Monday, October 13, 2008

Dear Koen,

You turned 32 months old two weeks ago. I just spent a few minutes reading some of my previous letters to you, and I hope I don't give the impression that I'm one of those fathers whose mission in life is to mold his son to invariably agree with my own beliefs and biases. Nope. I'm the type of father that wants you to study Kung Fu, Snowboard and make a lot of money so I can retire and you flip the bill for your Mom and me. Just kidding.

Your behavior last month had your Mom and I riding an emotional roller coaster. To be frank, I wanted to call a Priest and have him perform an exorcism. You were like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I know you are still in your Terrible 2's stage and soon you will become a law abiding citizen, but seriously..."what's the haps bra?"

Don't get me wrong, the entire month wasn't always filled with yelling, talking back, crying and hitting. That was only
a minimal part of September. September was mostly about Toys, Discovery, Imagination, and Welcoming a new member to our family.

Toys
Your current interests are Speed Racer and the movie Cars. I have to laugh because each time we mention to your Lola and Lolo what toys or movie you are currently interested in, they want to go out and buy it for you. I guess that's part of being proud Grandparents; it's their right to spoil their Grandson. I shouldn't talk. Your Mom has left us alone together on several occasions and you and I usually go to Toys R Us and see what kind of trouble we can get into.

Though you've only seen limited scenes of Speed Racer episodes, you know the theme song by heart and occasionally pose like Speed Racer while playing. The same goes for the movie Cars. You'll sing the Sheryl Crow and Rascal Flatts songs while playing and re-enacting scenes from the movie.

Discovery
Lately, your creative side has blossomed, and aside from drawing and molding things out of Play Doh, you've been interested in photography. Your Mom gave you an old camera to play with so you can take pictures and show us things from your perspective. Though it doesn't have film, we occasionally let you use the digital camera while supervising your photo shoots. Here is a set of your most current work:

Self Portrait: Right Foot #12

Father and His Punching Bag

My Dog's View

Imagination
One of my favorite things about being a father is watching you play. Your imagination runs wild as you mimic something you've seen or only heard about. The first video was taken during a birthday party at Sky High Sports in Rancho Cordova, CA. Sky High Sports is an all trampoline environment where kids and parents can bounce till they throw-up. You were running around acting like you were a Transformer, even though you've never seen the cartoon or movie. (Your Mom and Auntie Sara are talking about your shoes in the background.)

The following 2 videos were taken the morning after purchasing your Halloween costume. Our original idea for your costume was Lightning McQueen from the movie Cars. We were going to somehow transform you into this animated character. Instead, the look of excitement while you put on the Batman mask said it all...

Welcome Home
Three weeks ago we took a trip to Reno, NV to meet and bring home the newest member of our family, Sadie. Sadie is a Dalmation/Whippet mix. She's currently 9 months old and is going through her adolescent stage. She can easily scale a
6 foot fence and loves climbing the pavement when we walk her every morning. She doesn't talk back or hit. No, she barks at the squirrels along the electrical lines and jumps on us when she wants attention.

At first, Toby didn't seem to mind that he had a little sister. It wasn't until a week after bringing her home they got into a fight in Sadie's crate over a nylon bone. Your Mom and I are guessing Sadie was trying to claim an area that belongs to her, not knowing that 1) the crate she sleeps in belongs to Toby, and 2) she took advantage of Toby's bum leg and saw the opportunity to attack him while he was laying down immobile. I wasn't home when this happened. I was at Borders buying your Mom a book for her book club and enjoying a cup of tea.

(Abridged version) As soon as the fight began, your Mom's Ninja reflexes kicked in. She quickly placed you on the bed away from the fray, but where she could make sure to protect you if needed, and out of harms way. Then she reached in the crate (knowing she could get bit) and grabbed hold of Sadie's tail and pulled her out. Once Sadie was out, Toby got up off his back and proceeded to attempt to eat her. Your Mom quickly separated them and called me. Thankfully, there wasn't any puncture wounds and minimal blood.

Once I got home, the house seemed really, really quiet. Sadie was in the crate, Toby was laying on his bed next to the crate, you were in bed reading a book, and your Mom was on the phone with your Grandma trying to make sense of everything. Your Mom and I are really proud of you. While the fiasco was happening, you were calm and very aware
that you needed to stay in one place while your Mom handled the situation with grace.

As some kids grow up and their minds are gathering information like a sponge, they often ask "Why?" You on the other hand ask, "What's that mean?" Here's an example. While watching the new Thomas and Friends movie, I had made a comment that the new narrator (Pierce Brosnan) was James Bond.

Daddy: "Listen....the new narrator is James Bond."

Koen: "What's that mean?"

Daddy: "James Bond is a secret agent."

Koen: "What's agent mean?"

Daddy: "A secret agent is someone who spys."

Koen: "What's spys mean?"

Daddy: "Spying is when someone watches someone else...ah...hey Mom, can I get some help here, please?"

Mom: "A spy is someone who watches another person in secret."

Koen: "What's that mean?"

Daddy: "What's what mean?"

Koen: "What's THAT mean?"

Daddy: "What? A secret?"

Koen: "Yeah."

Daddy: "A secret is when someone tells you something and you are not suppose to tell anyone."

Koen: "What's that?"

Daddy: "Hey look...Thomas is flying off the bridge."

Koen: "Thomas no fly off bridge Daddy. What's Bridge mean?"

Daddy: "Crap! (under my breath)"

Love,
Dad

ps. Here's a sneak peak at next months letter :-)