Fatherhood Adventures

Easter is one of those days when my boys get to be taken advantage of by their mother.

Both my kids are still young enough not to have any say or even care what they wear at any given moment. As a matter of fact, Beckett is clearly at his happiest running around without any clothes on at all. I admit I love watching him frolic around naked because he seems to be at his goofiest. He gets so excited that he just giggles endlessly as he runs around aimlessly.

I could fill up this entire column with how much he cracks me up with his nude antics, particularly his affinity for slapping his own rear end, but that’s a discussion for another day.

Getting back to Easter, Pam loves putting her kids in these special outfits befitting of the holiday.

Last year, Beckett wore a blue-and-yellow plaid blazer (matching hat and socks, of course) over a pink shirt and a blue-and-white sweater vest. I love this one photo we have of him sitting down in the living room unable to move because he was so top-heavy due to the multiple layers he had donned that day. It was as cute and funny as could be, and his mother did not disappoint this year. She set the bar high last year, but this year she had another little boy to dress up this year. The pressure was on.

Intentionally or not, the outfits were toned down considerably this year. It was not from lack of effort because I have it on good authority that my wife looked far and wide for matching Easter outfits for my sons. Those hopes never came to fruition, surely not from lack of effort, but she was able to pull off matching hats.

Beckett, the 23-month-old (only one month left till we stop counting in months), went with blue pinstripe pants with another festive sweater vest over a white button down shirt. Carson was not to be outdone, outfitted in a light blue overall with a multi-colored onesie underneath and possibly the most adorable, matching soft-soled shoes I have ever seen.

After getting my kids dressed that day, I thought to myself how much my wife took it down a notch with Easter this year. I was so proud. Before I could congratulate her, I found two of the largest Easter baskets I have ever seen on the dining room table.

It appears all she did this year was shift her focus a little bit, concentrating more this year on the baskets than the clothes. My guess is once she could not fulfill her goal of matching outfits she decided to put all her energy to creating monster Easter baskets full of all sorts of goodies.

As a matter of fact, Beckett is still discovering stuff in his basket, and I am still finding strands of that pesky Easter grass in his favorite hiding places around the house.

I took my sons to their first lacrosse tournament last weekend at Worcester Prep.

Featured in the tourney were boys and girls games between local rivals Decatur and Worcester Prep as well as others, but none of that mattered to Beckett.

Besides eating about 200 Goldfish (his favorite new snack especially those of the colored variety), my oldest basically went through his entire vocabulary watching the games. It was interesting to observe.

For some reason, he seemed more content watching the girls play than the boys so we spent most of our time on that field. As I was taking pictures a few feet away, I could hear my boy in his stroller stammering words to himself incessantly as the action unfolded on the field in front of him.

Here’s an incomplete rundown of what he had to say during the girls game and my interpretation:

— “mama” (basically any player running down the field);

— “mom-mom” (any other woman on the sideline who walked by and smiled or said hi to him);

— “dada” (pointing to me, reminding me who I am in case I forgot);

— “I’m me and you, you” (again, just making sure I am keeping things straight);

— “pop-pop” (any man that walked by);

— “gaga” (any player on the field with a ponytail, referring to a buddy of his with a penchant for pulling her hair back);

— “bloooo” (pointing out the color of the Decatur uniforms);

— “ball” (whenever he spotted the ball in the air);

— “goold” (not goal, as one passerby guessed – more like he’s out of Goldfish and wants more);

— “up, up, up” (meaning he wants out of his stroller now or a meltdown is imminent, signaling it’s time for a change of scenery);

— “cheese” (indicating he’s ready to have his picture taken);

— “geen” (pointing to the grass and demonstrating his color skills);

— “nana” (no relevance as far as I know, sans the fact bananas remain his favorite food and it’s typically his first word uttered every day);

— “whoa” (something apparently amazed him);

— “yeah melmo” (a bizarre reference to the latest love of his life – Elmo – or maybe a red-headed player);

— and “yeah, yeah dada” (a cheer of sorts with no meaning, just a sign he’s happy).

When I thought about taking the kids to the tourney while my wife was at work, a lot of things went through my head including how well would they behave, the outdoor diaper change, would Carson be warm enough and how long would Beckett make it in the stroller before he lost his cool. Instead, I found myself wondering if his ramblings were annoying any of the cheering parents or maybe even the players.

About The Author: Steven Green

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The writer has been with The Dispatch in various capacities since 1995, including serving as editor and publisher since 2004. His previous titles were managing editor, staff writer, sports editor, sales account manager and copy editor. Growing up in Salisbury before moving to Berlin, Green graduated from Worcester Preparatory School in 1993 and graduated from Loyola University Baltimore in 1997 with degrees in Communications (journalism concentration) and Political Science.