The Wesley Diaries

If you had told me when I had a squishy little newborn that someday the my soft little lovey baby would take off his pants, remove his diaper, take a dump in his crib, then climb out of his crib, walk across his room, open his door, walk down the hall to our room, open our door and silently slide into bed next to a napping Stevo, I would not have believed you. Yet I am a little aghast and somewhat proud that he can actually do this now. I can't believe no one tells you when you have kids that they get big so fast (OH WAIT everyone tells you that, you just don't want to hear it.). I mean, how was I supposed to know that having a cute little baby would lead to having a travieso toddler?

Welp, it done happened. Wessy turned two about a week ago. Despite the fact that it feels like it's all going by so fast, I can remember many more details from Wessy's babyhood and toddlerhood, than, say, some random two year stretch from my own life. Being a mother has made me different, in a good way. Today a colleague at work told me that she didn't mind if she had to stay late at work if it was because she was providing good care to patients. I immediately thought, oh, she doesn't have kids (she doesn't). I like to do a good job, but if I have to stay late when the workday is done it's like someone is sticking needles in my eyeballs every second until I can go home. I miss my little pantsless friend when I'm not around.

The night before Wessy's birthday, I was trying to hype it and told him that we would have presents and cake the next day. He really liked this idea, and started asking for presents and cake. His sense of time, especially the concept of yesterday/today/tomorrow is still fluid, so I think he just didn't get that these things were not happening right then. I held him close and told him he would get this stuff tomorrow and he told me very seriously, "I CAN'T WAIT." He didn't say this in a cute little kid whisper like in a movie when it's Christmas Eve and the kid is dying of excitement, but in a way that suggested that he literally just could not stand to wait and it was making him very upset to have to do so.

For his actual birthday, as promised, we had some friends over and ate cake and opened presents. We are quite parsimonious with giving Wessy sweets, so being able to eat an entire slice of cake, no questions asked, was a real highlight. He housed his slice of cake and immediately asked for another one. Luckily, we were able to distract him with presents. He wasn't so much for opening them as he was just eager to get what was inside.

His loved ones definitely have his number, because for his birthday, most every gift he got (with a few key exceptions) was vehicle-themed. From Grammy and Rob, a super cool set of cutlery shaped like a bulldozer and also some little cars, from Montse and Lugo, a little set of construction vehicles, and from his friends, a plastic race car track. The gift from Nana and Pops (a train set) is still en route but all bets are on his loving it.

In a way, this phase of parenting is easier. Wessy can tell us what he wants, why he is crying and how he feels. Literally just a moment ago, I picked him up crying from his crib and asked him what was wrong. He said I WANT IT CENAR. So, I gave him some food and then re-deposited him in the crib. So far, so good.

Some of it is harder. We still haven't gotten hardcore into tantrumming, but he does seem to really have picked up a habit of screaming. He likes to express himself at full volume, whether it be due to happiness, sadness, indignation or boredom. It makes it hard to concentrate, or really do anything in his presence except tend to him. That was one of the things that I never considered before having a child, and one of the things I miss the most--speaking in complete sentences.

Then there is the aforementioned diaper issue (namely, he can take them off). So far, zero interest in potty training. He will poop in his diaper, then immediately ask you to CHANGE DIAPER, but if you ask him to sit on the potty it's like you're asking him to jump into a snake pit. He has ramped up his picking at Bubba; Montse told me that a few days ago he repeatedly tried to ride Bubba like a horse.

Some funny things he's done lately:

-When we cut his fingernails, we let him watch youtube videos of trucks. When we finished cutting his fingernails last time and turned off the video, he protested and then followed us down the hall asking, CORTAR PIES?

-He makes literary references. When he wants to go to sleep, he will grab your hand and say BUENAS NOCHES LUNA. Or, when we were at church camp and he was desperate to eat lunch he told Montse: LA ORUGA HAMBRIENTA.

-He has started hugging and kissing a little more. He has picked up the habit of asking everyone for a hug and a kiss before they say goodbye or before he goes to bed. Often, you will ask him first and he will say NO? but then as you walk away will become distressed and yell "BESO! ABRAZO!" If one is very lucky, he will smash his cheek into yours and make kissing sounds, which is how he kisses. He doesn't actually give hugs as much as he just wanders into your arms and wants you to hug HIM.

-He knows the words to his books. He will open his books and "read" them to himself, sometimes with a few approximations.

-He sort of gets how to share. He will hold up his toys and say COMPARTIR, and he points it out in his books when the characters are sharing, but in practice it's still a little touch and go. Sometimes Montse will report that he has been lovely and given his toys to babies at the park, and sometimes she will tell us that he whacked another toddler with his excavator.

Overall, we are really enjoying this phase. I wish he were cuddlier, but he is busy and those toy cars won't drive themselves. I'm just very grateful that we've had two whole, wonderful years with our little guy and wish for many, many more.

last week we all went to "family camp" at the bishop's ranch, a retreat center owned by the episcopal diocese of california. we'd been there once before for our parish retreat with other folks from st. mary the virgin. we enjoyed ourselves so immensely that we immediately signed up for "camp" without really knowing much about it.

family camp was a bit different than we'd imagined. we had thought it would be a week of lounging about and splashing in the pool. when we arrived, we realized there would be a bit more structure. although it wasn't the free-for-all we had thought it would be, there was still plenty of free time. after breakfast each morning, olivia and i went for bike rides around the russian river valley. our free time was made possible by montse, who was as always eager to help.

with our pescaditos

flores!

while the accommodations are sparse, the ranch itself is spectacularly beautiful. the ranch encompass esmore than 300 acres, so wessy had plenty of room to run around. it sits on a bluff overlooking the russian river valley, surrounded by meadows and vineyards. the grounds around the buildings contain a dizzying array of ornamental flowers, fruit trees, and herbs. i think wessy's favorite activity was picking plums from the ground and shoving them into his mouth. (or better yet, ripping unripe fruit directly off the tree!) "arancando fruta mama!" we made a good faith effort to remove the stones before wessy swallowed them, but to mom's chagrin, he was able to sneak a few into his mouth whole. smelling the flowerers was also a hit.

a rarely-enjoyed treat: orange juice

mom and dad were very grateful to have our meals prepared, served and cleaned by people other than ourselves. not to mention that the food itself was quite tasty. there was always a good vegetarian option, and a good bit of the food was grown on the grounds of the ranch.

just lounging

in the afternoons, we did enjoy some splashing around in the pool. as expected, the weather was pleasantly warm in healdsburg. the dry creek and russian river valleys are protected from the cooling marine layer by the the outer coast range, resulting in daytime high temperatures typically 20-35 degrees warmer than san francisco in the summer. while it can reach temperatures into the 90s during the day, our friend the marine layer finds its way to healdsburg in the evening, making the night temperatures refreshingly cool, typically dipping into the 50s. for us city folks, the warmth was a blessed relief from the cold of the san francisco summer.

guitar dada

helping tune the guitar

ciruelas, mama!

on thursday, we took a field trip to the beach. wessy immediately declared "sandbox grande!" it was a gorgeous day and warm enough to swim in the pacific!