And on to the Next Adventure!!

Wow, is this really my first Baron Blog for 2012? How sad. Bad Daddy!

Well, as always, so much more has happened in such a short amount of time than I could ever hope to chronicle here but their certainly are a few standout moments I'd like to share before I'm off to play and/or deal with the Monster Himself.

This last week the three of us spent some time at Clackamas Mall, which we haven't done for quite a while. We inevitably ended up at the play area and he jumped right in. I've told the wife a few times that he's really coming out of his shy stage and being very forward and friendly with new kids. And this is just within the last two weeks. But, it's mostly with girls. Cute girls. Well, he wanted to show Mommy just what I was talking about. He started running around and instantly got the attention of at least four little girls. He was wearing a bright yellow shirt with Spider-Man crawling himself across the front and at least one little girl kept calling out, "Spider-Man! Spider-Maaaann! Spiiiiiideeeeeeerrrr Maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaann!!!". Relentlessly. Loudly. Repeatedly. But, I digress, he found a group of three girls that were near his age and they chased each other and went back and forth and up and over and on and on and..... you get the picture. And the wife and I watched as he walked up to one girl, grabbed her hand and walked her across the play area and right up to Mommy, stopped and waited for a few seconds until Mommy acknowledged his little companion. It was so cute. The wife and I laughed and the little ones went back to their trouble-causing and when the wife and I looked back at each other, their was a definite hint of absolute fear. He's too friggin young to be bringing the cutest girl on the play ground over to meet Mommy!!! But seriously, that's something he would not have done last month. Not a chance.

A couple of weeks ago he and I were at the play ground at Mt. Tabor and three attractive young ladies showed up with a cute little girl and Baron was allllll about them. One moment, he and I were playing and then he walked over to the blond, grabbed her hand and took her off in the opposite direction! That was a first, and a pretty big moment for him that I won't forget. Then! Then, these ladies took their girl over to the swings and Baron was right next to them while I was about fifteen feet back, an abandoned and discarded father. Keep in mind, Baron has never, ever in his life liked the swings. I think he has some of dad's fear of heights. So, the brunette picks him up and puts him in the swing and walks around behind him and backs up as she pulls him back. My hand covered my mouth as I knew what was coming. I could still see joy in his face as he rose up backwards into the air. But I could see it, just below the surface, the probable terror and panic and time-out. She held him for a split second and then rushed forward, pushing him in front of her as he quickly went down, leveled out and then shot up towards the sky as she pushed him over her head as she ran through. He! LOVED! it! As he came back down all he was showing was smile. I was, and still am, absolutely amazed. I told her that I've been trying to get him to let me do that for three years. His good times lasted for another thirty seconds or so before he wanted down but for a moment their, he was flying, and he loved it.

We were at that very same play ground today and he wanted in the swing and then wanted right-the-hell out. Shortest phase ever.

Starting next week Baron's life, and mine, will change dramatically. I'm going back to work! After three long, wonderful, magical, memorable, frustrating, demanding, years I'm going back to work. I'm so ready. I love my son more than anything in this universe, but I need a schedule and a routine and so does he and I don't have the self discipline to implement anything on my own. I've tried. I've done good by him. I like to think that my time spent with him has been good for him and I've been a good, positive influence on him. But, life keeps going, keeps changing and we gotta roll with changes and step up to the challenges that each new phase brings. Baron's out of his shell, he's a strong, positive little boy and he's ready to get out there and mix and mingle and learn and absorb and do it all without Daddy literally, constantly being less than two feet away. Keep your eyes open and strap yourselves in, this ship's taking off!