But even with his mellow attitude, during the trials of the last few months our little Duke knew something was awry. He had streaks of anger and started hitting out of frustration, which I think was him modeling Will’s behavior and his natural reaction to being part of a family that was currently in distress. But thankfully since things have slowed down in the last few weeks, Duke has returned to his normal old self.
Since Will has gone back to school, I have completely fallen in love with Duke all over again during the 9 hours a week that we get to spend together uninterrupted. This is really the first time I’d had Duke all to myself. The week Will started school the first time, I started being a nanny for a baby girl and while it was so fun to see Duke have a “best friend” come to play every day, I sure love just having him all to myself. When my mom calls to check in on everyone, she always asks, “What’s Duke doing that’s new?” to which I usually reply, “Um…I’m not really sure. He just keeps smiling, eating, and pooping his way through life.” This is such a true statement.
Here are some of the funny things Duke is currently doing.
- He really does still poop A LOT. Like at least three times a day. Since this is such a common occurrence, he has learned to announce his bowel movements by coming over to me and meekly saying, “pooooooof”.
- He is becoming very social and if we happen to be anywhere besides home, when we leave he always bids farewell with a wave and a “Bye! Thank you!”
- He goes to sleep around 7 and wakes up around 7. A few times a week he will wake up in the middle of the night and we just grab him some milk and lay down in bed next to him, where he quickly curls up like a stink bug (he still sleeps like this all the time) and burrows into our body and falls asleep instantly. It’s hardly an inconvenience and truth be told, I cherish these moments after I swear silently that I have to leave my warm bed momentarily.
- Will usually wakes up around 8, so Duke I get to have some alone-time most mornings. I have started recording Ace of Cakes on The Food Network and Duke loves watching it! If I say, “Duke, do you want to watch the cake show?” he gets a huge smile and runs over to the recliner where he sits on my lap under a blanket and we watch the show.
- He’s still a champ eater. He definitely has “hungry” days where he seems to eat his weight and other days where he just eats normal. Some of his favorite foods are blueberries (or “boo” as Duke says), cheese, black beans (he would eat a whole can if I let him, but this always makes for a horrible diaper the following day), pasta, and apples (he loves holding a whole apple, carrying it around, and munching on it).
- I was worried Duke would be our “leech” child, as he seemed to have a hard time separating from us if Will wasn’t around. But he has done wonderful in nursery without Will there! As long as he doesn’t see us leave, he’s golden.
- If there is music on, Duke is always dancing. His most famous dance move is where he tries to jump, but he can’t make it off the ground. It’s down-right hilarious.
- He (IMO) looks exactly like Cort, just with my hair. His facial shape and eyes and smile are identical to Cort’s. And I think Will is looking more like me every day.
- Duke has made a new friend here- Liam. Liam is just 4 days older than Duke and when I tell Duke that we are going to Liam’s house to play, he smiles and runs to get his shoes. Liam’s mommy, Alia, has been a wonderful asset and confidant in the last month. So thankful we were connected by my neighbor, Ellen.
- He’s a pro at being in pictures. We get out anything that even remotely resembles a camera and he instantly says, “cheeeeeeze cheeeeeeze”.
- He pretends to go potty all the time. He frequently stands at the toilet and tries to take off his diaper. The top of the toilet bowl hits him at about his belly button. If only he could really pee when he was on the toilet…
- He loves saying prayers. And he prays every night after Will prays. We do the whole everyone-wants-to-say-a-prayer-so-everyone-gets-to-pray thing.
- When he’s hungry, he climbs into his high chair. His way of saying, “Hey, I’m hungry, so I made myself ready for you to give me food.”
- When we’re in the car and I park, is always says, “Oh Gaaaaayyyyy!” (aka OK!)
- He still has a lot of chub, which I love. Or, a lot of chub in comparison to Will. He has a healthy fat roll behind his knees and I have to shimmy on all of his pants over his saddlebags. And his size 7 chubby feet are equally adorable.
- He loves reading stories and whenever he finds a book, he runs over smiling to sit on your lap to have you read it. He especially loves the David books.
Duke really is a treasure. That kid turns heads daily with his stunning good looks and his charm is down-right over the top. We’re so lucky to have him.
He has been such a calming influence for me these last few months (even though he has definitely had some pretty awful days as well). I still call him “baby”, even though he’s really not a baby at all, but referring to him as a baby makes me feel like maybe he’ll stay small and innocent forever.
It’s worth a shot, right?
2 comments:
I think Duke and Holden would get along great. As long as there's food and books and music to dance to, we're happy. If we're ever in DC or you're ever in Hawaii we'll have to schedule a play date.
miss that little cherub so much! Glad to here things are mellowing out in DC!
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