Still Life with Toddler

I wrote this over two years ago, right before Jiro was born. I was thinking of doing a similar essay for Jiro and dug this one up as a reference.

As Satchel quickly approaches his second birthday, I am getting a taste of what’s to come. Like many before me, I often look at my boy and wonder, “When did you get so BIG?” Satchel is talking, running, jumping, picking out clothes, and turning into a little person right before my eyes. I remember wearing him in the Baby Bjorn when he was just a few weeks old and being somewhat amazed at how many people made a point of telling me, “Ah, enjoy it while it lasts. They grow up so fast.” I like to think that I took their advice. I have enjoyed watching Satchel grow from a helpless newborn to a willful young tot. So even though I’ve enjoyed it, I can’t guarantee I’ll always remember it as it was. So for the record, this is what life with a 21 month old is like for me.

A typical day starts with Satchel waking up at 6:30am. I usually hear him stirring, but pretend to be asleep in the hopes that he will go back asleep. I also repeat a silent mantra, “go back to sleep, go back to sleep, go back to sleep…” but it works less and less these days. Satchel likes to wake me up in various ways. (For some reason, he has no interest in waking Daddy up.) Sometimes he crawls on top of my stomach (and his soon to be brother or sister) and bounces. As you can imagine, this is very effective due to my always bursting bladder. Other times he knocks his noggin into mine with a bit too much force (a trick he learned from the turtles in “Finding Nemo”). This is also effective because I can’t help but cry out in pain, thus ending the ruse that I am asleep. And on rare occasions I get woken with a kiss or a tummy rub, which is too sweet to ignore. Once awake, I usually try to talk him into waking Daddy up or just snuggling, but he usually starts in right away with his list of demands: “Elmo!?” (I must get his 3ft. Elmo off the floor.) “Buuuz!?” (I must get Buzz Lightyear off the floor too.) “Dory?” (I must get Dory from under the pillows.) “Wawa?” (Water off of the nightstand.) “Shoooes?” (I must get the PERFECT pair of shoes out of the cabinet. I know he wants his rubber boots but I try his slippers anyway.) “Noooooooooo! Boots. Boots.”

Daddy is still successfully pretending to be asleep as Satchel and I head to the kitchen. For awhile we had an easy routine of “Sesame Street,” “Finding Nemo,” or “Toy Story” coupled with cereal. Satchel would happily sit in his highchair and eat and watch TV while I brushed my teeth, put in my contacts, made his lunch (on a school day), and convinced Daddy to wake up. Now Satchel runs into the kitchen and starts opening the freezer, refrigerator, and cabinets looking for something really exciting to eat. This week he had chicken noodle soup for breakfast one day, a giant carrot the next, followed by ice cream and corn on the cob the next day. The minute he is done eating he likes to stand up and assume precarious, heart stopping positions to see if I am truly paying attention to him. I instruct him to sit down, but this only makes him dangle his body further over the side. I swiftly remove him from his chair and he proceeds to run around the house, play with/on the dogs, and pull toys out of every possible nook and cranny.

Daddy is usually awake by now and makes smoothies and oversees the destruction while I shower and get dressed. If it is a weekend we like to head to the park immediately to let Satchel and the dogs run through the Old Forest trails. We have done this every weekend since Satchel was born. First we took him in the stroller, then the Baby Bjorn, then the hand-me-down Kelty backpack, and now on foot. Satchel runs through the trails like an old pro, stopping to climb over fallen trees and to throw rocks over the foot bridges. Sometimes he even helps hold a dog leash!

After the trails, we go to the playground where Satchel must swing in each and every one of the five swings. He will then climb up the ladder unassisted and hit the slides. He especially likes it when he is wearing pants that are extra slippery. Daddy has taught him to go down on his tummy and sometimes he catches air and tumbles onto the matting with a joyous laugh. Occasionally he will interact with other kids, but if another kid gets too close to him, he puts out his hand and says, “Noooooooo!.” This is kind of embarrassing and cute at the same time. Satchel also has a shy routine that he does when adults speak to him: he either covers his eyes immediately or assumes the “child’s pose” on the ground. Don’t get me wrong, Satchel is very friendly and playful, he just has a few quirks!

