In NOLA

We’ve moved! And you’ve changed!
The first few weeks in New Orleans, you were a little bit of, how can I put this – oh, a monster. Like, seriously monstrous. Tantrums and screaming and wanting your own way. It’s partly age, we’re sure, and partly the shakeup. You’ve settled in the last week or so, and are much more sweet and easygoing. Though still a little bossy. I’ve learned that if I let you be in control of things, as much as possible, things go more smoothly. Like if you’ve picked up my dirty dinner napkin, instead of taking it from you to throw away I ask you to put it in the trash. Taking it away leads to tears and foot stomping and furious growling at me. Letting you throw it out makes you squeal with delight. You love to be a help, and I think you love having some control over your life, so we give you as much as we can. Though dear, you are still not permitted to pick up dirty trash off the streets, much as it may appeal to you. You can stomp your little size fives all you want, but we have our limits.
You are pretty smart, although you still don’t really talk. You still say the ubiquitous DAWG, and that’s still just about it, but you babble all the livelong day and we’re pretty sure you’re starting to mimic us. I know I’ve heard you say “What’s this?” and “Thank you” and “fish” and “bath” and many other things, but it’s only ever repeating after us. You haven’t made the connection yet between these words and the things they stand for. It will come, and when it does I think we’ll see a flood of words from you. We took you to your pediatrician for the first time this week, and they have this sort of etch a sketch big table out there. It’s full of sand and also little action figures and cars that have magnets on them, and you figured out pretty quickly how the magnets worked. It is very easy to teach you things, which is how we know you’re smart. You’re smarter than Virgil at this point, and he’s a pretty smart DAWG!
I like law school, and Dad likes his teaching, and we really like getting to spend a lot of time with you. You and me, we walk down to the library a lot, and to the Octavia street playground. You like the swings. You’d swing from now til your second birthday, I think, if we let you. It’s always a fight to get you off the swings, but we do have to eat and sleep sometimes. We walk around the block and you get excited about all of the leaves, and the DAWGs we see. You love Finding Nemo, Monsters Inc, and Veggie Tales, but movies with less superlative animation do not captivate you. You’re a man of discriminating tastes!
You make us laugh and smile every day, even though you totally wear us out. I love watching you figure things out, I love watching you grow, and I hate watching you grow away from me. Sniffle. My baby boy, a baby no longer!