Dad

I call "home" pretty regularly to chat with my Mom and update her on myself and the grandkids, but my Dad is not much of a phone person. Since I left home for college a decade and a half ago, I've talked to my Dad less and less. He'll get on the phone for a few minutes, and say hello, but not much more. For a long time, I thought this would really put a cramp in our relationship and that made me sad (especially since in my mind, I was a "Daddy's girl" growing up). But tonight, as I made dinner, I realized that's not really true.

Tonight for dinner, I chopped up a home-grown cucumber and three home-grown tomatoes. For all the years I can remember of my childhood (in fact, it's still there), my Dad had a garden out in the backyard, with tomatoes, and cukes, and beans. Maybe there were other things, but those are the ones I remember. By this time of year, every dinner my Dad cooked (which was many nights of the week) came with a home grown tomato on the side, sliced, cut in half, and slathered in mayo and pepper. Maybe not so healthy (with the mayo), but VERY yummy!!
Just recently I got a postcard from my Dad, as he and my Mother vacationed in Wales. In the postcard, he reminisced about a previous trip that the four of us (my parents, brother, and I) made to the same place. A trip that is now, he KINDLY pointed out, more than 1/2 my life ago! He remembered and referenced little details that I couldn't have told you before reading his postcard, but now remember clear as day, thanks to him.

Randomly during the years I've been living far from my parents (about 800 miles to be exact), I'll get an envelope marked with my Dad's distinctive handwriting. In the envelope are random newspaper articles that may have something to do with someone I went to high school with, a place that we used to go when I was a kid, or one of my hobbies (Monopoly games for instance). Each time, there are notes and comments written on these articles, and thought provoking questions, letting me know exactly what was on Dad's mind when he saved these for me. Many of those articles are upstairs in my file cabinet. On occasion, I flip through it and re-read them.

In the last year, I've learned that each Saturday morning Dad catches up on my blog. He won't comment online, but instead, when the mood strikes him, he sends me an email with his insights, witty comments, criticism, or other feedback. Every one of those emails has been saved, and the comments within taken to heart and seriously considered.
When I hear certain key words, I instantly think of Dad. What are those key words? Diabetes, photosynthesis, and lactic acid. Yup, those words make me think of Dad. See, dear old Dad was a university professor who taught plant bio-chemistry. When I really upset him, or really misbehaved, my punishment was a lecture. I spent a "grueling" hour learning about diabetes, and a seperate one learning about lactic acid. I remember the lectures, but not the offense for which I was punished!! And a few weeks ago, on a hike in a forest preserve with the kids, we saw a pond full of lemna. Let me tell you, I was tearing up just looking at them!

So tonight, as I ate my cukes and tomatoes, I thought of dear old Dad. I'm sure next Saturday when he reads this, some of it will get to him, but he'll probably never let me know that. That's just how dear old Dad is. But when I get an email or an envelope full of newspaper articles, I'll know he was thinking of me.... And that's what matters!

Who's the Big Brother?

Coming home from Blake's pediatrician visit, I had his latest stats: height and weight. As I came home with this data, I tried to remember how big Trev had been at his 3 year appointment. While I know they are closer and closer in size and weight, when I actually took a look at the numbers, I was SHOCKED at the reality of the situation.

Blake 1/14/09: 39 1/4 inches (90th percentile), 34 pounds 6 ounces (75th percentile) age 3

Trevor 12/0: 8 : 41 inches (50th percentile), 34 pounds 3 ounces (25th percentile), Age 4 and 5/12
Trevor 7/17/07: 37 3/4 inches (50th percentile), 28 pounds 3 ounces (25th percentile), Age 3

Do you see the disparity?? They are currently less than 2 inches apart, and probably the same weight (give or take!). At the same age, Blake is 1 1/2 inches taller and 6 pounds heavier!! Yikes!

In fact, looking over their growth records since birth, this really isn't surprising.

At Birth:
Trevor: 6 lb 13 oz , 20 inches
Blake: 7 lb 11 oz, 19 3/4 inches

So, while Blake was technically shorter at birth, he was almost a pound heavier. But since their 2 month appointments, Blake has been at least 1/2 an inch taller and 1/2 a pound heavier at each milestone age. In fact Blake at 6 months, was the size of Trevor at 12 months!! No wonder people were shocked to see Trevor walking at 9 1/2 months old, he must have been tiny!!!

So for kicks and giggles, I searched online and found growth charts for boys ages 2 through 20. And here's the very interesting, yet not really surprising, future that it shows for my T&B when they are age 20...

