Dear Evan:

Believe it or not, there was once a time we thought you might not talk until much later in childhood, thanks to your premature birth. I’m happy to say that not only are you cognitively advanced (so your mommy and Mimi Jean tell me), you started talking early and rarely stop.

Without further ado, and in no particular order, a Glossary of Evan:

I-gah and Gee: The latter is pronounced with a hard g. These were your first not-really-words, mostly used to express unhappiness. Funny thing is, you’ve abandoned them, but your mommy and I still say them to each other.

Gah (Gus): Your first word was, of all things, the name of our gassy, cranky Golden Retriever. We were hoping it’d be something like Tree or Encyclopedia, but no, you pointed to Gus and said “Gah!” Still do.

Bit-bit: Or sometimes just Bit. Lil’ Bit is our other dog, a rat terrier. He’s your favorite, because he’s your size. Some days you’ll spend half an hour just chasing him, laughing your little head off while trying to give him a hug. When you miss your fur-brothers or otherwise refer to them collectively, it’s “Gah Bit.”

Dis!: This. When you point at something you don’t know, or want to call our attention to, you say “Dis!” It’s very cute, but even cuter when it’s, for example, a banana you want. Then it becomes drawn out and plaintive: “Diii-uh-iii-uh-iiis?”

Ugh-uh: Hug. Hugs are not just given; they’re also announced. And wow, do you love giving hugs. So we’ll hear “Ugh-uh!” and then you curl your little head into the crook of my neck.

Wow: Just what it sounds like. I say “wow” sarcastically a lot, and you picked it up, intonation and all. It’s pretty freakin’ funny.

Boobie: Yeah. Just what it sounds like, again. Long story short, your mommy was discussing her rapidly shrinking chest in the car, and from the back seat you started saying “boobie boobie boobie.” And yes, you know what they are, as well. Now we need to work on the concept of discretion.

Boo-ie: Berry. Some children don’t eat their fruit and veggies. You? That’s almost all you eat. Your favorite are blueberries, but “boo-ie” can also include grapes and strawberries (sometimes “daw-boo-ie”). For a long time, you also called any spherical object (like security cameras) boo-ies, but these days, those are mostly “Baw” (balls).

Badabee: Banana. Yeah, no idea. This started as “dib-a-dee,” but has evolved to something closer to the real word.

Bee: Any bug. A lot of children’s books feature friendly bees. Your favorite bees are ladybugs, but if a fly gets into the house, you’ll point it out and say “bee!” so we can smush it.

Da-doo: Tattoo. Before we were comfortable with you splashing around the bathtub, your mommy or I would hold you while we showered. (It’s efficient cleaning!) I have tattoos on my shoulders and arms, and you would point to one, say “da-doo,” swing your head around to peer at the other arm, point at another, say “da-doo,” lather rinse repeat. (Sometimes literally.)

Daw: Star. Your favorite shape, maybe because it’s unmistakable. Of course, any object with star-like arms can be called a star, as can the starfish in your favorite movie, Finding Nemo.

Mimi: Either of your grandmothers, though the title originally belonged to your mommy’s mommy, Mimi Jean.

Day-ger: Danger. If we warn you away from something, you’ll retreat to a safe distance, peer at it and whisper “day-ger” to yourself.

Iggon: Corn. Stick with me here: Our tree in the front yard drops lots of acorns, so “Iggon” really means acorn. Soon after learning that, you went on a corn kick that really hasn’t ended. Love the stuff. We can put it down at any meal and you’ll eat it, frozen or on the cob or cooked (but not popped yet). In your little brain, “corn” and “acorn” were the same, so you’ll ask for “Iggon.” We do make very sure you don’t try to eat the little fallen nuts outside.

More to come,

I love you,

Daddy

Dear Evan:

How long has it been since I wrote a letter to you? Months, at least. A year? Probably not. I could check, but I’m afraid to. No, I’m ashamed to.

You’ve grown so much just over the past few weeks, that it’s daunting to sum up everything since my last letter. Your vocabulary grows every day. Yesterday, you and I were reading some Cat in the Hat book about animals. You stood, toddled over to a toybox, pulled out a stuffed giraffe, said “Zhhhhaf. Ug!” and hugged it tight. Yes, there was a giraffe front and center on the page, and you had one you could hug.

