Declan Lately

The other day we went to a tiny little park in Berkeley that is mostly famous for a giant climbing rock and the most beautiful views of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. We were thinking we'd climb to the top, enjoy the views for a bit, climb down and move on with our day. Declan though, he had other plans. He absolutely could not leave that place until he'd climbed to the very top of all the major rocks. In the pictures below it may look like we're helping him climb. We're not. We're actually holding him back because he was climbing way too fast for us to keep up. There's not many times Decky puts his foot down and absolutely insists on doing something, so we let him have his way, and once he'd climbed the biggest rock there (and nearly given me several heart attacks) he stood at the top cheering and celebrating and basically letting all of Berkeley know he had conquered that rock.

Declan is my daredevil, my brawler, and (some may say) my troublemaker. The very same traits that make him a handful to parent are also his biggest strengths. He's persistent, a firm believer in justice, and he does not give up on a mission once he's set his mind to it - no matter how many scrapes and bruises he picks up along the way. Recently he fell flying squirrel style off the ladder at the playground, got the wind knocked out of him, and after a few tears he climbed right back up.

Summertime for Decky is one giant pool dance Puppy Dog Pals party. Any body of water and that kid is there. Puddle, pool, river, lake filled with threatening geese... it doesn't matter, he wants in. And his dance skills just get better and better. In addition to hip swaying, foot stomping, and shoulder shimmying, spinning in circles until he falls down is his new fave. We're leaving the Mickey Mouse era behind (and trust me, I never thought I'd say this, but it's making me a teensy bit nostalgic) and entering a new one filled with Puppy Dog Pals and Monster Trucks. Watching TV for Declan is a full blown high impact aerobic, scream-your-head-off, run circles through the house affair.

Decky still speaks a very complex dialect of jibberish, but every now and then he says certain words or phrases with such clarity that it makes me think he could break out in full blown dignified British English at any moment. Some new words he's added to his repertoire include "Deckadeckadeckadeck!" (basically an exuberant version of his nickname - Decka-doos), "Heyyyy!" (complete with waving rapidly) and "okayyyy!" He also still does his bulldog face, which he's been doing since birth, where he juts out his lower jaw and looks at you all grimacing and defiant. That pretty much sums up his personality in a nutshell.

Declan is currently into having his own space, whether that be locking himself into any unoccupied room in the house (including the laundry room), burrowing deep under the blankets, or hiding in the bushes in the backyard. He doesn't really have a room of his own at the moment, but we're getting him his own big boy bed soon and I have a feeling he's gonna make that space his own in no time.

Lately Declan has been the giddiest, giggliest, silliest little boy. He'll catch a case of the giggles and anything and everything will set him off for hours. It never fails to crack me up. Climbing stuff, pouring out water, and falling off things (like our bed and the ladder at the playground), are just a few of the ways he's added to my gray hair tally lately. That being said, he is the most fearless, stoic 2 year old boy ever, and when he does cry I know he's REALLY hurt, because normally he'll bounce face-first off the sidewalk and get right up like nothing happened.

To my Deckadoos, I just want you to know that every gray hair is worth it a hundred times over, but as I've told you many, many times, you only get one head, so please take care of it. You fill our lives with the happiest angst imaginable (your Daddy's words). We love your quirky, little old man, LOUD ways, and we wouldn't change a thing about you.