"This is GOOOOOOOD!"

20 months
Yesterday Jerry took Evan to Starbuck's, and got him a vanilla steamed milk and a slice of fresh banana bread. Evan took a bite and declared, "This is goooooood!"
That's my boy.

Our independent one

Evan is slowly leaving his babyhood behind and becoming a boy. I'm not sure if it's the transition to staying home with Jerry full-time, or the passage of time, but Evan is blossoming.

He's more independent than ever before. Just a month ago, he wanted me to carry him everywhere. And while it was sweet and I loved being close to him, the kid's heavy. Now he wants to walk everywhere. Of course, that means he gets distracted by every rock, blade of grass, empty Coke can, and pile of dirt along the way, but it still is better. And he wants to help with everything... he likes to hold his cup out (with both hands), while we pour him milk or juice.

Also, a month ago, he would almost always choose me if he needed to be comforted. Now he goes to Jerry and says, "dada," and curls up to him. You'd think I'd be jealous, but I'm happy. They're so cute together. Plus, he still loves me.

Our apartment complex has a big park in it. We can walk out our front door, go down a path, cross a little faux bridge with a man-made creek underneath, then make our way to the park. Evan loves to ride his trike with Jerry during the day. He loves to stop and throw rocks in the creek. Jerry usually has to stop him just before Evan's created a dam. And he loves the park... he's good at climbing.

I've started singing the alphabet song to him while he's in the bath. For some reason, that's the only time I think of it. He stops what he's doing and claps. The other night he tried to sing along. It sounded something like this: "bee bee bee bee bee bee bee..." Tonight I started to sing it, and he violently shook his head "nooooo." I guess I was singing off key.

When he says no, he really makes it clear. He shakes his head for about 5 minutes and says, "noooooooooooooooo," while rolling his eyes far up in his head. I've never actually seen him say Yes before.

Today I sat down to read him a book, and he opened it to the last page, pointed at the book, then at his toe, and said, "ta ta ta..." I looked at what he was referring to, and that page was describing a boy who could wiggle his toe. Later, he pointed at an apple and said "apple," with perfect pronunciation!

Fulltime Father

Since my tenure as a fulltime father is coming to an end, I thought I'd take a moment and talk about some of the things that happened with us over the last few months.

Evan still doesn't speak english but has somehow mastered Gaelic, French and Whale.

The other night Andrea was talking to the newspaper delivery lady and Evan descided to chime in with a few paragraphs of lilting toddler speak, "Chooooooocheeechoooofeegoooostaolartivbla........"and on and on. After five minutes of nonstop jibber-jabber the lady looked at Andrea for translation. Andrea goes, "He said Hi!"

The Boy still doesn't use a potty, but we did get him a few good potty books like You Should be Ashamed and Look at that Mess You Made and Don't use the Potty, Man, That's EXACTLY what Karl Rove Wants You To Do.

So it should be any day now.

He's the William Shatner of temper tantrums. He does this thing where if his feelings get hurt by, say, one of us prying out the fistfull of catfood he stuffed into his mouth, he goes into this dramatic gallup in a circle then falls to his knees with his face all knurled with pain, arms flung out in front of him as if to mime "WHHHHHHYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!?!?!?!?!!" then flops onto the floor face down before he belts out his first soul-crushing screech. That's the home production. The road show that he performs at shopping malls and grocery stores up and down the Front Range goes a little like this:
Dad: Put the {WHATEVER} down. You can't {EAT, PLAY, DISASSEMBLE} that here.
Evan: {IGNORES DAD}
Dad: {GRABBING WHATEVER} Didn't you hear me?
Evan: {NOW LAYING ON FLOOR} WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!
Everyone Else: {DISAPPROVING GLARES}
Dad gathers sobbing mass from floor and grumbles to self.

But I joke. The truth of the matter is that he is a sweet little man. His personality is becoming more unique by the minute. His humor is showing, like tonight while we were reading bedtime stories he decided to put his foot into his mouth for the first time in 10 months. Seeing the shocked look on our faces he offered each of us a taste with a sly little grin. He knew it was funny to offer us his foot to chew. I guess it was funnier in the moment.

