Random Thoughts...

"Daddy's Time"

It wasn't too long ago that Daddy Time was a part of life that was under my control. I'd simply pick Taylor up, plop down in a chair, situate her to where we were both comfortable, and she would lay there and go to sleep. Then time passed. Shortly after that Daddy Time could be Taylor sitting on my lap watching a football game. She really liked football, and basketball, even golf, and was perfectly content to sit in my lap. Enthralled with the suspense of what those people running around on the magic window would do next. Or it could be sitting in the middle of the floor with Taylor building with Leggo's or stacking blocks. Then time passed. Mobility showed up on our doorstep looking for a place to "crash". My grasp on Daddy Time became a bit more tenuous. Daddy Time became a closer cousin to Cat Time. Anyone that owns a cat understands what Cat Time is. Cats are very independent and non social until they decide they would like some attention, then they are all over you like static cling on a polyester shirt. Anyway, lap time slowly decreased as exploration time rapidly increased. More and more Daddy Time consisted of following Taylor around the house making sure both she and the contents both survived the day. Another version of Daddy Time is playing taxi-cab, the only rules of this game are: Don't put Taylor down; and Follow the pointing finger. The penalty for breaking these simple rules are breaking a little girls heart and replacing it with a teary eyed noise generator. Sometimes Mommy and Daddy are allowed to share taxi-cab duties, more of a tag team game. Other times only Mommy or Daddy are allowed to play. Sure there are still times where Daddy Time includes Taylor sitting on my lap, or sitting on the living room floor doing a puzzle or building with Leggo's, but these times are shorter and now regulated via Taylor's schedule.

However, there is still one part of the day that has always remained Daddy's Time. That's the time in the early morning. Since I work from home my dress code is just a bit more lax than the other occupants of our dwelling. When the alarm goes off my job is to get Taylor dressed and ready to start the day as Linda gets ready for work and gathers Taylor's lunch and required supplements. Right now this process takes between 30-45 minutes. Of this time frame 5-10 minutes are set aside to get Taylor from her room to being buckled into her car seat. Obstacles to be overcome during this period can include some or all of the following: Navigating Taylor through the cats (it seems every day Taylor is sure that this will be the day that Hershey or Cocoa will relent to her enthusiastic show of affection); Putting on Taylor's jacket if the weather calls for such a measure; Doing a quick puzzle if we are ready before Mommy; Or, picking out a toy to replace an item in her grasp which we don't want to leave the house. The 10-15 minutes prior to the that step are for getting Taylor changed and dressed, shoes and socks on. The difficulty of this step depends on the outfit and the disposition of my charge. The 15 or so minutes sandwiched between the Alarm and the beginning of the changing/dressing stage is Daddy's Time.

Taylor is always fast asleep when I arrive in her room. I'll turn on the closet light (we have curtains on the closet instead of doors) to shed a manageable amount of light into the room. The choice of closet light vs. overhead light is as much for my benefit as Taylor's. Taylor will wake up and stumble to her feet sleepily grabbing her blanket and/or pacifier. Then, supported by wobbly legs, she will reach her arms waiting for me to pick her up. I'll sit in her glider and she'll put her head on my shoulder wrapped in her blanket and content to relax or sleep for a couple more minutes. Then I feed her breakfast while she's in my lap. That used to mean feeding her her morning bottle of milk as she lay in my lap... after some time that bottle became a sippy-cup. The laying in my lap turned to sitting in my lap as she drank from her cup, often while pointing out books she wanted me to read. These days a cup of milk has been replaced by a banana or a fruit breakfast bar followed by a wash of milk. But she still sits content on my lap happy with each bite, often full of smiles and comments in some unknown language. I know that someday (probably much sooner than I can imagine) she will be eating her breakfast at the table or grabbing it on the way out the door, but these final months of starting each day with 15 minutes sitting in my lap wanting to be nowhere else in the world will surely be cherished by me.

"The Origins of Speech"

The worlds greatest orators all started with the knowledge of one word. It's debatable which word was Taylor's first. I'm sure we heard glimpses of words such as Mommy or Daddy at a very early stages, but the first word I remember her using consistently and intelligibly was "ball". Another close contender would be "mine", followed by "baa" always appropriately and confidently replied after posing the question "What sound does a sheep make?". While all of these phrases are still used, two other favorites have been learned and have rapidly surpassed "ball", "mine", and "baa" in both frequency and proficiency. Those would be "Uh-oh" and "No".

Uh-oh is the favorite catch all phrase Taylor likes to employ. Anytime something is dropped (as many times on purpose as by accident) Taylor will point and say "Uh-oh". This is also a reliable reaction when the music stops (between songs) on one of her CD's we often listen to in the evening. Another favorite and consistent usage is if the TV is paused, fast forwarding or rewinding. She'll stop whatever she is doing, point to the TV and say "Uh-oh" repeatedly until the situation has been resolved (ie: the TV is playing normally). There are other situations when Uh-oh can be used, but these appear to be random.

No has been the most recent addition to her repertoire. She seems to speak it in perfect Queen's English. It's always delivered in a very demure, composed manner accompanied by a simple understated shake of the head. "Taylor, do you want to get ready for bed?" "..no..", "Taylor, can Daddy have that?" "..no.." She seems so well versed in this phrase I half expect some of her comments I am unable to understand is actually her saying "no" in some foreign language. Perhaps Swahili or Chinese. For now it's still cute... I'm sure as the age of two approaches she will learn to add differing amounts of inflection and emotional delivery to deliver the message in a stronger tone.

The learning curve isn't always on Taylor's side. For a while she was talking to us without our knowledge. It seems she has learned some sign language during her daycare. She is very adept at signing "more" "please" and sometimes "thank you". It's very cute now that she sometimes adds an audible element to her sign. She uses these a lot during dinner time

"Taylor would you like some more?"

"..no.."

or

..signing.. "mor"

"Can you say please?"

..signing.. "peas"

"Recent Photos"

I've uploaded a selection of pictures taken in the previous couple of weeks. There are some of Taylor playing in the living room. A couple pictures of Taylor wearing Mommy's jacket. And some pictures from a feeding expedition to the duck pond (same location as Christmas lights display featured in an earlier movie). Link to follow...

January 2010 Album