Lex dreams. He wakes up and tells me, “Momma, alligator bite the arm!”
I want him to know that I will never allow an alligator to hurt my boy.
“Oh no baby, momma tells that alligator ‘No! Alligator you must never bite people! Take a bite of tofu!”
He thinks this is hysterical. “Alligator! No! Take a bite of tofu!” Giggling.
I tell him that no one should ever bite people. It is not nice. We will tell that alligator, “Take a bite of carrot!”
He laughs and snuggles up to me. Momma keeps him safe. I hope I am always fearless enough to banish the things that frighten him.
No alligators allowed.
We went to Busch Gardens on Saturday and from the parking lot Lex could see a rollercoaster. He kept an eye on it as we took the tram to the park. Every time a car full of people went hurtling past he would say,”Rollercoaster. Up up up! Down down down.! Wheeee!”
From England we walked towards France, stopping to look at eagles (up close, thrilling, his favorite bird) and wolves. He knows about them from the Great Outdoors episode of Signing Times. He fed nectar to lorikeets in the aviary, petted two snakes, saw a beautiful serval cat “big kitty!” and got his picture snapped with a peregrine falcon.
In France we took the skyride to Land of the Dragons. He loved it. Now when we drive down Broad Street he points at power lines overhead and says “Skyride!” Very observant, baby.
He was not too interested in the water play area, but rode a flying dragon with Momma and a kiddie ferris wheel with Daddy. There were two rides that were only for kids between 36-54 inches. He drove the bugs by himself first, then the boat ride. Big man was thrilled. Would have stayed there all day, driving it SELF.
Watermelon and strawberries for lunch, then we met up with his pals Cooper, Luke, Jett and her sister Isabel, and assorted parents. Lex was ready to ride everything again, show his friends how it is done.
On our way out through France, most everyone went on Le Scoot log flume ride, which has two very steep drops and is much more terrifying than it sounds. Lex rode with Daddy and alternated between “Wheeee!” and being scared. He was brave, though and seemed happy enough once they were off, but told Momma afterwards he has been “Big sad.” Sweet brave boy. His first big rollercoaster ride.
Went to the National Zoo in DC. Saw a leopard, otters, pandas, elephants, zebra, Komodo dragon. Feeding time for the giant Pacific octopus. Crabs, jellyfish, lobster, bugs, spiders.
At the ape house the momma gorilla was snuggling her baby. She took a break and baby went to play with daddy in the hammock. He would climb up and fall down. Daddy would give him a hand, swing, let go. It was playful, but upset Lex. “Baby gorilla fall down!”
“It’s ok buddy, they are just playing.”
“Baby gorilla fall down!”
“He is alright Lex. And if he got an owie, his daddy would kiss it, make it better.”
“Baby gorilla fall down!”
Two days later he is still talking about it. Ask him what he saw at the zoo and you’ll hear about feeding the octopus and “Baby gorilla fall down!”
He told his teachers at school, told Jaja on the phone. This clearly made a big impression on him.
“Baby gorilla fall down!”
Daddy make the coffee.
Momma come right back.
Dex fall down, get an owie. Momma kiss.
Play with Uncle Matt.
Hello puppy dog Ursula.
Auntie Lala make pancakes.
Dex wear a helmet (with the colander)
Take the pull-up off. Nakken!
Pee-pee in the potty. All done. Yay!
Babby is all grown up. He doesn’t want my help anymore. Everything is “Self!”
Getting out of bed - self!
Taking the stairs - self!
Climbing in and out of the carseat - self!
Getting on the big boy potty -self!
Washing hands - self!
Putting on underwear - self!
It is very time consuming to have a toddler doing everything “self!” but worth it too. I love his proud little look afterwards.
My birthday was Saturday, Mother’s Day on Sunday. So we made a camping weekend of it at Heritage Park. Northern Neck. Near Warsaw.
Uncle David, Auntie Kins and their kids Cooper and “Duke” came too. We camped out on the point and had it all to ourselves. Piney forest ridge, sloping down to the water on three sides.
Down a short path there was a dock. The boys all fished with their tiny fishing poles. No hooks, but fitted out with casting plugs so they caught a “fish” every time. Uncle David bought some worms for his bait and got bobbers for the boys. Luke fell in, but his Momma pulled him out, no harm done. The boys all stripped down and fished nakken in the sunshine for awhile. It was a good trip.
After his bedtime story I asked Lex if he had a good time at school today.
“Yes,” he told me, “DB and Dex. Bandaid.”
“Oh yeah? Did you get an owie?” DB is Desmond, who has bitten him before.
“Connor owie. Connor bandaid. DB Dex bandaid!”
“What kind of bandaid did Connor get on his owie?”
“Red yellow bandaid. Connor.”
“Well we will get you a bandaid too. What kind do you want?”
“Red.”
“Ok. We will look for a red bandaid for you baby. Love you. Goodnight.”
Lex has discovered the joys of being naked. “Nakken!” he yells. “Shoes OFF, pants OFF, shirt OFF!” He won’t even sleep in underwear, which means washing sheets and mattress pad every few days when he wakes up yelling “Pee-pee! Potty! Daddy!” and has already let a little bit go.
Most days, though, he sleeps nakken no problem. Holds it all night. Extra good baby boy. His little heiney butt shining pale as moonlight. Momma is so proud.
He speaks in full sentences now. Mostly imperative.
“Wake up, Nana!”
“Watch this, Momma!”
“Brush teeth, Daddy!”
“Come on, Meow!”
In the parking lot this afternoon he did not want to be carried. I let him walk as long as we held hands. This is where cars drive and safety is not negotiable. No matter how much you holler and try to wriggle your sweaty little hand out of my grasp. We reached the car. He had enough.
“Let me go!”
So loud it sounded like he was being abducted. So on the ride home we joked about Child Protective Services chasing us, and taught him to say “CPS!”
He has known all his letters and numbers for awhile. In the bathtub we play with the foam letter number sets. Tonight he was making 6 into 9 and W into M so I grabbed a handful of letters and showed him something even better.
AT. Look Lex, this spells “at.” Now look, here’s an H. HAT. That spells “hat.”
He grins at me, looks interested. I show him MAT, BAT, CAT, SAT, then put the H back. “What does this spell,Lex?”
“Hat!”
I swap in the C. “What’s this word?
“Meow!” (he never says cat actually, just calls her Mo.)
He looks at the word. Looks at me. Points. “Car?” Makes steering wheel driving motions.
“Sure baby.” I grab the letter R. “Here you go.”
CAR
He is thrilled. Finds the S himself. He has been watching the Pixar movie Cars lately and must have remembered the letters from the title screen.
Momma’s smart boy. Officially reading and spelling at 20 months. I am so proud.
