Wade is a toddler now, and he has my eyes (and the Fussy aspiration)!
Kai: Happy birthday, little Dub!
Melisa: Dub? As in “double u”?
Kai: Yeah, it’s what I’ve been calling him – you know, as a nickname. Since I never really had one.
Melisa: *considers it* I like it.
I lift Dub in the air and swing him around.
Kai: You do too, don’t you, Dub?
Wade: *giggles*
Melisa: If you get him too excited, he won’t sleep. It’s way past his bedtime.
I hadn’t considered that, so I stop.
Kai: You heard, mommy. It’s time for bed now. Are you ready?
I carry Dub to the stairs.
Dub looks hesitant when I change him into his pajamas and put him to bed. The only cure for that is a bedtime story, so I choose a book from his shelf.
Kai: *sitting on the bed* This looks like a good one. How do you feel about dinosaurs?
I know he has no idea what a dinosaur is, but this book looks like an excellent way to introduce him to them. So I read until his little eyes begin to close. Then I sit for a while because I’m reluctant to leave him in this big room alone. I hope he won’t wake up in the middle of the night afraid.
There is just one thing I can think of to take my mind off of Dub being afraid in the night, and that’s some alone time with my wife. I’m exhausted, but I can always find some energy for woohoo.
Kai: How about we bring in the New Year right?
She smiles, knowing exactly what I mean. I guess she misses us being intimate as much as I do.
I know we talked about having more children. I’m not sure when it’s the right time to try again, but we both agree not to use protection as we crawl into bed.
After a bit of passion under the covers, we fall asleep immediately.
Dub wakes up sometime in the middle of the night. Unfortunately, our little alarm clock is not quite ready to retire from his early morning job of waking us up.
He bursts into tears right by the bed. I jump up quickly, hoping to avoid him waking Me-Me.
Kai: What’s wrong, Dub? Are you scared?
I can hear his little tummy growling once he quiets down.
Kai: You’re hungry? Let’s see what we can do about that.
I carry him down the stairs and place him in his high chair.
Since I’m up, I might as well eat breakfast too.
Kai: So, you’re up early. What time do you have to be at work today?
Wade: *toddler gibberish*
I know he doesn’t understand me, and I have no idea what he’s saying, but I play along.
Kai: Is that right? And what is it that you do again?
Wade: *more babble*
Kai: You run a construction company? Maybe you can help me keep this house in tip-top shape.
I always have to pee first thing in the morning, so I figure Dub does too, so I take him back upstairs and stand him in front of the potty.
Kai: Can you sit down for me?
Dub stands there looking at the potty, not sure what to do. So I demonstrate as best as I can. Eventually, he sits down. Then, after quite a bit of time, he pees and poops in it.
I think I’m more excited about his accomplishment than he is. Me-Me walks in just as Dub is finishing up.
Kai: Tell mama what you did, big guy! Tell her you peed and pooped in the potty.
Of course, he can’t say it with words, but the excitement on his face says it all.
Melisa: That’s a good job, Dubby!
I have a few things that I’d like to do this morning, so I leave Me-Me with the task of getting Dub dressed for the day.
(Generation 3 Chapter Summaries)
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