Where did Spider Man's head go?

Baron woke me up at six this morning, fully armed and ready for action. We started watching some cartoons while I tried to get my eyes to open and after my lids finally parted I looked down and saw Baron playing with a headless Spider Man. The first thought to penetrate the morning fog in my mind was that he had swallowed Spider man's head, which gave me a little panic at first but then I remembered that he swallows most of his food without chewing so worst case scenario would be me finding a very unhappy Spider man head in his next diaper. Uhm.... ick. But then he was whining a bit and limping a little. Hhmmm... So, I picked him up and felt his foot through his sleeper, checking for anything that could be the culprit and sure enough, lodged between his big toe and the next toe was a very Spider Man-head-like ball. I unzipped his sleeper and dug out the head and sent him on his destructive way, none the worse for wear. He does this quite often now, taking Mommy's keys, name tag or various plastic cards from her purse and stuffing them into his sleeper. Sometimes it's the snack that I THOUGHT he had eaten (no wonder it's hard to get him to gain weight!), or maybe a small toy of some kind. He's like a box of Cracker Jacks; always a prize inside!! I can't wait for the day when he tries to stuff the cat into his sleeper. THAT'LL be a hoot.

Spider Man saves the day!

I am such a proud Daddy. Last week Baron fell in love with Spider Man. Elmo? Elmo who? I thought I'd never be rid of that little red monster. But wait, it gets better. He loves Wolverine, too! Seriously! Is he or is he not my son? Papa joined us at Toys R Us and we played there for an hour or so and Papa wanted to treat the little man to a new toy (or two) and Baron chose the three pack of Spider Man and His Amazing Friends! Shame on you if you don't know that Spider Man's Amazing Friends are Firestar and Iceman, from the early eightied cartoon show. I was blown away to see these three figures in one package. I loved this cartoon as a kid. LOVED IT!! So, that night I went through the DVR menu and found, you guessed it, episodes of Spider Man and His Amazing Friends! I can't believe they still play this cartoon, it is sooooo dated! But Baron loves it and we've watched the same two episodes a dozen times already. And I recorded a few different X-Men and Wolverine cartoons and he's cycling his way through those now. I do realize that these cartoons may not have the educational value of Sesame Street, but Baron plans on being a super hero when he gets older so this really is best for him at this point. Besides, Daddy's right there beside him when he watches these shows and I make my own sound effects and tell him what's going on and who's who and try to impress upon his little mind the values inherent in what the heroes are trying to do. Seriously, anything can be educational if you explain it to your child from the proper point of view. And we play with his action figures when we watch the programs, mimicking their exploits and adventures. And, if that isn't enough, I put a few Spider Man and Wolverine stickers on our table that the tv sits on and he'll point to them and I'll exuberantly call out their names or I'll call out their names and he'll point to the right one every time. So proud.
And he's getting smarter and smarter every day. He stills doesn't talk much but if we're looking through one of his many, many books and I call out a shape, color or character, he'll point to the proper one every time. He knows his stuff and it's just further proof that when he does finally start to talk it's not going to be a word here or there but whole sentences and paragraphs. So proud.

What an awesome little guy!

. I was worried a month or so ago that he was going to be a real bratty kid. The signs were there and I was preparing myself for dealing with him in a state of near constant tantrum (his tantrums, not mine!). But he's really come around this month and has started doing things and helping out in ways that make me so much more than proud. Mommy has taught him to throw away his dirty diapers in the trash can after each changing and he's so happy to do it. Whenever he drops his bottle and we ask him to pick it up he'll promptly pick it up and set it on the table, right side up. When we say it's time for bed he'll grab his blanket and head for the room, usually before we are actually ready for him to do so. However, getting him to STAY in bed can be a different story but I'm trying to sing his praises here so we won't go into that at the moment. He pets the kitty very nicely. He's never really been very rough with her, hasn't grabbed hand fulls of hair or things like that. But I believe that he's aware of her ferocity and recognizes her as something not to be trifled with. He does like to test his boundaries and do things that he darn well KNOWS he's not supposed to do, but he will stop when told to and that makes me very happy. It's little things like these that he continues to do on a daily basis that give me so much hope that our son is going to be a good kid.
But, I'm no fool. Time will reveal the truth.
And we'll love him either way.
We had an early morning play session at Clackamas Mall yesterday morning. He usually needs a major diaper change after the long drive from dropping Mommy off at work in Hillsboro to the Mall in Clackamas and I'm not ashamed to admit that I enjoy throwing that first nasty diaper of the day into the Mall's trash can instead of ours here at home. Yesterday I let him play with my phone while I did the deed and it took less than thirty seconds for him to activate the camera on my phone and he started taking pictures of me while I was changing his diaper. Gah, I love this kid!! He already exhibits far more technical proficiency than his old man has ever possessed.
Yesterday was our first daytime Daddy Play Group! It was great! It's almost like a completely different play group because both of us have way more energy at 10 a.m. than we do at 6 p.m. so I can keep up with him better and he's more involved with the group instead of going off to be the Little Lone Ranger like he usually does. The plan is to have the first three Fridays of the month at the community center and the fourth Friday of the month will be a field trip somewhere like OMSI or something similar. How cool is that? We can't wait to go back to OMSI!!
Ooops, he says it's time for Daddy to stop blogging and start engaging!! Later!

