, his love for books, and that he is at an age where he is absorbing everything will really help to make this holiday season, and the holidays to come, sparkle.

Holy Smokes!

The last few days have brought with them many many surprises and I have found myself saying holy smokes quite a bit.

Surprise #1: Oliver is afraid of something. Oliver shows no fear - ever (okay, he gets frightened when farm animals make loud noises, but that is it). He will dive, head first, into huge waves, and come out laughing. He'll crash his bike, fall to the ground, and laugh. He'll walk up to dogs four times his size and give them a big kiss... So what did I discover scares my little guy? On Friday we were at the playground and Oliver climbed to the very tip top of the climbing structure. He walked over to the top of a super tall ladder and smiled. I told him it was too high - he just smiled. He then took two steps and balanced himself on the top two rungs of the ladder. At this point I am worried because I realize that I can't even reach his feet to rescue him - he is too high. He then flashes another smile and yells "Jump!" and launches himself into the air. My heart in my throat I race to grab him. I caught him and immediately he burst into tears. He had finally scared himself. Not that I am glad he got scared, but to be honest, I am happy to learn that he does possess a bit of fear.

Surprise #2: Oliver is catching on to the spelling game. It turns out that there are now some things we can no longer spell. For example, milk. If Davis and I spell milk, Oliver will say milk, or go and get it from the refrigerator. Bottle is another example. Pop (as in lollipop) is another example. Seriously, this kid amazes me sometimes - he doesn't let Davis or me get away with anything.

Surprise #3: Not every day is sunny. We've been living the good life this summer - sunny day after sunny day after sunny day. Yesterday we spent the day, as usual, at the beach. We made sandcastles, turned logs into boats, swam, counted snails, and raced trucks all over the sand. Today we woke up to clouds. Given it wasn't beach weather we decided we'd go for a hike. We got in the car and it started raining. We decided to ignore it - and thus went our day. We spent our rainy day in denial. We went for our hike and then, after Oliver's nap, rode our bikes for ice cream.




Surprise #4: We are in the third trimester. It is funny. When I was pregnant with Oliver I could have told you how far along I was at any moment - the weeks, the days, maybe even the hour. Every week I read how big Oliver was - grape, orange, grapefruit... and often read ahead, excited to learn what was happening next. This pregnancy is completely different - this pregnancy I tend to forget I am pregnant (it's not that I'm excited about the baby, it's just there isn't much time to think about being pregnant). I tend to ask Davis questions like: "Why am I so hungry?," or "Why do I keep throwing up?," or "Urgh, why do these pants not fit anymore?" Each time Davis responds - "I think it is probably because you are pregnant." Right, I keep forgetting. Anyway, over the past couple of weeks I've been asked, many times, how far along I am. I've thrown out answers ranging from 24 to 29 weeks - all guesses. A couple days ago I decided it might be interesting to find out how far a I really am. As it turns out I am now 28, almost 29 weeks - in the third trimester. Time flies when your not paying attention!

My little boy

Oliver is well into his second month of being two. Since turning the big t-w-o I feel like Oliver has changed dramatically - that he has gone from a baby/toddler to a little boy.

Oliver loves routines. For example - Right now it is difficult to tell our house from the beach as there is so much sand inside - on the floors, in our shoes, in our beds... All of this sand means we've been spending lots of time at the beach. Oliver now knows the drill and hops out of the car at the beach and pushes his big truck down to the beach while I carry the other beach paraphernalia. Once we get down to the beach Oliver will, immediately, sit on the towel and wait while we get his swim diaper, beach clothes and sunscreen on. As soon as that is done - he is off and has selective hearing - but for those few minutes...

He also loves to work. At the beach the other day he spent forever carrying buckets full of water to his "house" and washing shells.


Other favorite activities include mowing the lawn (an activity he would like me to partake in, but since we've been spending our time at the beach and not watering the lawn, our lawn is pretty much non-existent (on the up-side this means no need to mow)), blowing bubbles, and riding his bikes. He alternates between peddling around the block on his trike and racing around the block on his balance bike. While this video shows a relaxed bike ride, this is not the usual. Oliver has figured out the balance bike and careens down the street at high speeds, sometimes narrowly avoiding obstacles, and sometimes crashing. I am seen sprinting along beside him trying to convince him to slow down and trying to catch him before he crashes - the whole time he is just laughing and yelling "Faster! Faster!" and then laughing hysterically when he falls.



Another new favorite activity is jogging. Ah yes, a typical conversation:

Me: "Oliver, what would you like to do this morning?"
Oliver: "Run fast."

He then puts on his sneakers and grabs a water bottle and he runs around the block a few times. I am not kidding, my two year old likes to go for a morning jog. He is definitely building up his endurance because he is now wanting to go on longer and longer runs. As my belly is getting bigger and bigger, I am wanting to go on shorter and shorter runs (and trust me, I do have to run to keep up with the little monster).

"Daddy - D" as Davis is now called is becoming more and more a favorite. Oliver is always asking for Davis when Davis isn't around, and often times refuses to do something (like build with blocks or go to the hardware store) because he wants to do it with daddy and not mommy.


Oliver's vocabulary is also improving. Not only does he repeat and retain almost everything - but in the past few weeks he also has gone from having three word sentences to five word sentences. I am often shocked by what comes out of his mouth.

And last, but certainly not least - Oliver is now primarily sleeping in his room. He naps in his room and he goes to sleep in his room. At about 2:00 I hear his door slam open and before I can even put my feet on the ground he is standing next to the bed and trying to climb in. I don't listen to the part of me that says I should bring him back to his room, instead I pick him up and he snuggles in between Davis and me. I know that sometime he will sleep all night in his room, but for now I am enjoying the few fleeting hours of cuddling my two year old (because lord knows, he never slows down long enough when he is awake for any cuddling).

Boston Light Swim 2010

Yesterday was the Boston Light Swim - a mere 8 mile swim in Boston Harbor. Davis had been looking forward to the swim for awhile - and so had Oliver.

The afternoon before the big event Oliver and I went and got poster board to make a sign. While I had my ideas as to what the sign should say, Oliver was adamant that the sign say "Go Daddy Go!" The whole time Oliver was coloring the sign and sticking stickers on it he was chanting "Go Daddy Go!" His chanting continued through the next day - to the swim.

My parents, Oliver and I managed to get to the finish before Davis finished- but not by much. Davis completed the swim in 2 hours and 58 minutes - almost 45 minutes faster than last year! He had thought he'd shave off a few minutes, but had no idea he would be so speedy.

True to form, Davis ran out of the water as if he'd just swam a few feet. While other swimmers were wrapping themselves in towels and sitting on the sand to recover, Davis just chatted away with people and drank a few celebratory beers with Andrew and my dad.



Given Davis' performance, and Oliver's enthusiasm, I think we are ready for the next big thing - the Channel.