Okay... So it's been a while since my last post of "...more reflections on Harry's first year to come."

The thing is, he seems to know that he's on to a new phase already, and has seriously upped his game. Just when I thought I really had things figured out and relatively stable, he's gone and changed all the rules.

You out there who have older kids I'm sure are thinking to yourselves "Ha ha... you think THIS is bad, just wait until [insert milestone here] happens. Then you're REALLY screwed!"

A few examples...

Kim is very happy to point out a few "new" things in Harry's world. Let's have a look at them and their consequences:

He can feed himself with a spoon...well, almost!
This one is certainly one of my early favorites. Especially the almost part. Harry's meals which were finally getting some semblance of regularity and decorum, now tend to be wrestling matches over who gets the spoon that almost always end with Bailey happily licking yogurt splatters off of the wall.
He doesn't get a bottle/formula anymore...Usually.
Another good one. Now that he's moved away from bottles, there are very few items that will immediately soothe him, and bring him back down from a highly elevated state of hysteria (more on the hysteria and related antics later)

He carries his own bag to school- his new backpack!
This one is actually kind of fun. Harry got a very nice monogrammed LL Bean backpack from Uncle Bryan & Aunt Anna recently, and he now carries his own lunch to school each morning. Score one for me... one less thing for me to carry.

His car seat can face forward- legally.
Facing forward is nice for him, as now he can actually see what's going on. Even more, if he doesn't like what's going on, it's much easier for him to try to kick your elbow... just in case you didn't hear him screaming. As well, many had complimented the vast assembly of mirrors we used to have going to be able to make eye contact with the little guy while en route. Now the only way to see him is to re-align the rear-view mirror down, but sufficient that you can't see anything else... like what's behind you. That, or simply turn around, in which case you can no longer see what's in front of you. Pick your poison.

He has a bike (that we steer).
Another one that's kind of fun. Interesting sidenotes here are that 1) his legs are still a bit too short to reach the pedals, so his feet tend to wander toward the turning front wheel... not so much fun when they get tangled, however Kim seems to have resolved that with his new shoes, and 2) as previously mentioned, he certainly has inherited the McDermott oversized melon, such that he's effectively skipped over the entire range of toddler-sized helmets and had to go with a youth size. This has got to be good for the testosterone-laced psyche though... skull & crossbone decals are much cooler than little yellow flowers.

He can climb out of the pool (and the tub, and his sand box.
Always good to begin the concept of cross-training early. As you may have imagined, the motor skills to climb out of the pool also come in handy for climbing out of the tub, up the stairs, and over just about anything put in his way to keep him fenced in.

So as you can see, while these are all good things, they all come at a price. Which brings us back to the hysterics discussion.

Harry also seems to have figured out how to throw a temper tantrum. I give the boy credit, he's certainly picked up on this skill very quickly and is able to put it to use very effectively. He's gotten good at making sure they come up out of nowhere, and has even mastered the "stop... drop... and roll around on the floor kicking and screaming" move that most kids can't pull off for another year. He's also mastered the variable rate... they can last anywhere from a few minutes, to several hours, depending mostly on who's turn it is to pick him up (only while standing... sit down with him and it's back to writhing and screaming) or how long it takes for him to figure out no one's paying attention.

Then there's the happy, giggly end of the spectrum. He may be able to scream louder and cry harder than ever, but he also laughs and plays like a pro. He's able to figure out when playtime is, what playtime is, and how much fun his whack-job parents really can be (okay, so Kim's MUCH sillier, goofier, and funnier with him than I will ever be, but who really would've guessed otherwise).

I think this is another one of those things that people think you have to savor. Reason being, that one day seemingly like clockwork, your kids will decide they hate you, and that your only purpose here on Earth is to make them completely miserable.

I think I can speak for both of us in saying that it's not really a goal of ours, but more of an assumption, that we don't plan on this becoming a problem. Naive? Some may say so, but I think it's more of a poorly established trend that can be avoided.

Looking back on the first year of Harry's World, I've re-read a lot of the articles and opinions that Kim has posted about trends in mothering. Now that we know a lot more parents and parents-to-be, I think we have a new perspective on how to be parents, and what that means. At the same time, I've been thinking about the fathering role, and really wonder how so many guys have screwed up so badly that it's almost an accepted concept that dads are irresponsible, out-of-touch, and generally aloof when it comes to their kids. Is it easier that way? I seriously can't imagine that it's more fun...

For example, last weekend I spent the greater part of the day at a surprise 40th birthday party for a good friend of mine at an Orioles game in Baltimore. This was one of, if not the, first extended amount of time that I had spent doing something recreationally away from Kim and Harry. I think the "lost" feeling I had for most of the day could easily be compared to what most Dad's feel when they are alone with their kids... and something tells me everyone could see it on my face. I found myself checking out other peoples' strollers, confirming diaper changing stations in the men's room, and constantly calling Kim to see if Harry had taken a nap yet and what he had for lunch.

So now we've begun Lap 2.

The large motor skills are really starting to take shape, and some finer ones are making themselves visible as well. The vocabulary seems to be building, just waiting for the muscles to figure it all out. I can't wait to hear what he has to say...

I can only hope that it's not something silly like "Daddy can I play baseball?"