Juggling the lung butter

He's had a nasty cough for the last couple of days. Deep down, gurgling, raspy coughs that make me want to put a rag on a stick and swab it down his throat to get at the junk that's plaguing him. Sounds like a jet trying to take off in a giant vat of gooey molasses. Poor lil' monster. It doesn't matter though, that nasty cough can't slow him down any more than anything else that life has thrown at him so far. Just one more pitiful obstacle to be pushed aside on his way to world conquest. Sometimes he'll cough and stop to put value to the taste then continue forward with a look of contempt for a sickness that could do no better than that.
We visited Ollie and Andy last week for a little while. it's so good for all four of us when we hang out. The little ones love the interaction, even if they seem to spend most of their time trying to take toys from each other. On this last visit Baron found something that may be more powerful than he; hugs. Yes, hugs. Adorable little Ollie approached Baron several times with his arms spread out and tried to give Bam Bam Baron a bear hug. I could tell by the look on Baron's face that he now has a definition for cooties. He wanted no part of that action. Priceless.
A time honored law among men is that you do not talk with other men in public restrooms. That's just the way it is. No "hello"'s. No "hey, that shirt looks good on you". No "do you have an extra hair tie I can have?". If a man has a heart attack or falls and hurts himself in a public men's room he had better hope he's got enough charge left in the battery to make it out the door or he will be on his own until he is face to face with his maker. Unless a man is in the men's room with his child. Then we become a gaggle of chatty Kathie's. It's very weird. Baron and I were in the restroom at Target a few days ago and we had to wait for our turn at the changing table, which NEVER happens, and then another father came in with his own dirty monster to change and we just started shootin the stuff like it's not a forbidden activity. We laughed! Kids, they change all the rules.

Baron takes on 2011!

Crazy, crazy kid. He has a mountain of toys now. A monument of blinking, chirping, whistling, whirring plastic things. After a wonderful holiday season I find myself glad that I packed some of his toys away a month ago in anticipation of just such a situation. The funny thing is, he likes 'em all. He's still getting around to the shwag he received at his birthday and now he has even MORE and he really does get around to most of them. Papa gave him a set of lazer combat remote control vehicles and he's geekin out over those. He doesn't quite get how to make them go forward or backward, but he sure knows where the lazer trigger is. He will keep firing the that thing off over and over and over again until that 'beew-beew-beew' is the only thing I can hear. Over. And. Over.
Thanx again, Papa.
But yeah, who do you think Papa really bought that for? Yeah, that's what I'm thinkin' too.
I can't express how happy I am that he will sit still through his favorite book without going off to do something else. Really. I just wondered there for a while if he would ever slow down for a book. But. Buuuut, and I hate to complain, but if I have to read 'It's not easy being big' with Big Bird and Elmo more than four times in a row again, I might hide it somewhere for a little while. It's the only book he wants to sit through. And he will sit still for every page, pointing at the different characters while I say their names as I read the story and he really loves it. But as soon as that last page is flipped over he demands a re-read or else. Ugh. Soon.
He's full on testing his boundaries now. He understands what we say very well. He knows of the few things that will get him in trouble. Like using his drum sticks on the wall. So, sometimes he will grab his drum sticks and run over to the wall, look at Mommy or myself, and raise his arms in preparation for the strike that he knows should not be struck. And sure enough, if we make eye contact, he more than likely will hit it, just once, and as soon as we raise our voice or start to get up he'll throw the sticks one direction and run off in the opposite direction. He doesn't do this all the time, but it's a few things like this and as a group it seems like he's testing us in one way or another most of the time. Admittedly, it probably doesn't help to dissuade him when I see that look of inquisitive defiance in his eyes and I can't help but grin. He's a tiger in a small cage, wanting to go out and find something new to pounce on. We were expecting to raise a small, fragile child that we would have to protect from the world and instead we have a monkey minded wrecking ball information sponge that we have to protect the world from. Can't wait to take him hiking. Let him take down a deer or maybe a mountain goat.
Gets me thinking about what sports he will be interested in and what he'll be good at when he gets older. I expect that he's going to be very competitive and strong. Like, gorilla stong. He's already sprinting at cheetah speed and he can climb anything, even well cleaned glass. So what will he want to play? I was never into sports. I did it because it was expected, not because I wanted to. I think Baron is going to be the opposite. I hope so! How else am I going to live vicariously through him?
Heh.