March 04, 2007

February 2007

Dear Kids,

I’m writing this from your mothers bedroom in Grandpa Ross & Grandma Julie’s house in St. George. We drove down from Salt Lake late last night so we can attend the blessing of your cousin Tennyson. Right now your mom and Ruby are downstairs eating breakfast and from the sounds of it are most likely dodging cousin Lyndon, who is probably trying to cope with the invasion of his turf. Hopefully they will escape the business end of his wrath.

Yesterday your Uncle Jeremy, Aunt Suzanne and (not so) li’l Tennyson flew out from their home in Washington DC. Jeremy is in law school at Georgetown and this week is his spring break. Somehow the planets aligned and we are all together under one roof. It’s good to see them and I look forward to spending time with them and catching up on their new experiences of parenthood.

More than that though, I’m excited to see your mom and Aunt Suzanne get to spend time together as new moms. In my life I have never experienced such a bond between two siblings. Sometimes I think that they are twins. They talk on the phone all the time and swap emails back and forth. This makes me feel guilty that I talk to my brothers only a few times a year. I need to do better.

This past month I have been celebrating the notion that I am almost done with school. This has been an unusual semester for me as my teachers have stopped cracking the whip and my timelines and projects are now quite fluid. Strangely enough this has brought on a new kind of stress as I now feel guilty for not producing as much work. I’m kind of embracing the “just get through it” mentality as I really only need a C grade to graduate. Now, I don’t want you to think that flying under the radar is acceptable, but given the fact that this is my 10th year at university and this is my last semester and I am so consumed with my job I’m gonna cut myself a little slack.

RUBY-

You are evolving into quite the entertainer with your talkin’ and your pointing and your “no, no, no’s”. You make me laugh all the time, especially when you’re not fussy (and sometimes when you are). You are now becoming more and more certain for your likes and your dislikes. Here’s a brief overview:

Likes:
- Mom
- Dad (but only after I’ve proven myself to you in the form of tickling, time on the swing or toy time)
- bananas
- The Muppet Show DVD’s
- a bottle full of milk
- reading time
- hats (pointing to, the prospect of, or the final realization)
- toys...especially those that you can disassemble and then reassemble
- the swing, or as you like to call it, the “weeee”
- whatever your parents have in their possession, especially if it’s in a bowl (ie. food)
- banging objects together and strumming my guitar
- pulling things off the shelf
- taking stuff apart
- digging through a freshly folded laundry basket
- toast

Dislikes:
- discipline
- getting out of the tub, especially when it’s lotion time
- getting dressed
- sitting in the high chair longer than is necessary
- naps
- Dad (especially when Mom is in the room)
- sharing
- performing when called upon (you say so many words, but when you’re asked to speak you tend to choke)
- when your parents talk on the phone and you’re not invited to participate
- the changing of your diaper
- the combing and styling of your beautifully long hair
- the sound of the word “No!”
- dogs

Like I have mentioned before you are amassing quite a vocabulary. It seems like every day I come home to something new that you have absorbed. At this point the number of words you understand would be too long to list, but suffice it to say that you are well on your way to being a talker.

Ruby, this month also marked the first time you’ve been sick. Sadly I think that I was the one who gave you a cold. I felt so bad one night as I listened to you wheeze and gurgle I was brought to tears. I know that it wasn’t a big deal, but hearing my child suffer because of something I did just really got to me. Kind of like when I was trying to cut your thumb nail and missed and made you bleed all over. You were just a few months old when that happened but I distinctly remember how lousy I felt as I held you while you cried. I can’t stand the thought of getting in your way of happiness and joy.

Anyway, you had a pretty good fever there for a few days and we decided to take you to our neighborhood instacare. There the nice doctor diagnosed you and assured us that you had nothing more than a cold. We were instructed to treat the symptoms and that you’d be back in the swing of things soon enough. Your professionally obediant mom was on the case and nursed you back to health within the week. This is one of many times that I am grateful that I married an RN.

Alright then kiddo’s. I gotta get going. I hear your Grandpa Ross playing hymns on the piano, which is code for “church starts in twenty minutes so let’s get going so I’m not late”.

Love,
Daddy

Posted by patatomic at March 4, 2007 10:44 PM

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March 04, 2007

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