Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Dear Koen,

Happy Birthday! You turned 36 months old yesterday. The big 3 years old! You definitely are not a baby anymore. In fact, if you were in school, you probably would be the class clown. Let me give you a recent scenario while you and your Mom were at Story Time a few weeks ago. One of the books that was being read aloud was Old McDonald. As the Reader asked all the kids to participate by finishing her sentence, you were the first to respond with an answer that made you and a few other kids crack up. Here's an example... Old McDonald had a farm, e, i, e, i, o, and on his farm he had some...
"M & M's!" or, Old McDonald had a farm, e, i, e, i, o, and on his farm he had some... "Cookies and Cream!"

Your odd ball comments and responses are also in line with your love of making faces. I recently downloaded an application for my iPhone that allows me to take multiple pictures in one snap so I can record your faces in sequence. Below are a few examples of what I'm talking about.

A class clown wouldn't be the same without having a "funny dance" as part of his shenanigans. After spending a day with your Lola and Lolo last week, you came home with a few dance moves that had your Mom and I rolling on the floor.

Pose of the month

Hi, I'm a MAC and that thing over there is a PC
A few weeks ago, you bacame the most popular kid on our street. I recently replaced my 17 inch Powerbook for an upgrade of the same model. Your Mom didn't want the old Powerbook, so we decided to give it to you. Yes, you are the only kid on our street who is sporting a 17 inch Macintosh Powerbook. Fully loaded with the Adobe Creative Suite, but most important, you are WiFi ready so you can go anywhere in the house and log on to www.pbskids.org or www.monkeybartv.com and play games. You have a great understanding of icon recognition and can navigate through Websites that have good User Interface. You've even done video conferencing with Kera in India. Daddy is very proud!

Wushu vs. Karate
So, your Daddy has been researching different ways for you to channel your over abundance of energy. One thought was for you to take Gymnastics again, and blend it with your love for "posing" by doing performance Wushu. Wushu translates to "Martial Arts" in Chinese. However, in this case, I'm only offering you the performance or demonstration part of Wushu. There are also Karate Demo Teams you can join if you are interested. The main difference is style, flow and elegance. However, I'm no too fond of the constant yelling, or Ki, in Karate. Take a look at the videos below. Let me know if one is more appealing than the other. You might already guess which one Daddy prefers.

A phrase for every occasion
I'm amazed everyday at how well you can communicate and voice your opinion. A phrase you use often is "Ah man, it's not fair." Your Mom and I are not sure where you learned this since neither of us, nor your Grandparents use this phrase. My guess is from one of the shows you watch on PBS. Perhaps Caillou? He's always whinning about something.

Here are some other popular phrases that leave your mouth daily:
• "That's not funny"
• "It tickles I"
• "I don't like that. It's for babies, I'm a big boy"
• "Lets battle"
• "Actually..."
• "I know that already"
• "....., you know"
• " I like that mostly"
• "Almost"
• "You can't get me, I'm a good guy"

Surprise!
For your Birthday, you wanted a Bumblebee Transformers cake. Not Megatron or Optimus Prime. Bumblebee! After weighing our options, your Mom decided I would design a custom graphic that will go on top of your cake as well as a poster to add to your decorations.

Koen, you've transformed into a fine little boy who is advanced for his age. I'm not just saying this because I'm proud of you...well, maybe a little. It's true. It started a couple weeks after you were born. Your Mom and I would watch you with exhaustion, as you lay in your crib and cry in anger because you were swaddled like a pea in a pod. At the time, we didn't know why you were so upset. We thought you were either hungry, sleepy, or wanted to eat. It isn't until now, that when your Mom and I watch old video's of you, can we see the determination in your face. You didn't want to feel comfort. The look on your face told the whole story. You wanted up and out.

Your persistent attitude has made you aware of your suroundings and you have a great sense of how others are feeling as soon as they are close. Then there is your memory. You will repeat specific one-sided conversations we had with you before you were able to verbally communicate. It's like you've had thoughts in your head for over 2 years and now that you can talk, you are going to tell us what you've always wanted to say. You'll normally start by saying...."remember that time when...."

My most memorable moment of you as a 2 year old is something you told your Mom last week. You were both hanging out doing your usual; talking, playing, reading, etc. Your Mom turns to you and asks, "who's your best friend?" You looked at her and said, "DADDY." When she told me what you said, I wanted to pick you up, toss you in the car and head straight to the toy store and buy you what every your heart desired. Instead, I picked you up, gave you a huge squeeze,
a big smooch and told you that you were my best friend too. You blushed, then ran away yelling...."I'm Spiderman."

Love,

Daddy

ps. Shhhh...Don't tell your Mom. We took these pictures while she was cooking dinner the other night. We were playing Spiderman and you were leaping from building to building battling me; The Green Goblin.