Playing with Others

I don't know if all children do this, but we have noticed that Patrick has distinct and varying favorite activities that he does with each individual he knows. He remembers which activity goes with which person and we are rarely allowed to change them up (sometimes, we are not allowed to change them up at all).

With his grandmother, he want's to eat, drink, and/or play with anything that's hers. She had to use a cane for a while and to this day, it is one of the most amazing toys for him. The walker became his "Cadillac" ... to ride in around the house. He loves the snacks and drinks, especially when it's from the containers she is using.

With his grandfather, he loves to sit back and watch financial news reports or sports. We can generally count on Papap putting him to sleep at least one night a week this way.

With his mother, he'll sit patiently as she reads him a book ... not with anyone else. He also loves to hear her sing "Itsy-Bitsy Spider" and barely listens whens someone else sings it.

With me, he loves to sit at my computer and type on the keyboard and use the mouse ... so glad that I got a heavy-duty gamer mouse and keyboard!

With one of his cousins, he'll race around the house (still using a walker at this point) while being chased. With anyone else, he is the one doing the chasing.

These activities are specific to each individual. He'll tolerate someone else trying the same activity, but you can tell from his responses that he is definitely not as interested ...

Comments

Terror or Anger

Jennifer and I woke about twenty minutes ago to Patrick crying ... nothing unusual. I asked her to get him since I have to start getting ready for work in about three hours (yes, I have to work on a Saturday). Where things became unusual was the loud, sustained crash, and Patrick's cries rising to a hefty scream. Being the concerned parent that I am ... with visions of his changing table collapsed on top of him, I rushed to their aid. "What was that?" I cried. Jennifer, weakly replied, "I fell down the stairs." With Patrick screaming at the top of his lungs, I think I actually asked her to repeat what she said. I found my wife sitting, with her legs out and my son in her arms, at the bottom of the stairs. Asking if she and Patrick were OK was mixed into confused questioning about what happened. Somehow, her feet went out from under her (we suspect a couple of the leaves that Patrick likes to play with were on the steps). While my real concern was i...

Happiness Is ...

Last night was a long night ... Patrick is either sick or having a reaction to something. He has a temperature, is in obvious pain, and has a good rash covering most of his body. We have opted to wait and call his doctor ... rather than a hospital run. They will not do any more than we are with medication for the pain and temperature. But, that is not what I am writing about this morning. What I want to touch on is ... Happiness. Children know something about happiness ... the younger they are the more they show a true understanding of happiness. They are often happy for no reason ... their eyes are open and Mama and Papa are there. I think, in there is something to remember ... sometimes, we need to be happy for no reason. I keep thinking about how easy it is to take the reason that someone is happy. This all came about, not because of Patrick's issues last night, but because of a few blissful minutes when I got back to the bedroom to find my wife and son asleep on t...

"Hello?"

We walked into my parents house ... looking for Papap. "Hello," we called. "'Ello," Patrick mimicked. "Hello," we called again, laughing a bit. "'Ello," Patrick mimicked again, delighted that he could get us laughing that easily. Out in the back yard, he went for the shovel (small blue plastic one I got for him a while back). "Maybe he should go shovel in the sand-box," Papap said ... Off he went to the sand-box, lugging the shovel. Later I asked him if he wanted raisins. Shaking his head no, he headed for the fridge. "Eeze," he said ... Cheese, he intended. His comprehension and vocal capacity is growing by leaps and bounds!

Fatherhood

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