"I tackle daddy"

For a solid 9 months now, Dawson's favorite activity is "I tackle daddy."  Though the definition of
tackling has changed over time.  Now it's much closer to wrestling with daddy but since daddy
is a forme football player rather than former a wrestler, we've stuck with tackling.

At first, tackling involved me laying on the floor while Dawson lauched himself from the couch
toward a semi-soft landing on my stomach and the occassional not-so-soft landing in other areas.
Dawson eventually began to fear the lack of a gauranteed soft landing, so tackling became an act
of Dawson pulling out every single blanket from a cabinet
and every pillow from the couch and covering me with them.

Lately however, Dawson has discoverd the joy of the spare bed in the tv room downstairs.  Now, "I tackle
daddy" has changed into "I go downstairs and tackle daddy."  On that downstairs bed we have good times
doing thins like pillow fights
(Dawson taking a dive even before the pillow hits him), form tackling drills, me pushing Dawson over
while he's jumping on the bed, swinging from the treadmill to the bed or me diving headfirst
at my boy on the other side of the bed.  It's just your basic father-son bonding time.

The good news is that as Dawson gets older and stronger, these matches are going to get more
intense and I'm sure the day in coming in which my son will put a serious hurting on me.  Right now,
though, its' just a bunch of silly stuff all wrapped up in the imperative, "I tackle daddy."

"I be cold with you."

It's been funny for Erin to see that I'm not the only male who believes less clothes is better
than more clothes.  In fact, Erin has now realized that the desire to wear pretty much only
underwear is a universal male trait.  Dawson's favorite outfit is nothing but a diaper with
his next favorite outfit being a shirt and diaper.

So when I happen to be walking from the shower or from the bedroom to iron my pants and wearing
only underwear, Dawson immediately drops his drawers and strips off his shirt in order to join
the'a la mode' of the male househould. And since toddlers still bond with skin-to-skin contact,
Dawson runs up and asks me to hold him or he just grabs my bare legs.  Dawson also usually adds an
"I be cold with you, Daddy."  It's very humorous and incredibly predictable.  If Dawson ever
sees me without pants or without a shirt, he immediately removes the corresponding article of
clothing.  When he does this, Erin and I just laugh.

"Cold" is usually how Dawson describes his pants-less mode.  Most likely it's because whenever he
does strip off his pants, which is quite often, we tell him he'll get cold without his clothes.
Especially when Dawson and I are down in the cold basement jumping in the bed and Dawson strips
off his pants, I ask a bewildered, "why do you want to be cold."  I guess Dawson is numb to the cold
or just figures that no matter his body temperature, the male bonding that occurs while
jumping on the bed needs to be done sans-pants.

I'm not sure whether he'll ever grow into the civilized notion that pants are not a bad thing.

Exerting his independence

Ever since he's been born, though we're not exactly sure of the reason, our nickname for
Dawson has been "bugga."  Maybe it was the bug-like quality of his bulging newborn eyes.
Whatever the reason, "bugga bugga" has stuck.

The other day however, when refering him by the regular nickname, he obstinately replied with
a "I am not bugga.  I am Dawson."

And there it is, a new level of self-assertion.  "I am not who you say I am, I am my own person."


Our little boy is growing up into a man.

First Answered Prayer

A couple of weeks ago, my dad had a serious mishap; his back went out in excrutiating style, sending
him to the hospital for several days.  I was a bit worried for awhile, but thought it would
be a good chance to start teaching Dawson about prayer.  So during our nightly prayer, I asked
Dawson to pray for my dady.

"God help Papa.  Papa is sick."

It was the first time Dawson has directly asked something of his Heavenly Father.  A couple
days later, my dad made an almost overnight recovery and was back at home and back to work.
When my dad called, Dawson yelled into the phone, "Papa is all better!"

So there it is, Dawson's first prayer request and first answered prayer.

October Videos and some memories

Finally, some more videos.



I usually can't catch most of the funny stuff on video and Dawson typically throws a fit and stops doing whatever cute thing he was doing, when I do pull out the camera. So I wanted to at least write down some of the funny things he says on a regular basis as he's trying to master the English language.

- We have an alphabet book with Grover twisting his body into each letter. It's a book that I read as a kid, too. When we get to the "H", Dawson puts one hand and one leg down and attempts to stick the other limbs straight up into the air, just like Grover. It's quite funny.

- He loves saying "Oooozzzzy mud" when we're reading "Going on a Bear Hunt."

- He throws temperamental fits when he wants the other parent to do whatever the first one is attempting. Even something simple like giving him his milk. If' dad is doing it, but he wants mom to do it, its "Mommy wants to do it." He's been saying "____ wants to do it" instead of "I want _____ to do it" for quite awhile now. It's usually quite, though not always.

- When he does something for which he thinks we should thank him but for which we failed to do so, he announces, "I yelcome."

- When he wants us to cuddle with him on the couch, it's "I cuddle for you."

- When he needs some fresh air, its "I pay back yard."

- When he wants us to chase him, "I get you."

- When he wants to wrestle, "I jump on daddy!"

- When giving a thoughtful or playful response, "aahhhh.... NO / aahhh... YES."

- When finishing the ABC song, "Next time won't you sing with Dawson (or Elmo).

It's Beginning to Sound a lot Like Christmas

This year at Christmas, Dawson will be almost three years old. The last two years, he really has not known what was happening. Because he will understand more of what is going on this year, I've been making an effort to get him prepared. :)

We've been watching Rudolph, Frosty the Snowman, and I'm hoping I will find Charlie Brown's Christmas and the animated version of The Grinch that Stole Christmas. (Somehow, those got lost in the last year. Although, they might be packed with the Christmas decorations...) Each time he watches the movies, he remembers more and more. He is walking around the house singing the songs and requesting them at bed time.

My next plan of attack is to get out the Christmas books. There are several that teach the true meaning of Christmas as well as several that are just fun.

I can't wait to take him to see Santa, but I'm really looking forward to getting some kind of nativity scene with which he can play and interact.

It's beginning to sound a lot like Christmas!

Dawson-isms

Dawson talks more and more every day. His vocabulary is expanding at an amazing rate and it is so interesting and fun to hear what comes out of his mouth... most of the time. :)

When something is not happening the way he thinks it should he says:

"Needs batteries."

"Oh, no it's scratched!" (because that is what happens when DVDs aren't working.)

"It's not working!"

If he wants you to come and snuggle with him he says:

"I cuddle for you!"

When he is really proud of something he says:

"I DID IT!"

If he wants you to see what he is doing:

"Watch, Mommy!"

When he wants me to do something:

"Mommy's wanna do it."

If he is thirsty while he is eating, he coughs and says:

"Need a drink."

When he is frustrated, usually we hear:

"Oh crap!" but we are trying to replace it with, "Oh man!"

Sometimes when something makes him upset he says:

"That's just great!"

So, we are pretty sure that he is mimicking some of his mommy and daddy's words and appropriately using them. :) Mommy and Daddy are glad that we don't use (much) profanity...