And some of it is in Spanish! We try to limit your time spent on front of the television, but when it’s upwards of 90 degrees outside in April, inevitably we’ve got an hour or so not spent reading or playing blocks or plonking around on your piano or chasing the dogs from room to room. The solution is a limited selection of Spanish immersion DVDs and Blu-Rays of “Finding Nemo,” “The Muppets” and “Up,” all of which have dubbed Spanish tracks.

Right now, we can ask you to find the parts of your face in Spanish, and you get it right immediately. Amazing. So amazing to watch.

You climb constantly now, having only just mastered the skill. Couches, chairs, dogs, playground slides, the long wooden chest under our front windows – it’s all fair game. Sometimes you can only make it partway and are stranded, wiggling in place, unwilling to give up, until we stop laughing and give your bum a quick push. (Honestly, it’s the same move we use to get the dogs into the truck.)

So, enough about your resume. How’s life? Tense, right now. Your mommy is finishing her doctorate (just a week or so away at this point) and I’m working more hours than ever (on average 60 a week). We’re trying to balance work and school and life and your care, and sometimes it’s exhausting. The good part is, that’s temporary. Yes, you’re rocketing toward your Terrible Twos, but that’s temporary too. The light at the end of this particular tunnel is the glow from a whole new chapter in our story.

We’ll talk when we’re on the other side.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Evan:

More, more, more. You want more. We know you want more, because it’s your favorite sign.

Normal sign language for “more” is to hands made to look sort of like duck heads, fingers resting on thumbs, with the tips of the fingers moving to meet each other.

Somehow, you learned it as one hand (your right) in the normal position and the other flat vertical, like a duck head pecking at a wall. That’s okay. We know what you mean.

Well, mostly.

“More” began (as did “all done,” which you also know) so we knew when you were still hungry at meals. But now you sign more when we least expect it.

If I slow down in the middle of a tickling? More.

If, as last night, you see some animal on television that you feel a special affinity for? More.

If we finish a book and you’re not done reading? More.

And yes, when you’re still hungry. More.

Sometimes we just don’t know. Yesterday you toddled through the house to the open window, looked up at me and signed “more.” More outside? More walking, as you and your Mommy had done earlier? More of the kids playing outside? We have no idea.

We want you to learn other signs, and your Mommy tries her hardest to get them to catch on. It hasn’t happened yet. You’re expressive enough, though, pointing at whatever catches your interest and saying “this” or “that.” (“Dishhh” or “dat”)

And your words! You have actual words. More on that later.

Dear Evan:

Yesterday, I had to stop and ask your mommy what we did last Thanksgiving, when you were still in NICU. I have no memory of it at all. It’s a blank, one more skipped-over scene from what I hope was the worst moment of our lives.

She reminded me: We ate at my parents’ house, and then all went to the hospital. That would’ve been maybe a week, maybe more, before you came home. A month before you were even due to be born. And you know what? I’m glad I don’t remember. I hope you never do, other than through these few words. It was still too much of an iffy situation as to whether you’d see Christmas.

This year, we drove down to your Aunt Kiki’s house to spend Thanksgiving with your mommy’s family in Houston.

How to boil three days into a short letter? You played a lot. You laughed a lot. You cried sometimes, and were held by many people, and often gave me those wobbly “Who is this?” looks begging for reassurance as yet another relative took you up and cooed over you. Your mommy and I smiled and laughed and took you when you got too nervous and held you when the whirlwind of activity got too much.

You fell in love with Aunt Kiki and Uncle Ruffy’s cats and dog, grinning and petting them and (when they were still long enough) giving them your head-butt version of a hug.

As befits the holiday, you ate a lot. Most of that was organic Cheerios and vegetable puffs and the food your mommy brought along, but I’m pretty sure I caught people sneaking you small pieces of roll and turkey and whipped sweet potatos. I’m personally guilty of feeding you some refried beans (an old favorite of yours by now) and bits of tortilla. I’m surprised your PawPaw didn’t give you the ceremonial first taste of Dr Pepper. He will, soon.

And when we got home? You crawled — skittered might be a better word, because your crawl is almost as fast as an adult’s walk — from room to room, laughing at being back in familiar surroundings, laughing at your own dogs, laughing at your own toys.

This was a Thanksgiving to remember. Let your first be lost; I’d rather think back on this one.

I love you,

Daddy

Dear Evan:

You can walk! Not that we had any question, of course, though preemies often develop slowly. But still — you can walk!

You’d been heading that way ever since you learned to stand. You would hold onto the windowsills or the edges of our living-room furniture and side-step from place to place. Joyce, who takes care of you while your mommy teaches during the week, swore it wouldn’t be long.

