Happy Birthday D Dub

Three years ago to this moment, I am pretty sure we were moving from the labor and delivery room over to the mothers' floor. I remember being delirious. So happy, so tired, so astonished at what just happened. Two hours of pushing and then Daniel appeared - blue as a blueberry! After some work by the neonatal team, he finally cried. I have been thinking about that moment all day. And, I have been thinking about the moment I laid eyes on him in the NICU. It had been about 30 hours since he left the hospital where he was born in this crazy-looking incubator for the ambulance to GUH. I just cried. My mom was there with me, and I remember she said, "I think I am going to cry," and I had already begun. My beautiful boy who, by that time on Sunday afternoon, we were pretty sure was going to be okay.

As I sit here surrounded by the obscene amount of gifts he's received from his family, and the 17 little ones that partied with us on Sunday, I think about the journey to this point. (to reference my friend Nat's blog theme.)

My baby boy is three years old. He is a running, yelling, eating, playing, chatting, potty-trained (yes!) machine. Our conversations these days really surprise me. Daniel wants to know how we get places - the names of roads, specifically. He can sing lots of songs - "God Bless America" (He wanted to learn it after going to a baseball game on a Sunday), "Doe a Deer," "Twinkle, Twinkle," "She'll Be Coming 'Round the Mountain," "Itsy-Bitsy Spider," "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," and, he can sing along to "Dancing Nancies" by DMB. He frequently begins stories with, "Let me tell you supin (something)," or "I have a question." And, I think he says, "Mommy" about a thousand times a day. He says, "Yes!" and puts his fists in the air when he is excited, and lately, says, "Oh Man!" when something doens't go quite right. When Daniel is in a bad mood, he does not want Elizabeth to look at him. This often happens in the car and is impossible to solve. She is essentially facing him and will giggle and "talk" to him, which drives Daniel crazy. My new response is, "Just look out your window away from her then. Stop screaming at her." Today he said, "I want to wook out her window! Tell her stop talking to me!"

He eats and writes with his right hand, but cuts and brushes his teeth with his left. "Curious George" is still a favorite, but "I Spy" books and longer stories capture his interest as well. He prefers to race hot wheels cars and dig in his gravel box. I've noticed that he also likes to "go" places. He'll ask me on Tuesday and Thursday mornings, "Where we going today?" He gets that from me, for better or worse.

Daniel has been attending preschool for about a month. He was a little bit nervous the first week, but no tears. Week Two began with tears, and they have since ensued. Daniel doesn't say, "Take me home," he says, "You coming back?" Those big blue eyes brim with tears, and it breaks my heart. I promise him I will will return on time, and I have to walk out. It's very hard. When I return three hours later, he bursts out the door acting like he hasn't seen Elizabeth and I in three years! He smothers us with kisses and hugs and even shows the stroller and the car affection. I have to take him to the bathroom before we leave. I ask him everyday if he will let a teacher take him, and he responds, "That's mommy's job." Just like the dishes. The night before he started school, we were discussing what everyone would be doing the next morning. It went something like this:

Me: Tomorrow, I will take you to school and you will stay, but Elizabeth and I will come home.

Daniel: Oh. Where will Daddy be?

Me: At work.

Daniel: Where will you be?

Me: Elizabeth and I will come home. She will need her nap.

Daniel: Oh. So, Daddy go to work and Wiz take a nap. And I stay at school.
Me: Yes, but what about me? What will I do?

Daniel: You will do the dishes. (Not a shocking answer with the amount of time I spend cleaning up our mouse-sized kitchen.)

The highlight of Daniel's day is when Scott walks in the door. Daniel adores his daddy. Scott gets him set up with breakfast in the morning and most often puts him to bed at night. Their bond is unmistakable to an outsider. They are best buds, and Daniel's admiration of his daddy gleams in his eyes. The relationship both my kids have with Scott warms my heart and makes me burst with pride for my husband. They talk baseball and baseball cards. One night, I was reading the "1-2-3 Baseball" book, and Daniel asked me to tell him the name of the players. I responded, "I know who Derek Jeter is, but that's it on this page." He replied, "Yeah, Daddy knows baseball, and you know Phi Mu."

Well, I know what I do know. I adore my little boy. I am amazed by him each and every day for the little things like going to the bathroom by himself; using the DustBuster; acting out his stuffed animals and Little People; showing sensitivity to others; chatting on the phone with Gramps, Gigi and Aunt Johanna; and getting the milk out of the refrigerator. I melt when he squints his eyes and says, "Mommy I wuv you," (Although, I've noticed he does it when he is in trouble now.) or kisses and hugs his sister when he is swept away with love for her. He'll do it often in the middle of playing with her, or when she falls asleep in the car. For Daniel's third birthday, my three wishes for him are the joy of childhood, confidence to try whatever interests him, and the ability to eat vegetables and a wide range of foods.