Big Guy

Jack is going to be 2 on Sunday. TWO! It doesn't seem even possible that my sweet baby boy is going to be two entire years old, and yet here we are. Presents have been ordered. Cupcakes are being contemplated. (I'm thinking Funfetti.) And plans are being made. We're not doing a big party because we just don't know enough people around here to call it a party. My parents are coming in town and we're going to go somewhere fun (Maybe Tinytown?) and let him play and run and eat cupcakes and open presents. I'm bringing (more) cupcakes to Parents' Day Out the next day so he gets to celebrate with his friends there as well. Two days of birthday fun! I bought a Birthday Boy shirt a few months ago and it's hanging in his closet, raring to go. We're all ready.

Except I'm kind of not.

Two years is no longer a baby. Granted, one year old isn't technically a baby either, but I figured I could fake it one more year. He was still wobbly on his feet and so squishy with his baby fat. He was still my sweet little baby, gosh darnit. But I can't really say that anymore. He's my sweet little BOY now. And he's great. Don't get me wrong. He is so much fun. He yells and talks and laughs and claps and marches and kicks and spins in circles. And he always wants me to do it with him. We draw with chalk and stack blocks and play choo choo trains and blow bubbles. He likes to sing songs and play with stickers and tear apart play doh. I don't see how it's possible for him to get more fun or cute or likable.

But, oh, my heart aches when I think of what a little baby he used to be. How time has gone by so very quickly. I can't hold him anymore. He doesn't need me to hold a bottle or give him a paci or hand him a toy or carry him around. He can do that all on his own, thank you very much. He has no time for cuddles when there is so! much! to! do! And I love that he's so big and strong and excited. I'm so thrilled to see him discover the world. But can't we wait on that a little bit longer?

We can't wait. I know. He's a big boy NOW. He's growing up NOW. Right before my eyes. And it's been such a privilege, such an honor to get to know this boy. I can't wait to see the man he grows up to be.



The shirt doesn't lie. He's a big guy.

Books!

My goal is to read 52 books this year. So far I've read 15, which hardly seems fair since over half of those are Charlaine Harris books. But Sookie counts, man. Sookie counts.

In fact, I didn't read a book that wasn't about vampires or parenting until last week.

There's not much to say about all of the vampire books, is there? You either like them or you don't. I happen to like them. Well, most of them. Some of them aren't so great, especially Dead and Gone which was simply atrocious. But I'm committed to the Sook and I'll read the next few and hope they keep getting better.

Same thing with the Blue Bloods series. I will keep reading them until they get so bad I can't stand them anymore. This last one was wildly uneven, but it was a million times better than the one BEFORE that, which I suspect was actually written by a robot.

I've read two (non-vampire) YA books so far. Al Capone Does My Shirts and Speak. Spoiler for the Book Club - I really liked Al Capone. Really cute and really fun to read. I just finished Speak today and I'm still processing it. It was fine but I'm not sure I liked it. At least, not yet. I still need to think about it.

The three parentings books I've read are The Happiest Toddler on the Block, Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood, and Easy to Love, Difficult to Discipline. I'm not linking to those because they are boring and I doubt you will care. I really didn't like The Happiest Toddler on the Block, but the other two were pretty great. They both had overlapping ideas that I think will serve me well as I bumble my way through parenting an almost 2 year old.

The main reason I wanted to post was to tell you about The Kite Runner. It was FANTASTIC. Far and away my favorite book I read this year. And definitely one of my favorite books ever. We're talking top 5 favorite right here. While I was reading it, I wasn't sure if I liked it or not. The story is dark and it can be really difficult to read because it's so incredibly sad, but unlike other sad books (*cough* Little Bee *cough*), I didn't want to bleach my brain and forget all about it. I wanted to know more about Afganistan. I wanted to spend more times with the characters. I was heartbroken at some of the tragedy in the book and cried at least 3 times. The story has stuck with me and I keep going back to it. Hosseini's style is really simple and clean. He's not as much of a minimalist as say, Hemingway or McCarthy, but there's not a whole lot of flowery language here. It's straightforward and just plain GOOD. I bought it on a whim for one dollar at Half Price Books because we've had the movie in our Netflix Instant Queue for months now, just waiting to be watched. And it was BEYOND worth it. The best dollar I have spent in maybe ever. The fact that Hosseini can get a little white girl in Texas invested and empathic with a bunch of male Afghani Muslims is a testament to his writing abilities. I cannot recommend this book enough.

I've got a few books lined up that should last me through the end of March. I'm always open for suggestions. What are y'all reading?