...a civil engineer.

Aidan turned two years old today.  It seems like he's been around a good deal longer than that.  Both for all the lovey-dovey feelingsy sentimental reasons and because he just seems like he's a tiny little person walking around.

He has opinions.  I didn't know you could have opinions about stuff when you were 2.  Just the other day, at nap time, we had the following conversation:

"Daddy, I don't like napping in my crib."
"Ok, buddy, would you like to try napping on Mommy and Daddy's bed instead then?"
"Yes."
So, I carry him to our bed, which is downstairs, and turn off the TV, grab his "pullow" and his "bing" and lie down on the bed.  Both of us. I lie there on my own "pullow".  I close my eyes, and he follows suit.  Everything seems to be going smoothly, until about thirty seconds later, when Daddy, who is feeling rather tired, gets a headbutt to the belly.
"Aidan...it's nap time.  Lay down, please, and go to sleep."
"Daddy wake up."


So, I put him down in his crib.  He was unhappy about it, and didn't so much sleep as not sleep at all.  Whatever, he's two, he's gonna stop napping regularly soon, or so I think I've heard.  Some days I get a little frustrated if he won't nap.  It's the only time during the day that I have by myself.  Some days it's the only time I have to do as I'm doing now.  Others it's the only time I have to play video games, or the only time I have to watch horror movies, or the only time I have to watch shows Diane doesn't like.  More often than not it's on a day when I'm already having a crappy day that he'll choose to not nap, which leads to the frustration.  But when I'm not having a bad day and he doesn't nap, it's usually fine, and he just gets an hour of quiet time in his nap.

He could have used a nap yesterday.  We had his birthday party yesterday.  We had his first birthday party last year (obviously), and it was all cake and roses.  We lived in a fairly small two-bedroom (with no bedroom closets, for some reason), and we had a good twenty-some people there, crammed into about 600 square-feet of space.  It was hot and uncomfortable, but still cake and roses.

This year is a bit different.  This year we're living in my parents' basement.  So we had his party at my parents' house, because our basement area couldn't accommodate six people comfortably, let alone sixteen.  This was stressful to me.  Diane too.  I love my family, of course, and she loves her's.  But having them both together in the same place is weird.  It's not something that happens often (actually, once a year, so long as Aidan continues to age).  It is, however, uncomfortable.  We can never be entirely certain if, while not under close supervision, my Dad might say something that offends her Dad, or vice versa.  Everyone else is pretty much fine, but our fathers are, while both hard-core conservatives, very, very different people. 

So it was party day yesterday.  And Aidan had a good time, although it's a lot for him.  Once everyone had arrived and gotten their drinks we sat down and it was time to open presents.  A two year old opening presents is like putting a fifteen year old in a room with twenty different TVs all displaying a different show that either feature guns, explosions, tits, or all three, or is South Park.  Aidan would open one present (a toy, because, somehow, despite our requests, NOBODY GOT HIM CLOTHES) and be so happy he probably crapped himself.  Then what do we, his loving and caring parents do?  We take it away!  How does this seem like a good idea?  So, while there was no crying involved, when he finally finished opening the last present, he grabbed the Lightning McQueen car that he opened second but loved most of all and went and sat on the floor in the other room, with only one lamp on, and played by himself for fifteen minutes.  He is so our kid.

We got him a little something called GeoTrax.  If you aren't "in the know", GeoTrax are a snap together plastic car/train/airplane track.  No electronics or anything, just a track that vehicles can be pushed along.  He would actually kill you if you took it away from him, at this point.  He played with it this morning for a good two hours.

It's a good thing I've not been put in charge of road planning or railroad design, because if you check out my work with the GeoTrax, you will see a loop and a figure-eight that, upon entering, you cannot exit without reversing along the track.  Not the kind of thing trains do that well. And don't try to go straight at that top junction, as you will leave the track and run behind the television to be lost forever.