Two major events marked our weekend, and to our sweet boy they were both pure gold. Watching him experience them made them pure gold for us as well. There is nothing better than experiencing things that are ho hum to the normal adult through the eyes of a child. It makes everything better. The ice is colder, the treats are tastier, the air is cleaner...life, simply put, is good.
Event number one was a trip to watch Daddy play hockey. Kev plays on various Saturday nights in a recreational church league. He's been playing for years and I used to go to every game...before kids. Last year we were able to take Rusty to a few games and although he had fun, he didn't really understand it. This year was completely different. We prepped him for the game ahead of time, telling him that it was coming and what it was all about. He watches hockey all of the time with Kevin and loves it, so we knew this would be a pretty big deal. We were right!
The little man waited anxiously for his daddy to appear on ice, playing a little pregame hockey with him before he went out with his team. Rusty was in awe, and so very badly wanted to join Kev on the ice, it was adorable to see.
Pregame pep talks, high fives and adoration...
A little playing of his own...he consistently rotated between playing with Papa and watching the game. Any time his Daddy was on the ice he would be swept up into Papa's arms and watch with rapt attention, looking for his Daddy with eager eyes.
At times we got him to sit and watch the game...he did well with it and the best part was that whenever Kev's team scored a goal-which was a lot!-we would say "Yay for Daddy's team!" and Rusty would clap his little hands and a huge grin would cross his face. At one point he was searching the ice for Kev, saw him, and shouted out, so very proudlike, "That's MY daddy!!!"
Post game pics with the heroes...and family!
One of the funniest highlights of the night...Kev took off his helmet and his head was steaming. Here is Rusty, staring at it in awe. We had driven separately from Kev because he had to be there early and all the way home Rusty kept saying, "Daddy in the shower washing off the steam!" Then, the next morning when he woke up his first question was this, "Did Daddy wash off steam?" So funny! Overall, I think Daddy moved even further up on Rusty's list than he already was, in fact that night when I had him home, dressed in his pjs and ready for bed he broke down into sobs because he wanted his daddy! He could only be calmed after I called Kev on his cell phone and he wished Rusty good night and said he would come in and kiss him when he arrived home. So sweet!
Major event number two was, of course, Halloween. Our boy was SOOO excited to experience Halloween. He started talking about it as soon as our neighbors put up their big, blow up Jack O Lantern in their front yard. He was all about trick or treating and helped me pick out his giraffe costume. When the day finally arrived, we had a hard time keeping him happy until the time arrived to head out with his little pumpkin bucket!
The handsome jungle giraffe, ready to go...
Hitting up the first-and probably most important-house, Nana and Papa! He was so adorable as he approached the door and knocked. He is used to going right in, so it took a minute for him to remember the "Trick or Treat!" Papa had made him a special package of Cheerios, a very Rusty friendly treat!
Once he had gone to Nana and Papa's, we brought him back to our neighborhood. We have a great neighborhood...it is full of what seems to be either young families or retired couples, both of which were great on a night like this. The retired couples had often gone all out, and their houses were the most exciting-and had the best treats! The families meant that lots of adorable kiddos were stopping by our own house, which was fun for us! I went with the boys to about five houses before heading back to our place to hold down the fort. Rusty was so into it that he simply didn't want to stop! He and Daddy went all the way up and down the street, and he came home with lots of goodies!
It was such a gift to experience it all through his eyes. Yesterday he sadly informed me that Halloween was over, and we told him that he would have it again next year. He has definitely enjoyed a treat from his special bucket now and then-as has Mommy! Yum!
So, it was the perfect ending to this crazy and sometimes very difficult month of October. All felt right and good again, and seeing the world-and all of our fun events-through Rusty's eyes was the biggest gift of all. Next up...Christmas! (With a little celebration of American Thanksgiving with some of my thoughtful friends, who are throwing a dinner for us, in between!)
I loved this one! Cute pics of him looking at kev's head and also ready in front of the goal is really cute.
ReplyDeletehahaha, nothing better than watching my dad's head steam!!!
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