On my birthday I had the most wonderful gift. I took Evan to a little park and there were already a few 5-6 yo kids running around, playing grabass and generally defying gravity. But one little boy named Brandon saw Evan and just took to him like I've never seen. He came right over and said hello baby and took Evan's hand. He walked Evan all over the playground showing him stuff and Evan had the biggest grin I ever saw. Brandon then convinced Austin, another little 5yo boy who said i hate babies, convinced Austin that Evan was cool so then Brandon had one hand and Austin had the other and they played all over the junglegym, up stairs, down slides, played store with rocks and woodchips,and Evan absolutely SQUEELED with delight the whole time. Well, I just sat there and drank it all in. Finally, as expected, Brandon and Austin grew tired of playing with a baby, but that time was special both of us.

Then there is the photo album his Nanna and Papa sent him. I was trying to put Evan down for a nap and he likes to read a few books before he goes to sleep. So I grabbed a couple books and the photo album. We laid there looking at the pictures and I was making up stories and he was making up "choocheechooocheeechoooo" stories. When we came to a picture of Carol I said, "Theres Nana. Don't you love Nana?" and he pulled the picture to his lips and gave her great big smackaroo. He's the sweetest thing I've ever seen.

Some of the things I've learned over the last few months, well, I learned that full-time parents have a tough job with little positive feedback. I also think that fulltime dads are a particularly lonely bunch. I ran into another fulltime father at McD's one day and I practically had to mace him. Talk about starved for adult interaction. Well, I was new to the game then, but now I'm sure I've come across just like him a couple times. Plus, its awkward to be the only guy in a play area at the mall or McD's and try to ask a mom how old her little girl is and if they know of any other play areas that have a lot of little kids. I'm telling you, there's no way to not look creepy. The not showering for 3 days and the grizzled beard and mustard stains don't help, but c'mon.

I'm sure I've learned other things and that Evan has done cuter stuff than what I put down here, but I'm tired and Evan just woke up with a night terror. Poor little fella.

Good thing his momma is right next to him.

20 months

Not starving here
This week he said "apple juice" and "cookies." Just like his mom, he knows what's important in life.
We're finally starting to feel more settled here. I was quite homesick the first couple weeks, not so much for Sacramento, but for those I left behind (not like I died or anything, but you know what I mean). People are nice here, but it's going to take awhile to feel really comfy.
However, a few places recently hit the spot:
Illegal Pete's I work a few blocks down from this burrito shack, which has the best burritos ever... slightly spicy black beans, ripe tomato pico de gallo with tons of cilantro, and fresh guac. The chips are the crispy and slightly burnt variety that I love. Every time I contemplate packing my lunch, I ask myself if it's really worth saving $2 over eating here.
Dozens We felt at home in Denver approximately 5 minutes after eating at Dozens. It was amazing, in a beautiful old craftsman house across the street from Pint's Pub, which serves complimentary, very strong coffee for those waiting for a table at Dozens (they're owned by the same people). At Dozens, I had an omelet stuffed with garlicky mushrooms, spinach, and tomato goodness with a homemade scone and apple jelly. Jerry had a fresh, thick waffle with syrup and butter and I helped him eat it. The french press coffee was strong and tasty. I totally gorged myself and was so happy.
Red Square I can't say we recommend this place, but the story is funny. We went there for Jerry's Birthday, and the ambiance was nice - very cozy, red, and beautiful. I ordered salmon, and it had zero seasoning, not even a dollop of sauce. It tasted completely like fish. And there were no side dishes... it just sat on top of vegetables. I asked the waitress if I could send it back and just get a salad... moments later the owner came to our table, and gave me, "What? You no like the fish?" And I said it was technically OK, it was fresh and all that, it just needed some seasoning. And he follows up with, "Everyone here loves the fish. You are the first person to not like the fish." And somehow I ended up apologizing.
Josephina's We went here for dessert after leaving Red Square and it was so much better... dark, loud, laid-back, unstuffy. The chocolate cake was dry, but we didn't care, because our waitress was nice and we were comfortable. Still in search of the perfect dessert place, but we're just getting started.