Hello And Happy Saturday!
Tomorrow my son will turn 2 1/2 years old. I know that time flies but I really see how fast it all goes when I look at him. What does it mean to have a 2 1/2 years old? For me these days it means, sleeping late and cooking more. [He actually sleeps from 8 pm -10.30 am most of the days!] Cooking freshly, many veggies and bananas and smoothies for breakfast. It means listening to Nick Drake’s album Pink Moon full blast and dancing to it in the kitchen. It means painting in bright colors and playing with Play Doh. It means endless adventures at daytime (and nighttime) walking through my hometown, spending hours at the playground or in the park building dams and flooding everything. We are taking our time with whatever we are doing because we are fortunate and able to do so. We travel the world and discover new things together as a family.
These days we have been mostly outside because the weather was great. Feeding the ducks in the park or hugging trees in the woods while smelling this nice spring air is great. Some plants in the park are unkempt and luscious in a way so you feel that this is what nature does and not what man creates. We walked barefoot and liked the feeling of dirt and grass under our feet – especially after the rain. We walk hand in hand like these string of paper dolls. Sometimes I need to pace my steps to my son’s tiny breathe but I do feel like walking or floating on a cloud with him sometimes. Every time we pass an open sidewalk gate he smiles, opens it and walks in – with this little evil grin and quick laugh. The sun shone warm and we kept on walking. Spring is in the air. When we finally arrived at the park we saw a man feeding pigeons and squirrels. The man asked my son if he wants to feed the animals. He talks to him like a man. My son all proud grins and takes the bread to feed them. I love him so much at this exact moment. Afterwards my son says he likes the tiny pigeon the most because it is slower than the others. My heart melts.
We climb on trees, go on the slides, play in the sand and constantly name things, colors, numbers and letters. What time is it? It does not matter. We play. We are here. Now. After some time I grab my book to read a bit.
My husband plays with him. Then they both disappear and I look for them. I climb up a ladder of a tree house at the playground and find him there – hiding, a stick in his hand. His gentle little hands hold the stick firmly while he points at things. He swings this stick and tells me, “Magic, Abracadabra!” My little Joel. I love that you believe in magic because I do too. I love how you do things sometimes and that you don’t give a damn who sees you doing it. You are in your little world – discovering and exploring. The best about all this is that I know you are a very strong person. Physically and mentally and I know you are strong enough to build anything you every dream of and wise and smart enough to come up with a plan to get it all done. I love that you plan things and are the most stubborn person at the same time. But you are usually going through with your plans. You are a mesmerizing spirit with a tenderness and sweetness that runs so so deep. A perfect mix of both – your Mom and Dad.
My love, we have to go home, the sun is getting low in this beautiful sky and we have to say goodbye to the playground and the toys in the sand sandbox. We will be back tomorrow. I promise.
Here are a few things about Joel
Don’t ever leave any important keys lying around. He will take them, play with them for the longest time and then hide them so you never see them again.
Lately he is throwing some tantrums about the most ridiculous things.
He started speaking in full sentences now, stringing new words together every single day. For my son the letter “L” did not exist for the longest time. Now he finally starts saying it. His name was Joei [So this is why he is Joey] and he “Uffs” you.
If you ever ask him how old he is he says “two” but hold up five fingers.
Joel Loves
Riding and playing in the car
His mom and dad, Oma and Opa
Eating daisies
Discovering new insects
Eating Parsley
Bananas
Playmobil
His best friend Julius
Balloons/Ball playing/Bobby car, anything outdoors
Indoor playground
his iPad (Peppa Pig, Löwenzahn, Sendung mit der Maus, all Tiny Hands Apps!)
Baths
Pasta
Anything chocolate
Books and Bedtime Stories
Joel Hates
Dinosaur hand-puppets
Electric hair-cutters
Taking a shower (hates water coming from above)
Saying “Yes” when he means “No”
Going to bed [Initially really bad, but once he is upstairs, smooth sailing thankfully]
Leaving the Indoor Playgroud! HOLY SHIT! [Taking him out of this place is a NIGHTMARE!]
When Daddy counts down 1-2-3 as an ultimatum
People with bad/negative energy (he feels it – I love it!)
What I love about my son
The way his breath and hair smells
The way he talks and hugs and kisses me
Actually: Every single thing.