Trevor at age 20: 5'10" 140 pounds
Blake at age 20: 6'1" 175 pounds

Basically, Trevor will be my size, but about 2 inches taller, and Blake will be 4 inches taller than Daddy and weigh about what he did at the end of high school!

So, Trevor better get used to the idea of being the older but not bigger brother!!! And I have to get used to the reality that there are no hand-me-downs in this house.... B needs new shoes and T hasn't outgrown them yet! Time to go shopping. Maybe one day B will give T the clothes that don't fit him anymore!!

No Beer for the Baby

This is one of many posts I have longed to write about this topic. Today, as Blake napped, Trevor and I had a phenomenal conversation. We've had a few of these in the last few months, but since I wasn't publicizing the pregnancy, I wasn't able to blog about them. Now I can....YAY!!

This afternoon, I sat here at the computer, as I usually do when Blake is napping, with Trevor alongside. Most of the time he'll do a 'project' at his desk (cutting, coloring, etc.) for a while, before demanding requesting his turn on the computer. Today, when his requests were being ignored, he climbed up in the desk chair behind me and sat behind me, hugging me. I casually pointed out to him that he was hugging the baby. He hugged and squeezed a little tighter. I told him he was turning her (yes, I refer to the baby as a girl WAY too often!) into lemonade, since this week she is the size of a lemon. He thought this was hysterically funny, and sqeeezed some more, until I moved him to my lap instead!

He proceeded to talk about the baby, and how big she is, how she's not coming out until after Easter, when she's as big as a watermelon, and so on. He and I have had these conversations for a while now, and I know he enjoys them. At times he tells me, he can't wait that long for the baby, but I think for him it's important that he has time to get used to the idea of another child. He's a kid who NEEDS time to adjust to new things!!!

We talked about her for a while, and proceeded to switch over to talking about him as a baby, and the things he knows about that time. He knows he was in my belly first and that after he came out, Blake was in there. He knows that he came out 'upside-down' (as in face up), and that he had a squished nose because of that. He knows that she has a cord that goes to her belly button and that's how she eats, and that he too had a cord when he was inside. In fact, the other night at dinner, I was wiped from work and asked hubby for a beer-JOKINGLY!! Trevor told me I couldn't have a beer because then the baby would have a beer, and she wasn't old enough!!! How smart!!

And then he started wanting to know more about him as a baby. So, we went downstairs and found the work-in-progress that is his baby book. Hmm... Trevor is about 4 1/4.... in the baby book, he's just come home from the hospital! Oopsies! I do have all the 'stuff' for the baby book put aside in a tupperware tub (and Blake's stuff in his own tub) but I have not found the motivation or time to work on the baby books much in a LONG time.

We opened the book, and saw pictures of me pregnant, me in the hospital, ultrasound pictures (he really liked those!), Trevor just minutes after birth and so on.
He loved the tiny hat that he wore in the hospital and begged to try it on. It just barely fit, and kinda looked like a nylon stocking on the head of a robber it was so tight!! Funny!

We found the wrist bands that I had to wear and that he wore, and he was STUNNED how small it was! (So was I....*sob*).

He found the baby footprints that they put in the book, by stamping his foot, and pushing on the paper. He put the book on the floor and stood next to his baby footprints. The tiny print goes from his heel, to about the middle of the arch of his foot. He was shocked!! He pointed out to me what a BIG boy his is, just based on that!

He was confused by the pictures right after birth, that he was messy (something he hates to be!). And he was even more confused to see the clamp on the umbilical cord, and the scissors. He's known for about a month that the baby eats through a cord, and the he had a cord, and that's why he has a belly button. But apparently, what happened to that cord when he came out, never occured to him. He was shocked that we would cut the cord. And save the scissors!! And save the little dried piece of belly button that FINALLY fell off! He was very worried and sad about this-momentarily (as 4 year olds are!). Then, recovering quickly, he asked if he could cut the cord when the baby comes out. That question left me stuttering, as to why not, and why he wouldn't be there, and I quickly distracted him with other pictures!!! (whew!)

So, my sweet boy, continues to grow up....







PS... This post, in part, is inspired by my dad. Who shocks me by reading my blog (shocks, only becuase my dad and the computer just don't go together in my head), and then sending me wonderful, touching comments. Reminding me, that the original reason for my blogging, is much more of a personal, journaling intent so that I can look back on fond memories, years down the road. Thanks for reading Dad, and thanks for commenting.