I'm down in Washington DC for a conference, and missing Hannah and Elliot....

So okay, a few deposits for the memory bank.  The way Elliot dances right now.  He stands with both palms flat on the coffee table and bounces.  I come up behind him and sing, "Dance dance dance, ants in your pants, dance dance dance you've got ants in your pants"  and he bobs on his little knees and smiles.

The sound heh-heh.  It's a laugh he makes, a little George W sound that burps out when he is mildly amused.

He's just starting to enter the age of Peek-a-boo.  I've been trying to play this with him since he was three months old and he never went for it until a few weeks ago.  Now I can dip beneath the table, or drop below the side of the bed, and when I pop up he is waiting expectantly, eager for what's coming, and seeing my face puts a smile on his.  Another reminder:  anticipation is pretty awesome.

I hung out with John and his 2 year-old son Will last weekend.  Will was shy and sleepy at first, but slowly he woke up and started walking around the playground.  John and I started out chatting on the bench, but eventually had to walk around following Will as he explored.

By the time we had walked back John's place, Will was fully awake. He toddled over and sat on a stump in front of their apartment, and I made a game out of saying "I'm going to come sit with you!" over and over as I crept toward him.

As often happens, the first time the adult does something silly the kid looks quizzical.  But Will quickly realized it was a game and started smiling.  I crept up and sat next to him, and he ran off to sit on the stoop, about ten feet away.  So I repeated the phrase and crept toward him again, and he ran back to the stump.  "I'm going to come sit with you!"  I said it over and over, probably thirty times that morning.  And each time Will laughed louder and louder, knowing what was coming.

Anticipation, apparently, is the theme of this blog post.

And I, apparently, am in Elliot withdrawal.