Oh How the Mighty Have Fallen...

Apparently Super Dad has met his match recently, and he goes by the name of Harrison.

Kim's now on her second long trip in as many weeks. It's been quite a while since she's been on an extended junket, any solo travel at all really, so there are a few different, yet ultimately compounding variables at work.

Let's start with the Winter Holiday. Every year, the week around Christmas & New Year's Day means time off for our illustrious daycare provider Menike (apparently Americanized to the phonetic equivalent of "Monica," but I digress), which as last year, means Kim also gets to take the week off to spend with young Harrison. This year was no different in the timing, however Harry's mental capacity/thirst/ability/cognizance/etc has expanded quite a bit since last December.

As such, to say that the bond that Kim & Harry furthered was amplified, would be very much of an understatement.

Add to all of this, the regimented schedule that they mutually fell into. Up first thing in the morning, a bowl of oatmeal for each of them on the couch while Tivo gently awakens the mind & senses with comforting re-runs of Sesame Street (more on this later).

Super Dad slumbers away until startling himself out of bed only to realize once again, that he's forgotten to set his own alarm. A quick shave, shower & dress (usually in that order), and downstairs for some quality assistance from #1 son to grind & brew a fresh pot o' Joe before heading out for the day.

Even after the winter break, and Harry's schedule subtly shifted back to school, it was still wake up & breakfast with Mommy, show Daddy where the coffee is, and amuse him by smelling the fresh grounds before pushing the button on the brewer, lead him out to the car and head off. A few hours later, there'd be Mommy & the bus to take him back home for a nice trip around the block in his new Radio Flyer, or stroll with Baby. Daddy'd be home soon to make dinner, hit the Play-Doh table (floor mats are SO last month!) splash in the tub, and read a few books before hitting the hay.

Throughout all of this, Harry's vocabulary has grown immensely. He makes every effort to repeat (surely with great clarity to him) the last word/phrase of every sentence you say -- to him or not -- and more so, his interpretive skills are incredible...

For example, one of his favorite activities at the Little Gym is putting the Balls away. He's very fond of running all over the room to gather as many as he can, on as many trips as it takes, to be the one to get the most balls in the bucket. Last week, as the bucket was headed back to the closet, I told him "go look behind the TV." Mind you, the TV is on a cart on the other side of the room (about 25 feet away), and the ball in question is the same color as the wall behind it, so at least as I see it, tough to make out. On a dime, he took off for the TV stand, went around back, and came running back with said ball (okay, so he did have it grasped in his teeth) for the slam dunk. All with the biggest grin ever.

So where am I going with this?

Kim's trips were much easier when I wasn't greeted at daycare with both hand in the air, palms upward, a look of not-so-happy surprise, and a definite "Wahs Mom-ma???"

Ditto for waking up in the morning, and pretty much the first 15 minutes of the day...

Which of course, then immediately changes to a sprint into the living room followed by (in rapid succession):

"U-nee...
"Unee...
"UHR-ee...
"UHR-neee...
"uhrne...
"uuuhrne...
"uhrne uhrne...
"UHRNEEEE...

"Harry, would you like to watch Sesame Street?"

"sezme? uhrne..."

"Say please"

"peas" with a very dimply grin...

"u-nee." with a very pleased look.

No time for a climb onto the couch like the present.

Ignorance is indeed bliss. Especially when it's Harry's ignorance, and my bliss that he hadn't realized really that Kim wasn't home. It was easy then. Tell him she's not home, but she'll be home tomorrow, Friday, whatever. Now that he comes running in to find her, it's a bit more trying.

Not to mention, I still don't think I'm making the oatmeal the right way...

OK so maybe she's allowed in my kitchen for some things.