David Weekly, #23

Hello all...David's 3rd birthday is Sunday, and the pool is back in business, and so is the hot tub. Of course, David calls it the warm pool, or sometimes the hot tub, making sure to sound out each syllable. Hot, Tub. He's been blowing bubbles in the water, which is good practice for learning how to swim. He doesn't like going in the pool as much, though. And he absolutely does not want any kind of floatation device to help him be in the water by himself: no floaties, no special floatie-type suit, nothing. He wants to be held!

The other day we were watching Super Why! and they asked the viewer to pick out a word out of the three choices, and he got it! I was so happy. And so was he!

I'm beginning to see him mature in little ways that are becoming bigger, such as eating. I gave him a lunch of a slice of ham, some tomato diced up, and bread with butter on it. He ate all of it, and more importantly, sat in one place to eat it, all by himself. Him eating is one of the most frustrating and difficult things I do with him on a daily basis. He also likes eating cereal, and he now puts the spoon in his mouth while over the bowl, so that drippage and spillage simply go back into the bowl, rather than on the table. I haven't figured out how to get him to hold his spoon in the "non-shovel" position, but I'm sure we'll figure it out. I remember learning how to hold a fork and spoon when I was older, and how awkward it felt because I wasn't used to it. He also is getting more independent with getting dressed: he wants to pick out his clothes, which isn't new, since he sometimes would reject a certain outfit from time to time, which has been going on for at least a year, if not longer, but now he can go pick out his clothes and after I pull the shirt down over his head he wants to have me not help him put his arms in the sleeves. He says, "I do it!" with great authority.

Another way he's maturing is that he's able to do more of what he wants, such as throw a ball. He can throw it harder and farther than before, and he loves it! Of course, this creates a problem for me, since he wants to throw the ball inside, where it can do some damage depending on what's around. So naturally, he gets in trouble for it. When he gets in trouble, he's beginning to ask "Why?" Now, I'm not sure if he's asking this question thinking he'll get an answer, or if it's a more general way of complaining that this is unjustified in some way, or that he's capable of such a complex thought. In any case, "why" questions are good, since I can answer, "Because I said so." Or really, try to give him an answer he can understand.

For David's birthday, I bought an annual family pass to Lowry Park Zoo, so now we can go any time we want for the cost of the gas to get there and back. It will be nice. We also get some other stuff free I'm pretty sure. I'll have to read up on it, though. David loves the zoo, and wants to go see the animals. He gets mad every so often, because when he thinks about going to the zoo, we don't go. Now we can. :-)

And I'm trying to teach David how to say that he's 3 years old. It will take some more practice, I think.

For father's day, my mother bought a book for to fill out called "A Father's Legacy"...it's pretty detailed in the questions it asks, such as my family tree (going back 3 generations), childhood, jobs, siblings, and very detailed questions, too. Stuff you have to think about. You can't just breeze through this book and write things down, you really have to reflect. I'm going to do my best to work through it for David's sake, though. It's hard to examine your life like that.

On the occasion of David's birthday, I will always remember how he came into this world, and the struggles we have gone through to get him to where he is now. And I look forward to where he is going...

I hope that you have a chance to look back every so often, see where you have gone, and find some reward in where you are now, and see some bright hope for your future.

Rusty