Monday, February 27, 2012

Flying again


 And he's up! Orion leaped up onto his feet within days of learning how to crawl. He pulls himself up onto everything; the dishwasher, couch, chairs, buckets, boxes, toys, etc.. He is on the fast track to walking. He has a ways to go with his balance and falling skills, but none the less, he is standing and moving about on his feet. Orion is into everything. He is very mobile and crawls anywhere in the house he wants to go and then gets into cupboards, or pulls himself up so he can reach things that are over his head. He is very active and is always on the move. Apollo was crawling at this age too, but he was doing the army belly crawl, and did not get up onto his knees until about 8 months.
  Orion has the most adorable baby crawl that I have seen. It is almost mechanical in nature. He spreads his hands open wide, with his palms flat, and lifts his arms very deliberately one by one as he crawls and then slaps them on the floor. I love hearing the slap of his little hands hitting the floors as he crawls about. It is the one thing I will really miss once he starts walking.
  Orion has also mastered his walker and can nearly sprint across the room when his in it. He loves the mobility that it offers  him and he follows everyone around the house... well mostly just his mom.
  All baby boys at this age are "momma's boys", how could they not be, but Orion is tenfold what Apollo ever was. Apollo was almost as happy with his dad holding him as he was when his mom held him, but Orion can hardly stand to be away from his mom.  He becomes very upset if you are holding him and he can see his mom. He will instantly go into the desperate "I need my mom" cry when she enters the room and will start arching his back and pushing off of you in an attempt to escape his captor and try to reach his mom. I swear this kid has been saying "momma" since he was 3 1/2 months old. I have to say that against all odds,  I can often over come this unjust behavior, if I take Orion into a different room, place him on his favorite position on my lap and start bouncing him on my knee, while singing softly or humming. His body will eventually relax, and sleep will finally take him. My reward as second favorite parent, is being able to hold this little sleeping angel in my arms; few moments are more precious than this. And in an instant, Orion won't be an infant anymore and I will miss these moments greatly. It seems like just yesterday that Apollo was this little and I could hold him in my arms and watch him sleep.
                                    ~~~~~~
  Spring time is erupting all over the area here. It comes early in this part of the country. What started as a dusting of yellow mustard blossoms in January, has erupted into a full on display of deep yellow rows contrasted by the brown, twisted rows of  grape vines. White calla lilies are blooming everywhere along with daffodils and orange button daisies. There are trees covered in yellow feathery flowers, and magnolia trees packed with pastel pink flowers the size of saucers. The crabapple, plum, and cherry trees are covered in blossoms and the air is filled with their heady perfume.
 I admit that I have been a little stressed out lately and had failed to see this colorful display all around me. It took a warm day and a drive to a job site with the windows down, and a gust of cherry blossom filled air. Mother nature slapped me upside the head and in an instant I realized that I had been missing one of my favorite times of the year. In hindsight, I had been seeing the flowers, but it just wasn't registering; yea, I would say I have a lot on my mind.
  Apollo enjoys the spring as well and loves the increased bee activity on the rosemary blossoms in the front yard. He likes to 'pet' the bees right between their wings. We have warned him that he will get stung one of these days if he keeps it up. His little heart will be broken that one of his "little guys" turned on him, yet his stubbornness and defiant nature, both of which he inherited from his mom, by the way (just kidding Mel), over rule the 'better judgment' part of his brain every time.
  Apollo has a keen sense of sarcasm, and enjoys using it as often as he can. "Zip it dada! I was talking to momma!", "What did you say to my face?" (Thanks Alex), "I will come over there!",  "If you keep making me mad, I am going to say really bad potty words!"...These are my favorite Apollo phrases right now. I love that in casual conversation, if he asks you a question, and you do not respond in a timely manner, he will mutter, "Not talking?" in a very condescending voice.
 I know this stuff grates on Melanie but I am very much enjoying every minute of this. It is very endearing to me.
  As Apollo nears his 4th birthday, I feel that the age of the tyrannical 3's, is starting to wind down. Melanie will probably disagree with this statement as I am sure she still believes he is a tyrant, but I must say that I have seen a change, albeit a small one. He is more articulate in his conversations. He has started to find the use of manners, and using the words 'please' and 'thank you' have their benefits. Our conversations have become more meaningful, and thought provoking. I must say that I am often astounded by the insight a three-year-old can have.
  This past week, I was watching a video on my computer while waiting for Apollo to come to bed. I was watching an extreme proximity flying video. If you have not seen one of these, basically it is people wearing a winged flight suit that jump off of cliffs and glide down through valleys and crevasses, and over the tops of the trees.
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Need4Speed: Insight from Phoenix Fly on Vimeo.

 When Apollo entered the room, he immediately said, "Dada, that is where me and you were flying! Is that you in the movie? Do you remember last day (last time) when we went flying there?" Apollo has had dreams about us flying together. I even blogged about it a few months ago. I have never done this, but being a skydiver, I am fascinated with this sport. What struck me about Apollo's comments and questions, is that his dreams must have looked very similar to this. That he believes I was really part of his dreams and that I experienced them in the same way he did. We watched a couple of videos together and the whole time he wanted to know which 'guy' was dada, which one was momma, and which one was him.
  With a few yawns and heavy eyelids, Apollo closed his eyes; "Dada, I want to go flying with you again tomorrow." And fell fast asleep.

1 comment:

  1. Love ur blogs brother. Love reading about my nephews. Just remember those cute babies will be talking back in about 10+ yrs like ur big boys. Haha oh wait. They are good boys. Guess I'm talking about my own teenager. Haha

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