On December 10th, Joann and I had to move out of the Horrock's home in Woodland Hills, as they returned home from their mission. Since all our belongings were in storage anyway, we decided to have an adventure and drive 26 hours to South Padre Island, Texas for the winter. More on S. Padre on another post.
The drive wasn't as much torture as I predicted, but mostly because we weren't so anal about keeping the boys in the straight-jacket-like car seats required by American society these days. We are more than halfway through the stay and are only here another 3 weeks. The time has flown by, but it's been so enjoyable to see photos and hear the complaints of our Utah friends who are stuck home dealing with all the snow. So much so, that we have decided to leave the snow and move to St. George when we return. Anyway, that's another story for another time. Tonight, I want to highlight some of the goings on with our sons.
Tag and Pack are so much fun, that I don't really know how to communicate how lucky I feel to be able to travel with them to such a fun winter place. Not only that, but to have work that offers me as much freedom as I have to play with them during this small window in time when they are learning and changing so quickly. I waited and toiled for so long to be a DAD, that I feel heaven has given me a unique chance to soak it all in.
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Pack, aka Doozie, (14 months old) has discovered walking and I haven't seen him return to crawling for about 10 days now. Watching him attempt to chase Tag, walk in the sand, spin in circles, pick up a ball and return to standing, etc. is poetry in motion. He is a confident, daring, and stubborn child who knows what he wants and screams so loud when he wants it. He loves balls of any size, just like Tag did, only I'm noticing that he may be a left-hander like me and his grandpa! Grandpa would be so proud.
Pack often will be sitting on the counter in the kitchen with Joann and I'll hear, "Dada!" -- I'll look in his direction to find him smiling at me and trying to get my attention. I'll look at him and we'll both smile and I'll look away and the game continues. He is tiny and light (compared to Tag), making him so fun to engage in pillow fights on the bed. He loves to climb on my back and have me play horsey and throw him off into the pillows. He points at things he wants or places he wants me to take him, and gives a loud grunt -- "UUH!" If I don't immediately comply, he gets louder.
Just yesterday, he learned how to say "Mom" and he is quick to say it when Joann is not around. Oh, how he loves his Mom. Everywhere we go, people move in close to look at his baby blue eyes and try to be rewarded with his smile, which he doesn't give out to any Tom, Dick or Harry. He's a very handsome child. Often times, he will see Tag give "bones" to a stranger, which is the act of bumping fists. Then he'll reach out his fist to the person and when the fist approaches, he withdraws his offering leaving the other person hanging. I love this move.
Pack loves his older brother. You can really tell. He copies him, follows him, imitates him, and aspires to do what Tag does all day long. The biggest fights we see are when Dooz sees Tag with a drink or a ball and he wants it for himself... NOW. Or all hell breaks loose. I've initiated a rule that Joann is not to give one of the boys a drink unless the other is offered the exact same drink in his own container.
Pack is much more daring than Tag was (and even is). He'll go down a steep slide headfirst and grunt for more the minute he hits the bottom, even if he got banged up a bit on the way down. I love this about him.
He loves to eat fruit and guacamole, and most other things, and when he doesn't want something, he has a funny, violent NO head shake that leaves no question as to what he doesn't want.
