Fatherhood

Last night, we found that Patrick's little Leap Frog Fire Engine was broken. Well ... basically, the batteries corroded and it no longer worked ... played music and honked. Thinking that it was a pretty simple design, I decided to take it apart to see if I could clean the leads and possibly get it working again.  As I removed the dozen or so one-inch screws, Patrick decided to step in and help. With Patrick's help (Mama's distracting him at key moments), I managed to get the steering wheel disconnected and the wheels out to finally get it apart ... basically to find that the sections I needed into were deeper inside (more screws ... more complications). I decided to let it be and search for a few one later. Today, I searched ... and searched ... and searched (yes, I teach computers and pride myself on being able to locate just about anything ... a detailed knowledge of databases helps).  Apparently, it was a limited release and I really didn't find anything ...

The excitement of a cardboard tube: paper towel or toilet paper doesn't matter to a small child. I remember Patrick finding his first tube, after taking all the toilet paper off the role. This was not unlike taking all the Kleenex out of the box (although, the Kleenex go back in so much easier than toilet paper onto the role. This morning, Patrick got to be an elephant. He had an empty paper towel role that his Papap gave him ... clamped in his teeth, "Oooohaaaahhhooooh ..." What an amazingly beautiful sight and sound; my son at play. I'm sure the games are just beginning: telescopes, swords, creatures of the night ... the limitless options for a creative mind and a cardboard tube will give Patrick endless days of fun.

Not LOUD sounds ... this article is about the gentle sounds of an infant or toddler. Before Patrick was born, I got to hear his heart beat for the first time at the doctor's office ... it stunned me. Here was a new life that Jen and I had created, developing right before us. Then, after he was born we hear a new sound while he was feeding. It can only be described as a coo of contentment. That soft gentle sound was a happy loving noise. As he developed, he started to make noises ... nothing coherent, but we all heard the Mama, Papap, Grandma, and Papas in the noises he was offering. Recently, he has been trying to mimic our noises: a rough "grrr" in his throat as we make engine sounds, "boo" when asked to say thank you. Tonight, he had us in stitches as he realized he could put his lips on his mother's arm and blow ... the constant (over several minutes) "brrappp" had us almost in tears we were laughing so hard. Of course, I had to ...