For Jacob’s Second Birthday
April 11, 2003
With hugs and kisses
From Nonni
In our first picture of you,
I see our beautiful
beautiful pink baby,
all wrapped up
like the perfect little gift
you are,
angelic adorable little face
perfectly still.
But only for the instant when we snapped your picture.
What you really wanted
was to break through the tight swaddles,
arch your little back,
flex your knees and elbows,
check out your fingers and toes,
and get moving.
At first
you'd only sleep when swaddled,
and then
only reluctantly.
Later
you abandoned your crib
for a pad on the floor--
and once
I saw you fall sound asleep
near the door of your room,
almost in mid-step.
From the start
you've been a man of action
and analysis,
transfixed by the motion
of the battery-powered wheel
on the choo-choo train,
systematically
holding the wheel
then letting it go
as soon as your fingers could grasp it.
Later
you found the button
for the ding-dong of Nonni's doorbell;
now
you can push it
all by yourself--
and the special button
that opens the big gate.
Sometimes
you settle in my lap for
Hand, Hand, Fingers, Thumb
with all those drumming monkeys
or The Wide-Mouthed Frog
with that scary alligator
or Where’s Spot?,
with those little flaps
you like to open
and close.
(Others may get a quick veto:
"No no no no no"
you sing,
like notes
on a descending scale.)
But outside is best,
to the birdbath,
the sprinklers,
the bubbles,
and the balls--
“FUN!” you say.
One day
you gathered up
all the balls
in your new back yard
and tossed them
one by one
into a half-filled wading pool.
Later
you took Grandpa Skip on a tour,
trotting knee-deep
in the soft mud left by a storm,
your little toes invisible.
At first
when we talked on the phone
you'd listen in
intense concentration
but in a sudden burst
one day
you said all your new words:
"ENZO!" "MAMA!" "PAPA!" "WAWA!"
(Now
you play with two phones at a time,
one at each ear
talking happily to an invisible friend
in your newly complete and perfect sentences.)
I like your words
in person best:
"Catch!" you say,
as you toss me a ball, or
"One, two, blast-off!"
as you jump off the hearth, or
--my favorite--
"Why-ee?" you ask,
hands spread, palms up
in response to the odd request.
Right now
I'm sitting on a beach
a whole continent away
just thinking about my Jakey,
almost two years old today!
Happy Birthday,
darlin' Jakey.
Nonni loves you,
loves you,
little one!
Kathleen Irace
--Cocoa Beach, April 2003