Once the playing is done, we are all usually hungry and ready for a nap. Lunch is much like breakfast. We turn on a video and get Satchel set up in his highchair. He likes to eat things like spaghetti , pizza, soup, sandwiches, yogurt, cheese, and fruit. If the dogs come anywhere near his chair he will gladly share whatever he is eating with them, much to their liking. When lunch is over it is time to take a “noozie.”

After 20 months of nursing, Satchel is weaned and he no longer nurses to sleep. (I never thought I’d see this day!) Daddy or I will crawl into bed with Satchel, Elmo, Buzz, Dory, and several books. He usually falls asleep after 5-10 minutes of ooching and skooching and will stay that way for at least two hours. We usually spend these precious two hours doing a flurry of household tasks or sometimes nothing at all. Since becoming pregnant 28 weeks ago, it is more of the latter. I have been known to sleep with Satchel for an hour or so, check my email, and then fall asleep somewhere else in the house.

More often than not, Satchel wakes up from his nap and cries for one of us to rescue him from the giant bed. When I open the door he gets a huge grin on his face and runs across the bed into my arms. I usually get a few good minutes of snuggling before he is awake enough to attack his toys. He likes to get his trucks out, put his train together, stack legos to unbelievable heights, line up his barn animals, put his green bendy alien behind the wheel of his Barbie VW Bug, go a few rounds on his sit and spin, pull out his box of picture magnets, show us his groovy boy’s bellybutton, jump off of the ottoman, chase the cat, wrestle with the dogs, and/or do a puzzle.

I usually give Satchel another snack before venturing out again. Favorite snacks include seaweed, cheese, crackers, cheerios, granola bars, Luna bars, ginger snaps, and on occasion, chips or popcorn. If we are running errands we will bring along something really exciting, like health food brand “Cheetos” to keep Satchel interested in staying in the cart. If he cannot be contained in the cart, we usually have to cut the trip short. (Sometimes I manage to get to the stores really early so that he can run free down the aisles with little consequence.) On days with no errands, we try to go somewhere fun like the Children’s Museum, Library, or Mothersville. Satchel also likes to visit his grandmother at work and his great-grandmother at the nursing home. If it is nice out we will go for a walk, a bike ride, or a wagon ride. Satchel also likes to go to the Zoo. Satchel is full of energy so the more running around he can do, the better.

Dinner time is much like lunchtime. Daddy does all of the cooking and Satchel and I are guaranteed a ridiculously elaborate meal almost every night. Satchel is usually voracious at dinner and will scarf down broccoli, asparagus, spinach, homemade lentil soup, lasagna, fried rice…anything that we put in front of him. Once finished, he and Daddy go attack the toys or the dogs and I clean the kitchen.

At least once a week we like to take Satchel to a restaurant. It is really fun to watch him interact with strangers…smiling, waving, and talking. He easily charms men and women alike. It is also fun to watch him eat new things. He is a big fan of the Chinese buffet and the Japanese steakhouse. Satchel’s table manners stink; he will stop chewing mid-bite and spit out all of his food if he decides he’s thirsty. There’s always a huge pile of food under his chair on the floor, but we do our best to clean up after him and we always leave a big tip. If we are feeling really energetic, we will go for ice cream or frozen yogurt after dinner. Satchel rarely makes it through his entire serving and inevitably ends up eating mine instead of his. (I will learn one day and just order us the same thing.)

After dinner and playtime, it is bath time. Daddy does bath time. He and Satchel have their own rituals and games and I usually hang out on the stool by the tub to watch or listen from the other room while folding laundry or straightening up. Bath time is made extra exciting by the water jets in the tub, numerous “Finding Nemo” toys, and Daddy’s imagination. After a half hour or so I fish Satchel out of the tub and get him in his pajamas. He brushes his teeth on the bed while I brush his hair. Then he gets in position between the stuffed animals, toys, and books and waits for Daddy. “Night-night,” I say. “Bye-bye,” he coos. Daddy continues the fun and games, acting out the pictures in the story books, making animal shadows on the wall, and letting Satchel jump on the bed. I can hear Satchel laughing hysterically at least a few times before falling asleep.

Daddy usually falls asleep too and I get the house all to myself for awhile. I either spend my precious free time on the computer or the sofa. Daddy reappears after an hour or so and we watch “The Daily Show” together before I head for bed. I kiss him goodnight and crawl into the king size bed that suddenly seems small with my son splayed out lengthwise across the middle. I move him over so I can squeeze in and fall asleep listening to him breathe, ready to take on another day.