Rituals
These are some of the rituals Asher and I have established over the last couple of months.
- A Saturday morning muffin shared at the Mudhouse. I get coffee, Asher has water. Once we're done with the muffin, I have about ten minutes to finish my coffee because that's how long it takes to get from the Mudhouse to...
- The Discovery Museum. Ash will typically run himself ragged if there's a big crowd. Especially on the slide in the toddler room. If it's a week where the joint's less populated, much less fun is had.
- An episode of Mister Roger's Neighborhood before bed. If I believed it before, I now know that Fred Rogers was a saint. Seriously. Go back and watch some episodes if you can find them. I was able to procure ~50 episodes. This is likely enough to keep us amused for the next...oh, I don't know...year or so, as Ash has a much higher tolerance for repeats than I. If you can help us find more, we'd be very grateful.
- Dinner together at Bodo's or Eppie's when mom's teaching class. It's funny to think about, but the first couple trips were quite nerve-wracking for me. A public dinner alone with B. can be quite a production, especially when he's plum tuckered after daycare playground time with Eli, Esme, Leila, and the gang. At this point, though, we've got the routine down pretty much pat.
- Tag-team vacuum jobs. Asher's got his toy dirt devil. I've got the Dyson. His only real problem with his is there's no cord to mess with.
- Weekend nap time. For some reason, Ash is far more amenable to being put down by dad for naps then by mom. The kid really has a hard time at school, and it actually occurred to me that I should offer up my services for when daycare nap goes horribly awry. But that's just crazy talk.
It's crazy how much he's talking these days. The single word utterances mostly make sense, and he'll repeat just about anything you say. The fact that he'll usually pick the second of two options just by the merit of it being the last thing you said can be exploited, but not every time. Sometimes, the kid wants what he wants. They tell me that's what it means to be a toddler.
They don't tell you as often how much toddlers laugh. How easily amused, and how every moment not spent eating or sleeping is spent playing. Every moment. It's an awesome thing to watch.