Mr. Outdoors

July 23, 2006 / Sunday / 1:00 p.m.

We were at the mall yesterday where Theo enjoyed riding on an electric train with Mommy D. This morning after church we also spent about an hour in the park where he climbed small hills and ran on the grass. Theo loves the outdoors, and now it is he who would often say "Goo, goo", his shortened version of "Let's go". That's what we say to him just before leaving the house.

Theo has also started using a few words, and one word that he often says is "No" because that's what we always tell him when he's trying to test his limits. He also babbles a lot even if we can't understand him. We're certain that he'll be a very talkative child when the right time comes.

Theo is asleep as I am writing this, recharging himself after a whole morning outside. When he wakes up, he'll probably roam around the house for an hour or watch a Mickey Mouse DVD before becoming bored and start saying "Goo, goo..." over and over.

That's our cue to put on our shoes and "goo" out. "No" is unacceptable.

Compromises

Mommy D went to the flea market today and purchased, among other things, slightly used shoes for Theo, who seems to like what he got although it will be a few years before he can use them.

July 16, 2006 / Sunday / 1:30 p.m.

We know that someday Theo will leave us to lead his own life and chart his own destiny. Recent indications, however, have shown that the process has already begun. Theo always wants to go out and stay out, despite the blistering heat and humid weather of summer.

There's a small park at the back of our house, and whenever he's bored at home, we always bring him there. He would pick up twigs and stones and dip his finger into puddles of leftover rain, much to his mother's chagrin because the water is usually dirty. But the world is opening up to him and his curiosity is insatiable. Every sound, every sight, every smell open new vistas for him, and like a sponge, he absorbs, or at least, tries to absorb everything.

Recently, he has become very fond of our neighbor's cat. When he's out, he would always head towards our neighbor's house where the cat is often lazing around and licking his fur on the porch. Theo can't get closer, however, because there's a fence surrounding the porch. Once in a while, though, the cat would venture out and Theo would have the chance to get closer and touch him daintily with his finger. Like most felines, this cat would just ignore him and walk away. Theo would try to follow him until the cat jumps over the fence. And he would just stand there and say “Me...me...”, short for “Meow...meow”.

Theo had a slight fever again last night. The thermometer registered 38 deg C maximum before subsiding back to normal this morning. The problem when Theo is not feeling well is that he would often be crying and would not like to eat. It's really difficult for us, esp. for me, when he's in a foul mood because there is really no way of deciphering what he wants or needs. He would just cry his heart out, and when Mommy D is not at home, I would certainly be in the pits. It takes a whole lot of patience to handle him when he's having a tantrum. Thankfully, his tantrums don't last very long.

They say that life is all about compromises. You can't have your cake and eat it too. Theo is such an adorable toddler (like all toddlers out there). He can be very cute and very loving when he wants to. But it all comes with a price, esp. in Japan where we don't have relatives nearby who can help in taking care of him, esp. now that he has earned a Ph.D. in “Running Around.” But that's life's inevitable cycle. Someday, he'll be out of our house and have his own kid...who, by the age of 2, would probably have a Ph.D. in Tantrums.


Theo is savoring his biscuit.

Mickey Mice

Sapporo / July 4, 2006 / Tuesday / 5:3O p.m.

Theo is at home in Tsukuba as I am writing this blog entry in Sapporo, the main city in the island prefecture of Hokkaido. Since Sunday, I brought our lab's Tunisian JICA trainees to this city for a visit to Hokkaido University as well as for some sightseeing. As I am writing this, they went with the Bosnian JICA trainees to some historical village somewhere in the countryside. I opted to stay in the hotel since I was not too interested in their destination. Besides, I am nursing a cough and a cold which I hope would disappear before the week's end. We will return to Tsukuba tomorrow.

In my last entry, I mentioned about Theo's slight fever. That fever actually became worse, reaching up to 40 degrees C on Sunday night before subsiding for a few hours, then climbing back again to 40 degrees C on Monday evening before completely disappearing by Tuesday morning. In other words, it had two phases with a brief respite in between.


Theo's fever was 39 deg C when this photo was taken.

These two phases happened without Theo taking any medicine because we went to the doctor only on Tuesday afternoon. It was amazing, however, how quickly he recovered from whatever microbe infected him. When the doctor met him, his temperature was already normal; nonetheless, he was prescribed medicines for cough and cold which were just starting to appear. It is the same cough and cold that have found their way to Mommy D and me.

It was probably inevitable. We always kiss and hug our little Theo, so whatever microbe he's harboring, it'll surely end up in our system. It's a price to pay for parenthood, and we're not complaining.

By this time, it seems that all of a sudden, Theo has grown up. He doesn't want to be carried for a long time anymore and prefers to run around. He is certainly exerting his independence; he wants to feed and undress himself and goes where he wants to go. We have to be careful, however, when he attempts to run because he will almost certainly fall after some time.

He absolutely loves music, particularly those with fast beats. He would bob his head up and down and sway his body to the beat. It seems that his brain is wired for music. When he was still in Mommy D's womb, we would often let him listen to classical music for hours on end. If this is the effect of that, we do not know.

He has also grown much fonder of Mickey Mouse. The night before I left for Sapporo, we watched a Mickey Mouse DVD together and it was quite unbelievable that his attention span lasted for almost an hour in front of the TV. Can 18-month-old toddlers have that long an attention span? Probably not. He just loves Mickey Mouse too much, that's why.


Mickey Mouse and his lookalike

Tsukuba / July 9, 2006 / Sunday / 1:30 p.m.

By Wednesday evening, I was back in Tsukuba, and by then, Theo was completely well. However, Mommy D and I were still nursing ourselves back to health after coping with cough, cold and lethargy. By weekend, we were all fine. The photo below was taken yesterday at one of the play areas at the mall where we took Theo.



Tomorrow will be Theo's first experience at a day care center; it will only be for one day. Mommy D's tasks list has gone overboard recently and she just needs a full day to catch her breath. We also see it as a chance for Theo to meet toddlers his age and to learn how to interact with his peers. In November, we hope to enroll him in the university's day care facility so that Mommy D can also work. We want to prepare him slowly for being away from his parents for longer periods of time.

The older Theo grows, the more adorable he becomes. He can kiss us longer and hug us harder when we ask him to. And you should see him when he prances and jokes around...