J.Atlas continues to be pretty awesome. He’s mostly sleeping through the night now (two thumbs up!), is able to manage a fork for the most part, and seems to enjoy just about everything.
This summer is infinitely easier than last and I would venture to say that the later half of the summer was easier than the first. I’m defining ease mostly by his ability to sleep and the amount of parental intervention required on a moment-to-moment basis. I mostly expect the difficulty levels to increase as he develops a greater ability to voice his preferences.
We were able to get some real vacation time in this summer. We went to a snazzy family resort called the Tyler Place in Vermont, hit up Cape Cod for a week, and have been pretty aggressively using our weekends for local beach visits, bicycle rides, and adventures like the aquarium.
J.Atlas can confidently say three words: “Hat”, “Mama”, and “Dada.” Though in the case of Dada, I’m still curious if he’s referring to me, the avante-garde art movement of the 1920’s, or something else entirely because he uses the word indiscriminately when pointing at any number of random things.
Being a Dad is different than I had expected. It’s a very busy time. Though in a way, I suppose I revel in being forced to be more productive. You know that good feeling you have after you get a lot done? It’s kinda like that all the time with an extra bonus of being surrounded by a tiny person that loves/is loved unconditionally – it’s pretty spectacular. Sure, I wish I had more time to practice guitar, exercise, and be crafty. And right after he goes to bed there’s a big sigh of relief in knowing that you finally have some time to breathe. But it’s unquestionably worth it for the fun of exploring the world through a tiny person’s eyes.
Did you love Tyler place? It’s on my list of vacation ideas. I’m hoping to get up in the next year or two.
Toddlers are so adorable and lovely when they aren’t busy screaming and throwing stuff at you.
Mikal – the Tyler Place is GREAT. I went there as a camper growing up and was so excited to go back now that we have our own little one! Unfortunately, we discovered that Johnny was a little bit young and really not ready for the way the resort is designed. Although he had a very nice, willing “parent’s helper”, he just wasn’t ready to leave mom & dad yet and so that sort of put a damper on us participating fully in the events they had to offer for adults. That being said, we still had a good week – Mike got to try a lot of new things and it was fun for me to be back again. We would definitely like to return at some point, but we might wait a few years before trying again. Enjoy it if you go, and feel free to ask questions if you want!
That’s so cool that you went there as a kid! My kids are 6 and 2. I think I’d like to wait till the 2 year old is 4, and hopefully no longer napping. Both kids will happily go to camp, we won’t have to fuss and figure out how to deal with naps and fun for all! We all love Vermont and the outdoors and it just seems like it will be so much fun to try it out in a couple of years.