The record will show that it’s been over a week since Gideon turned two. It is testament to his energy, his rambunctiousness, his two-ness, that it’s taken me all this time to post a birthday tribute.
Gideon is a gregarious, charming, single-minded and thoroughly adorable boy. When he is happy his giggles rise up like popcorn, and when he is insistent his decibel level is shocking, as in, “How can someone so small make so much noise?” (He gets that last quality from his mother, poor fellow.) When he is merely emphatic, he raises his voice slightly, purses his lips, and distorts his vowels: “I want some yoooooguuuuuuurt with hööööNEEEEEEY”. An emphatic request tends to get results, once the laughter has died down.
He has a most unusual vocabulary, and some of his words defy orthography. Blueberries are ba-loo-ba-lazies. Strawberries are sa-babies. It takes a finely trained linguist to distinguish between squirrel and challah, at least when Gidi says them.
He loves motorized vehicles, particularly dump trucks and garbage trucks. He loves to go out for stroller walks to follow the trucks around. He particularly loves to eat, and one of his favorite foods is chicken, as you will see below.
He is sweet and affectionate and sometimes when he is in my arms, he will grab the back of my neck, pull my face close, and give me a hundred kisses. His first words upon waking up reflect his twin passions. He either says, “Garbage truck!” or “Where’s Akiva?”
Here are some pictures I snapped on his birthday, as well as some I snapped the next day, when we celebrated with more family at a local park.
(Crossposted to wonderboys.wordpress.com.)
