Fatherhood

We were playing near the stair from our kitchen to the lower level. Patrick had a squishy toy we bought for him a few weeks back. When it hits something, it flashes brightly ... he loves it. He was tossing the toy down the stairs and I was flipping it back up to him, often bouncing it off his head or chest. The laughter was incredible ... so much fun. Then, he made a run toward the stairs to get in a good toss ... and I knew he was in trouble. He tripped as I launched myself up the stairs ... just in time to catch him before his head hit the first step down the stairs. As Jen came around the corner to see what all the commotion was about, I was just getting my nerves back in order and began lifting him back to his feet. He let me hold him for a few seconds then, seeing his mother nearby, his tears stopped and he stretched out for her. ... so much fun!

After I got home yesterday, we decided to take a walk (might explain why I fell asleep so early after a LONG day at work). We headed over to a tiny playground a few blocks away. It has a covered pick nick table and a kids area where they can climb up a metal and plastic structure and select one of two slides to take down. Of course, my son LOVES this ... it was a bit wet (having actually rained recently) and he got thoroughly dirty. Up the ladder, then down the slide ... over and over and over and over; interspersed with moments of laughter! On the walk home, he pushed the stroller most of the way ... running ahead of us when he was not pushing the stroller. I crossed the yard to the front door and tried to get him to come along ... apparently, the yard is still a bit difficult to walk on; he stayed on the sidewalk and driveway. Too much fun!

Last night was a marathon; playing with his cousins ... running around the house, chasing and getting chased. He was also carried on shoulders, riding the big-wheel, and being pushed or pulled in the plastic red wagon ... although, not necessarily all at once. At one point, Patrick came upon Sylas playing with a jet plane toy ... he was pulling it back and letting it run forward across the room. Patrick had the presence of mind to snatch the plane (Sylas missed by inches) and run away. He headed straight for Chris (the oldest cousin) and handed the plane off which then became a good game of keep-away. Toward the end, Chris dropped to the floor and got mobbed by Patrick and Sylas ... with laughter all around. Patrick slept well last night ... as I believe all of them did! Watching them play was so much more fun ... I believe more fun than any other children I have watched in the past ... mostly because my son was so involved.

A simple game of peek-a-boo, running around the loop of bedroom, bathroom, and hallway was interrupted with a quick game of "king of the hill," climbing the large pile of laundry that Jen and I have been working on since moving in (it is a challenge re-washing almost everything we own while keeping up with what we are currently wearing). Up the pile my son went, to roll of the top of the hill, into my lap ... over and over. It is amazing the fun we can have with laundry. Then, it was quickly back to running laps ... which got terminated when Patrick said "bye-bye" to his mother and promptly shut the bathroom door on his fingers. Amazingly, mother's kisses really do work as the tears stopped once she kissed the bruised fingers.