Danyo learned to ride his bike without training wheels last week. Last year he was able to ride it, sort of going down a slight incline, on grass. But real riding it and starting off on his own didn't hit until last week. I had been going out onto our block with him and helping him go up and down the sidewalk. My running after his tiny little bike, 7 months pregnant, was not pretty---or easy. I had finally decided I wasn't the best candidate for the job anymore and he just went outside and took off by himself. I can't get enough of watching him, he's so little! The day he went outside and took off was Sunday and he had on a sweater vest and a tie. It was ridiculous how cute it was.
Yesterday was one of the first really nice days since he learned to ride, so I told him he could ride his bike home from preschool. It's about 3 blocks away. I had every intention of walking alongside him or following from a slight distance. But the 3 hours between when I made the promise and the reality of it happening occured, I had a reality check. I saw him barrelling down the sidewalk, flying past stop signs into the street, right into the line of oncoming traffic. And me, half a block back, lying on the sidewalk, seized up in pain from a leg cramp. Or butt cramp, if I'm being totally honest. My little 4 year old would die in the streets alone, with me 80 yards away, because I don't have enough potassium in my diet.So, J walked home with him riding his bike.
This is a nice story and all, but not even the point. J tells me last night as he's running alongside Little Buddy, comforting him when he nails the asphalt with his face, encouraging him and telling him what a great bike rider he is the whole way---Danyo is spending the time telling J how awesome I am and how much more he likes me than J.
This is very funny to us. Jay does about 80% of the care giving these days. He's so much more patient and fun than I am. He roasts hotdogs for dinner for them, takes them on bike rides, shows them hilarious youtube videos, watches Avee's "shows" that could cause brain atrophy if exposure is prolonged, listen to and answer Bo's endless questions about things like, "Which was the worst recession in history" and "Do you know Jimmy Carter's middle name?" and "which is faster, a ______ or a ________". I tell him to shove off, I don't care. But J indulges. He makes them dinner 95% of the time, he taught them how to do more chores than the average 8 and 6 year old do, and they love doing them, he reads to them all.the.time. He plays in their self-directed games of "doctor" where Avee always has some malingering issue that needs an ace bandage and Bo always diagnoses strange things like, "Diabetic seizure resulting in a fractured tibia"....
He is super dad. He really is. When Danyo climbs into our bed at 3 am and is all over me, I kick and shove him away and he comes back for more. J opens his arms and says, "come here Danyo, I'll snuggle you" and Danyo will harumph and suffer in silence at having no one to snuggle him. That he wants to snuggle.
When Danyo is whistling from the bathroom, his signal for me to come wipe him, J will kindly go do it so I don't have to be bothered. Danyo yells at him for coming when he was clearly whistling for me.
Sometimes people feel badly that their kid "loves" another parent more. For us, it's a competition to get the kid to like the other parent more, so we can do less. It doesn't really work out for J on this one though because I'm not here as much, but it does make life entertaining when J's chugging down the street alongside a four year old out of pure selflessness, hearing about how much more awesome I am.
Another terribly cute thing Danyo does that needs documenting, is saying the word, "benext". However he came to the conclusion that was a word, I'm not sure. But we love it. "You know, the park benext to my school?" I hope it lasts for a long time. He also tends to "babify" words. "I want some juicey" or "can I have chickie nuggies?" He doesn't baby talk when he says these words (I loathe baby talk), but he can and will babify most words. I love it when J imitates it. That's particularly funny.
Aw man, I had more to say. But probably if I keep writing I'll get a comment from my friend Amy about my posts being too long. Plus, it's time to take Danyo to school.
