Savoring Teo

One of the hardest things about going back to work this week after my vacation has been not getting to spend so much time with Teo. I so enjoyed our time together over break. That child is such a little ray of sunshine. For the most part, he wakes up happy and stays happy all day. When I go into his room to get him out of his crib in the morning or after a nap he is delighted to see me. He makes wonderful little grunty noises that imply he's game for just about anything. "Adventure awaits, mommy! Are you in?"

Lately he's walking more and more to actually get around. He's started walking sideways, though, like a crab. If he wants to get somewhere, he turns perpendicular to it, aims his hip at it, and then walks directly there, taking little sideways steps. I don't know where this came from or why he does it.

He LOVES books, especially the pop-up version of The Wheels on the Bus that was also Luke's favorite at this age. Actually, I remember getting so sick of reading it to Luke that I started to hide it from him. Although it survived Luke's affection with no permanent damage (I did have to tape the wheels that go round and round back on once), I'm afraid Teo has totally destroyed it. The bus no longer has doors to go open and shut or wipers to go swish swish swish, and the windows no longer go up and down, they just sort of wiggle in the destroyed shell of the window casings.

Another favorite is a book called Baby Faces that our friend Ali gave Luke years ago. It also has moving parts. The baby's eyes go back and forth on one page, his nose wiggles on the next, etc. Luckily this one is pretty hardy and so far has stood up to Teo's little fingers.

His last favorite is a bright yellow version of the counting song "Five Little Ducks." He will sit and "read" all of the books to himself, holding the book on his lap and turning the pages, with intent focus for a very long time, but this last book he actually reads to us, saying "Quack quack quack quack" to mimic the mother duck. It's just about the cutest thing that ever was.

It's amazing how much he can communicate without words. He uses his little grunty intonations and his little hands and fingers to basically hold entire conversations with me. A few times in the last couple of weeks we've had to tell him "No!" to something he was doing. Each time his little lip quivers, he opens up his mouth, and bawls like the world is coming to an end. It is very difficult to appease him, too, and I find myself having to work hard to resist giving in to him when he throws these little tantrums. T and I both worry about his temper. No one would believe it, seeing how he is most of the time. The latest time this happened, T and I were trying to talk to him in calm, soothing tones, and I said, "It's okay, mommy still loves you, but you're not allowed to..." Luke, trying to help, said to Teo, "It's okay, you're still my brudder..." Very cute.

Yesterday after school the boys and I were all sitting at the kitchen table sharing some graham crackers, and I wondered what it will be like when Teo's a little bit older, and talking to us all the time the way that Luke does now. Those days are not long off at all; these last few moments of Teo's babyhood feel precious and few, like they need to be savored, every one of them. I'm doing my best, anyway, to savor a few.