I am the funniest person alive

Lucas has the most incredible amazing laugh in the whole world. Ever since he was a teeny tiny little guy, Abel has been able to get him laughing hysterically by giving him zerberts on his belly or armpit or knees or basically any body part. Lucas loves to laugh. He'll take any opportunity to laugh and once you get him laughing he loves to egg you on to do it again so he can laugh some more.

As for me? I don't need to *restort* to tickles, I can make Lucas laugh with a silly face, with a crazy look, or by doing silly things like putting bowls on my head and calling them hats. He loves my silliness and laughs so hard that I actually start to feel like I am a funny person. Which, just for the record, I am definitely not. I can't tell a joke. I am totally out of my element around Abel's family which is a funny, joking family. So I sure do feel like a million bucks when Lucas goes crazy laughing at me. For those precious few moments, I'm definitely the funniest person alive.

What's in a Name?

Dada was Lucas's first word. He seemed to use it indiscriminately at first and then started assigning it exclusively to Abel. I didn't mind. Especially because pretty much every morning Lucas yells out for Dada. For months and months this got Abel out of bed first and allowed me a few extra precious moments of sleep. (Unfortunately Abel finally figured out that he was ending up with morning duty every single morning and we hashed out a schedule.)

Lucas started saying Mama a few months ago and of course that melted my heart. Except that he seemed to be using Mama pretty indiscriminately, too. Oh well. I thought it was great that he referred to both of us as either Mama or Dada. It didn't matter to him. Triumph for equal and co-parenting, I thought! Good for us! No gender roles here! He views Mama and Dada as equal and interchangeable!

Except that I have now realized that Lucas uses Mama for anyone--my mom, his babysitter, random people in stores--when he is asking for something. I do believe that Mama means "hey you, I need/want/demand something and you can get it for me." He says it in a pleading, heart-breaking, begging way. Maaaamaaaaaa.

So what does that say about gender roles?

My child

Last night I was out at a meeting when Lucas went to bed so when I got home I made sure to go in to whisper good night. He was in a deep, deep sleep in child's pose, the yoga pose you go into to take a break or rest. He looked so incredibly peaceful I just wanted to crawl into the crib and go into child's pose myself!

A mama needs sleep

Damn that stupid 12 hour decongestant. I didn't get a wink of sleep last night. And now my head is a total fog. UGH!

Outside

I know one thing for sure: Lucas will never be diagnosed with Nature Deficit Disorder, the new diagnosis coined by author Richard Louv in his book Last Child in the Woods. Lucas loves to be outside. In fact, after Dada, Mama and wawa, outside was Lucas's first real word. Come to think of it, I need to begrudgingly admit that he started saying outside even before Mama. More days than not, Lucas says, no pleads, outside before he's even had any breakfast.

He's not deprived. Lucas gets outside everyday. Usually multiple times a day. We have a great backyard. And, we have a playground about five houses away which we take him to pretty much every day. His favorite thing to do? Swing? Nope. Slide? Nope. Play in the mulch pile? Ding ding ding! Forget the equipment. Give Lucas a pile of dirt and a few sticks and you've got one happy little boy, content to play for hours. Okay, this is a 20 month old we're talking about. Content to play for tens of minutes.

This weekend the weather was so beautiful in our area. We were outside a lot. On Monday we explored an amazing arboretum just a few miles from our house. I can't believe we'd never been there before, but now we'll definitely be regulars. It's free. With lots of parking. And, there were no crowds. It was like our own private paradise. Lucas had so much fun. He ran around in the open grass. Played under the trees. Ran through the gardens. Of course he collected sticks the whole time. This kid loves sticks. We all had a blast.

I grew up with a strong appreciation for nature, too. My dad was a park ranger when he was younger and I loved the nature hikes he'd take my cousins, siblings and me on at Camp each year. On a road trip Dad always took the time to point out a hawk flying overhead. One of our favorite family jokes includes making fun of one of his college courses: Flattened Fauna.

Long before I studied great philosophers like Rousseau and Kant in college and their theories on universal law and morality, my Dad taught me that you shouldn't do things that, if everyone did it, would be harmful to nature. I know I'd be killed if I ever took a flower or rock or branch (other than dead for firewood) out of a forest, especially a State Forest. I always take the sidewalk and try hard to never cut through grass. Afterall, what if everyone did those things? There wouldn't be any forests or grass left.

We are lucky to live in a little urban town that truly appreciates nature. Our town was founded about 75 years ago as a planned community that worked with the land. Our yard and neighborhood are full of mature trees. I don't think there is a straight street in town because the roads work with the rolling hills. (Side benefit: very challenging walks!)

I hope Lucas always loves to be outside. I hope we can continue to help him develop his appreciation for nature. I hope and pray that our generation will start taking better care of our Earth so that his children still have something left to appreciate.