Chillin' out We usually take Hannes for a nice walk in the cool autumn day in the mornings and afternoons. Or a cool walk in the nice autumn day. Anyway, the weather is definitely getting chillier - this is Finland, after all - so we have to pay a little more attention to Hannes's clothes than in the summer.
Basically, we know what Hannes should wear, but Hannes doesn't seem to agree. First, there's the issue with the hat. I mean, I know that he has to wear one, Jessi knows that and you know that. And I am pretty sure that deep, deep down, Hannes also knows that, yet he refuses to wear one.
And since we're very loving and caring, yet disciplined parents, we always stop and put the hat back on over Hannes's ears. And we walk about four steps before he pulls it off. We tell him that he HAS to wear the hat, and state at least two different reasons, pull the hat back on and start walking again. Four steps later, we're explaining to Hannes that he really, really, really HAS to wear the hat.
This happens a few times, and then we give him something even more interesting to play with (car keys, mobile phone hands-free, a toy he has, MY HAT, anything). So, we walk in that cool autumn day, and the next thing we notice is that Hannes is leaning backwards, being cool, hanging his foot outside the stroller, with no sock on.
"Hannes, where are your socks, you really have to wear socks, you know, because..."
He's just toying with us, I am sure. He'll tell all about it to his buddies at the Babies' Club. And they'll all just laugh, laugh, laugh.
Seriously, it's funny how many things Hannes does, instinctively, that are really against common sense. Socks and hat is one thing, not sleeping when tired another.
It's interesting. Wonder what would happen if he'd have his way?
You can call me Al Hannes seems to be a real family man, uh, boy. It's not like he's overjoyed to go for a walk with me, or Jessica alone, but when he's sitting in his blue limo, and he sees the two of us pushing him gently along, he basically goes nuts. He jumps up and down and slams his little Chile-hat-covered head onto the back of his trolley and starts talking away.
Usually, you can see this phenomenon when one of us has been away for a while and then suddenly reappears.
It's always a happy family reunion. It almost makes me want to go away for awhile.
Also, we have finally discovered what that "at-ta, tha, tuh" sound means...
[maestro, music please]
IT MEANS "DAD"!
Or, somethng like that, because Hannes seems to be talking about me and to me when he says that. I'm a tha-tuh! I'm a ta-ta. I'm a ta-tuh.
I just can't believe how much energy a little person has. Jessica told me a few months ago how some Swedish lightweight boxer had tried to imitate his baby an entire day. Like, whenever his baby waved his arms, the boxer would. When the baby crawled, the boxer did, too. And so on. Until the boxer was all wiped out.
Another amazing fact of babies: Babies laugh, on average, 300 times a day. 300 times! A grown-up person laughs, on average, 15 times a day. Now, people with babies probably laugh a little more than that, but still. What a difference! (The babies also cry, on average, many, many times a day, I have no precise stats on that.)
So, basically, Hannes is at it all the time. He's standing up, against anything vertical, laughs, he waves, he falls, cries, he crawls, he chases a ball, laughs, he builds things, laughs, he takes things apart, cries, he examines the VCR, laughs, cries, then crawls back to the VCR...
Forget the Joneses. I have a hard time keeping up with Hannes.
Team Hannes I got up at 4.52 this morning because Hannes wanted to. Actually, that's not true, since I don't think Hannes actually woke up at all, he just made a lot of noise so I thought it'd be smart to get up and hold him a little bit. I think it's fascinating how he can keep on sleeping and yet make sounds all the time. (Jessica probably knows a lot more about this topic than I do. I don't think I sleep very quietly).
So, there I was again, squinting my eyes, looking at the clock on the microwave oven, trying to see what time it was. (4.53). Hannes seemed pretty happy, and just breathed heavily. And all of a sudden, I woke up. I wasn't tired at all. I looked out into our backyard, and it was nice and quiet there. It was a very peaceful moment.
Then, of course, Hannes let a little steam out of his belly which made me focus on him again. And he smiled at me in his sleep.
That smile alone is worth getting up at 4.52.
Which is one of the reasons I have decided to leave the company I have worked for and go freelance. That way, I can hopefully spend more awake time with Hannes.
