Xpinionated

I don’t know if I am going through some chemical imbalance the past few days but I have been pretty emotional watching little man this week.  He’s so amazing, from him ability to pretend to not here you say no to his finally giving you a kiss after you stopped asking for one an hour ago, everything he does just kind of leaves you in awe. 

We have this game where he runs in circles from the living room, through the french doors and dining room, into the kitchen, through the foyer and back into the living room.  My part is to hide somewhere along his route.  Usually, I’m either in the bathroom, up the stairs a little ways or just badly hidden like a cat with his tail out.  Then I jump out and say hey and if he’s surprised he says ‘O000hhhhhgobagodoogabal’.  Well, we were doing this the other day and I guess he REALLY wasn’t expecting me.  His exact words were scarily close to ‘OOOHHHHJESSUS’!  Absolutely hilarious.

Our other game is from the football practices of old.  We stand in place and run and then fall down and pop back up.  What makes it fun for us parentals is that he’s saying ‘Ooohhhhh’ the whole time we run in place.  Then we fall and he bursts into laughter…it’s the funniest thing for him to run in place and fall.  Unfortunately, I’m so out of shape that after two or three times of doing this, I need a break…..I’m gonna have to get in better shape.

And, then there’s the new game that we don’t like.  In this game, which is further proof that boys are daredevils from their first breath, he finds a way onto the coffe table.  A toy, a box, whatever he can climb on to get on the table.  We didn’t mind at first because he showed significant caution about 1) what he did on the coffee table which was usually pacing and yelling, and 2) he always got onto his stomach and slid backward to get off the table.  But for the past week, he’s decided that he wants to jump off of the table into my arms.  I made the mistake of catching him and laughing once.  Now he thinks it’s a game….we gotta break this game

Above, Devin and Daddy on the Laptop

Well, Daddy and Devin day didn’t go exactly as I planned.  I had fun with lil man and I know he was happy to be out of the house as much as he was on Saturday.  But I’m disappointed that I didn’t pull the day off as planned.  Next time, I will need to plan better….

We left the house around noon and headed up to Triple Play.  Triple Play is a new sports bar where some friends of mine work.  My plan was to hit this place (been open all of one night), see my friends, and then hit up Hooters for dinner before the game later on.  Devin was a hit of course with waitresses wanting to hold him but him playing hard to get. 

We left there around 1:30 I guess and had to do some errands at Costco and Kroger.  By the time we finished the errands, it was 3:30, Devin was head down, neck stretched sleep in the backseat and I knew we weren’t going to make it down to the car show.  So Devin slept from 3:30 to 5:30 finally giving us (though Mrs Xpinionated wasn’t there to enjoy it) the two hour nap he routinely takes at daycare.

I decided to wake him up at 5:30 which didn’t take much more than me walking into the room.  At this point, Hooters too was out of the question if we were going to get to the Force game on time.  So I decided it would be easier to get to the game way early, get some food, feed Devin before folks started crowding us and get settled.  And that worked…..until Devin decided he was going to spit on the guy next to us….every time the guy spoke.  The man was a good sport and laughed it off as I tried to cover lil man’s mouth.  But at halftime, after letting Devin run loose a little bit, I thought it was time to bring Devin and Daddy day to an end…..

With all that said, I still got lil man four cheerleader chicks!!! 

See other pics here

Daddy and Devin Day is upon us!  Saturday, April 19, 2008.  Mrs. Xpinionated will be scrapbooking and girl talking her Saturday with friends.  It’s the jump off.  Daddy and Devin will be touring the Metro Atlanta area getting into all sorts of mischief.

The day will start after Devin’s afternoon nap.  We will head downtown to the car show at the World Congress Center.  Take in some automobiles and hope for some hot car models with a soft spot for handsome babies so daddy can take pictures to show off to his folks.  After that, we’ll head back out to the ‘burbs.  Depending on the time, we may just go chill at the mall or we may go get an early dinner at either Hooters or Triple Play (or whatever the name of the new bar some friends of mine are working at).  I’m leaning toward Triple Play since that will give some folks to see Devin that haven’t seen him in a while.  But then there is the appeal of Hooters…ah time will tell.  After that, we may stop at home to re-up on some supplies.  Then it is off to watch the Georgia Force game. 

Ok, I admit it.  Perhaps it’s really just Daddy day and he’s taking the baby!  But Devin will have fun!!!  I mean it!!!!!

This fatherhood thing truly is amazing.  I can’t see how any man would not want to be around his child.  I can’t see how any man wouldn’t do anything for his child.  My son can bring me out of a funk with a simple smile or shout, both of which are just as likely to occur at any random moment. 

This morning he introduced a new game showing his mischievous side.  When I’m in the closet searching for another extraordinary Xpinionated outfit, lil Man will either come in there with me or close the door.  He used to close the door and just wait outside.  This morning though he closed the door and all I heard was the pitter patter of little feet off to do something they inevitably weren’t supposed to be doing.  So I turn the handle to let myself out and those some pitter patters come back in a blaze.  He peeks around the door, smiles, and shuts it.  And again, pitter patter.  Back and forth we go, shut and run, run and smile and shut.  Until finally, he opens the door and I throw a shirt of his head making him giggle but also giving me time to get out of the closet (the Logo channel would be so proud!).  Things like this can make any ordinary day something a bit more special. 

For the last three nights, he has decided he is ready for bed.  He lets us know by grabbing one of our fingers to take us on a journey.  We say, ‘Devin do you want to go up up?’  Meaning are you ready for bed and he leads us to the stairs.  Now this isn’t to say that he doesn’t still fight the sleepies but the fact that between 8 and 9, he knows it’s getting close to counting sheep time.  He probably thinks since he has more freedom upstairs since we let him rummage in a couple more rooms than we do downstairs, that if he can just get to the cusp of freedom things will be just as he likes them:  just out of sight of us but not so far that he doesn’t know where we are.  But we think, if we can just get him to sleep……..we usually win……for now.

I am thinking about getting this tattoo on my back.  I have been going back and forth about whether I want to get another tattoo.  If I do get this one though, it means I will need to get a tattoo for every child we have, if I want to be fair and not show favoritism.  Whatcha think?  I may add ‘Lil Man’ above or below it….