Running for Retired Racers: The dragon's first words

The first 34 years of my life passed me by one more quickly than the previous. Every year, each milestone seemed to pass by with such speed! I remember how summers used to stretch out LOOOOOoooong before me as a child, during weeks without end when I would ride my bike to the pool in the morning and spend hours at swim practice and afterwards playing in the pool in the hot Alabama sun. My hair would turn blonde and my skin toasty brown. They seemed never ending....of course, it never helped me get my summer reading done on time!

Year after year continued passing, college, Ecuador, medical school, then I hit internship and things really ramped up. It's almost a blur.

Then came the dragon. And everything seemed to grind to a screeching halt. This tiny little person demanded ALL of my time, my body, my heart, my emotions. And maybe other parents can corroborate me on this one, but to me the first year of the baby's life was the LONGEST year of my life so far (Dan? Amber? Jim? Disa? Back me up on this one). Every day, you do the same thing again and again, over and over, every two hours. And for a long time, you don't see a whole bunch of progress....Ok, so he starts to maybe smile every now and then....then he can hold up his head...but that's over MONTHS of time. Hundreds of diaper changes. Even more feedings. Hours of walking around talking, singing, patting back to sleep. Nights that seem endless.

I remember when the baby crawled for the first time. He was probably about 7 months old, in Pittsburgh, on our tile kitchen floor. Although he never actually crawled. It was always more of like a one-legged scoot. He was pretty quick about it though, and it got him where he wanted to go for quite a while!

I remember when he clapped his hands for the first time. We had moved to Miami, probably a month prior; he was about 10 months old. All of a sudden, one day, he could clap. And he did. From one day to the next. I don't know what switch flipped there, but there it was. And all I could think was, shoot! It's about time!!!

He took his first steps while we were in Ecuador celebrating his first birthday. But between that and actually bona-fide walking was another 6 weeks or so! I think he could just get places so much faster scooting that it wasn't worth his time to try walking.

So, with a new life on board, the time seems to drag a little bit. It takes them a long time to get the simple things we really take for granted. Like standing up out of a chair. Brushing their hair and teeth.

Of course, while you're living it, it seems like a long time....but today I look back and think, wow! He's almost a little man now! Weighing in at 34.5 inches and 27 pounds at his 15 month check-up.

Rafa - 15 months

Maybe you'll remember one of my first blog posts where I talked about the Chinese zodiac in relation to my two dragons. Winston, our old friend, was a metal dragon, sheer stubbornness clothed in handsome dog-flesh. You'll recall my little baby dragon was born a water dragon, and I prayed at the time that the water would soften the dragon edges of his personality.

So far, his temperament seems to be a cross between mine and Diego's - he is super charming and social with a winning smile, like his daddy, but he gets frustrated quickly when he can't figure things out or communicate his needs (like me).

I started using sign language with him when he was about 8 months old, but I'm not around him much, so he didn't pick it up right away. With persistence and help from daddy, he is finally starting to sign to us some of his more basic wants and needs. Which is helpful, since he still isn't talking that much. He has learned the signs for milk, more, eat, all done, hurt, doggie and cheese. And water.

Ever since he was a baby, as soon as we could safely get him wet, we used water to soothe him. We quickly found he would remain quiet and happy with us in the shower from the time he was about 5 weeks old. He would lay quietly in our arms and blink as the warm water fell softly over his tiny body. It was our safe space whenever we just couldn't get him to calm down. It always worked; it still does.

At 15 months, he talks urgently to us in unintelligible rambling syllables. The words he can say are mostly in Spanish (considering his primary caretaker is Spanish-speaking, in addition to many of the women in the daycare). Besides ma-ma-ma and da-da-da, his first intelligible word was agua, the Spanish word for water (he pronouces it AH-buah).

Coincidence? I think not.

Now he uses agua for pretty much any liquid - the toilet, the sink, the bathtub, the pool, the rain, a glass of win, even the dog's urine! It's one of his all-purpose words, and he makes the sign for water whenever he says it (three fingers held up in a W shape against the mouth). Bath time is still one of his favorite times of the day. I am frantically trying to teach him and myself new signs so that he can express himself more eloquently and avoid frustration. I suppose every child goes through a similar experience as they can think and experience the outside world much earlier than they can physically talk about it. Sounds really frustrating.

I am glad that my little dragon is growing into the person he was meant to be. I am surprised at how much he is conforming to his astrological destiny! Or is he simply meeting our expectations? Is the prophecy fulfilling itself?

In early December, Diego and I ran the West Palm Beach half marathon. The start line was conveniently located just outside my sister Kimberly's front door! I've decided I love rolling out of bed and stepping out into a race. Certainly beats driving to the start line at the crack of dawn, looking for parking while the roads are closing down around you.

Kimmy watched Rafa for us while we were running, so it was like being on a date! And apart from a mild diaper mishap (easily remedied), they did great in their first 3 hours together truly alone.