Big Trouble

On Friday night when I was going out to hang out with Valerie for a long overdue hang-out-and-chat, my car wouldn't start. I knew it was coming so it didn't surprise me, but considering all the things that have broken around here (air conditioner just 5 days prior) or that have needed to be paid off or bought, needless to say it's an annoyance. So I took Shannon's truck to meet Valerie (with stern directions and a concerned look on his face as he sent me off), and the next morning he was out there buying a new battery for my car and installing it. Luckily it happened at home and I wasn't stuck on the Tollway or 635 or anything like that. And luckily it was something Shannon could fix (although... I'm starting to wonder if there's anything Shannon can't fix).


On Sunday we made a quick trip over to my parent's house to see my brother, who was in town briefly on his way from San Marcos back to Tennessee. Adam enjoyed socializing with Chris and liked to play telephone with him. On the way back home Shannon stopped at Home Depot and ran in quickly while Adam and I hung out in the car. We played ball and goofed off, and I took some pictures... and when Adam is in the mood, he can really turn on the charm and give me a photo shoot.

Yesterday Adam slept on the big boy cot at daycare. I am amazed that he can do that already. He's drooling like crazy and running a low grade fever off and on... last night he just wasn't himself. So maybe... just maybe... by his 16 month "birthday" maybe he'll acquire tooth number 3. I don't have my hopes up too high though - he always tricks me.

I can proudly say that I've overcome the fear when he picks up a grape on the floor and sticks it in his mouth (after 7 months of seeing it you kinda get there). My heart doesn't skip a beat when he falls flat on his face when he's running through the house (he usually pops up laughing anyway) or when he crawls on top of the coffee table (this kid is athletic with an incredible sense of balance). I can say that usually I laugh at his tantrums, which are the slow-motion-melt-to-the-floor-head-first kind. If I'm not laughing, I just step over him and keep going. No problem.

But this new face is a killer. This "I-didn't-mean-to-get-in-trouble-and-I'm-sorry" face twists at my heart and can make me succumb to his every whim. I was cooking dinner last night and he had pulled out a large empty drawer in the kitchen and was standing in it. I turned around, and without raising my voice or being stern, I just said (probably incredulously), "Adam, what are you doing??" He put his head down, stuck his lower lip out slightly, raised his eyebrows and looked up and to the side, and my heart broke. So I picked him up and gave him a hug. That face is a heart-breaker. Wish me luck.

Sometimes Adam gets his "hugs" and "kisses" mixed up. Usually he has them down... but sometimes if I ask for a hug he puckers his lips together. (He doesn't really give me a kiss, but at least he paused his playing long enough to pucker at me from across the room). Then I melt. I'm smitten, he knows it, and I'm in big trouble.

Two years ago today I found out I was pregnant with Adam ... and now he can do all of these things. Last night, like I do every night, I picked him up and stood by Shannon and told him, "Give Daddy a hug and kiss night night." He said, no joke: "Night, night, Daddy," before giving him a hug. Now he's a little person. A great little person. It's just going way too fast.