Let Me Introduce You

This morning my mom came inside our house to pick up Charlie for a trip to a local farm so Harry and I could complete some work on the house uninterrupted.  When she arrived Harry was in the garage getting Charlie’s car seat.  Upon his return, Charlie promptly said to my mom, “This is my friend Harry!”

Charlie is certainly at one of the most darling stages of life.  His enthusiasm for life is so contagious that one almost can’t help but think seeing real trains driving down the tracks is the coolest thing since sliced bread (…or iPods?!).  He’ll say things like, “Hummus!  Yummy, hummus!”  after I tell him I going to make it for lunch.  And he almost always says thank you.  It’s so endearing.  He’s also started to greet strangers while we’re out walking or running errands.  He will happily tell them about his plans for the day, forcing the person to nod and comment generically enough to please Charlie, since often they have no idea what he’s talking about.  Current favorite activities include being silly with just about anything, setting up train tracks and making the trains crash, playing with playdoh, and going to the playground.  Charlie has also begun to play really well with other children, not just side-by-side.

We had two moments this week that melted my heart.  The first was a playdate with a boy his age who has some similar personality traits, language skills and play abilities.  They had multiple conversations about the “choo-choo tracks” and played with them side by side.  They also made each other laugh.  It was such a delight to watch them engage with each other and enjoy it. Our second outing was a walk to the neighborhood coffeeshop with a slightly older girl (six months wiser, I believe) from the neighborhood, whom Charlie adores.  I don’t know if it’s too early to call it a crush, but she’s definitely the first girl that I think he’d do just about anything for.  They made snow angels together a week or two prior and held hands while doing so.  Also, Charlie held her hand walking up the sledding hill, “because Zoe tripped so I helped her.”   At the coffee shop, after perusing the pastries and each choosing wisely, they held hands again.  They also sat at their own table and talked about the obvious over a raspberry scone and chocolate crossaint while their moms talked about home births, raising sensitive kids and vaccinations.  Then they went to a rock pile and threw rocks for at least a half an hour.  It was mama heaven…lovely weather, good conversation, coffee, treats and happy kids.

All of these lovely moments couldn’t come at a better time.  They are frequent glimmers of beauty during an emotionally gut-wrenching season.  We are facing another round of intense decisions and potentially another move.  And, of course, we’re having a baby in April!  I think we’re going to be kept on our toes for the next few months…