She was right. A few days ago, you held your mommy’s hands and took a few steps. That’s exciting, but apparently doesn’t count because you were using support.

And then…

Yesterday, while your grandma and grandpa (my parents) were visiting, you stood up, laughing as always, and took two tentative, unsupported steps to your mommy’s leg.

Such a quick moment, but we were all lucky enough to have gathered around you, laughing with you as you stood, and so we all saw it.

Later, you tried a little more, shuffling a quick two steps at one point, and a quick three while playing in your bedroom.

It was a great point in your little life. After laughing our fool heads off, your mommy and I looked at each other: “Uh-oh.”

Because now you can walk.

Love,

Daddy

Dear Evan:

Today is 11-11-11. Some people think it’s some sort of magical day; others are writing it off, other than the usual Veterans Day remembrances.

Me, I just think it’s neat. For one thing, it’s one of just a dozen days like it per century. The next is 12-12-12, and then I’m afraid I won’t see another configuration like it before my death. And you? With as long as our family lives, and modern science, I bet you’ll be there for 01-01-2101.

Enough of the future, though. Let’s talk about today. 11-11-11 is fun to think about (however briefly), and I hope you get my love for little riddles or, more appropriately, pattern recognition. When I was a boy, my parents got me books of brain teasers, riddles, rebuses, anagrams, that sort of thing. I loved the word games most of all, and would go around rearranging or reversing words in search of some (usually absent) hidden meaning.

Just don’t go overboard. Some people are doing that with today, insisting that some arbitrary (and oft-changed) configuration of months and days and years has cosmic significance. It has exactly as much significance as you give it. Forget returning messiahs or universal consciousness or whatever else people thing the day will bring. For me, 11-11-11 will mean coming home from work, kissing your mommy, sharing a family hug, holding you cheek-to-cheek, laughing when you stand, and putting you gently into your crib.

That’s more than good enough for any day.

I love you,

Daddy

Dear Evan:

Some mornings it aches to leave you and your mommy.

You’re back to sleepless — or rather, sleep-interrupted — nights, thanks to a perfect storm of teething, a fever last weekend and the “fall back” time change. All three served to throw off your sleep schedule, so while you had been snoozing peacefully between 7:30 p.m. and 5 a.m., now you’re up throughout the night.

Your mommy is bearing the brunt of that, but it’s wearing on her. Neither of us likes the idea, but it’s time to let you cry it out a little more until you’re back on track.

Today, you were up early (or, for you, at the same time as usual), so after I showered and dressed for work, I picked you up and smooched your fat cheeks and let you stare in amazement at a tassle hanging down from our ceiling fan. You stroked it softly, not grabbing, but letting your fingers trail over it. I set you down on the bed for a moment, so you could practice standing.

You’re so proud, every time you lever yourself up on widely spaced feet. You look around, mouth open and grinning. We cheer and praise you and make noises of encouragement. I swear you’ll be walking soon, but your mommy says that’s a ways off, and she knows better.

This morning, she watched in sleepy amusement, and then whispered that I should take you to bed, see whether you (and she) could get a little more sleep.

I was skeptical, but I scooped you up again, my left arm under your bum and my right loosely on your chubby belly. You don’t even need me to hold you upright with that right hand, but I feel better doing when we walk in the dark.

Which we did, through the living room and kitchen and front hallway, then down that hall to your room. You goggled at everything, at the green lit numbers on the microwave and the blueish nightlights in the halls. You’ve seen them so many times before, but your brain is still mapping, still taking them into account and trying to decide what they mean.

You grumbled a bit at your bedroom — no question there for your brain; if we go in and I don’t turn on the light, you know the crib is your next stop. I was surprised, though, that you didn’t cry when I laid you down. You just rolled over, felt for the green-and-brown fabric bear your mommy calls “Woobie.” And then you were quiet.

I slipped out the door as noiselessly as possible. I hope you slept.

Love,

Daddy

[Written yesterday, and published a day late.]

Dear Evan:

Happy birthday! It’s your first ever, and boy did you start it early. You’ve been sleeping through the night lately, so I was surprised to hear you crying at just after 2 a.m. Your mommy brought you into our bed, and fed you for a little bit. I’m afraid I ruined that, though, by popping my head up. That seemed to be the signal for “crawl to Daddy and honk his nose.” After some play time, your mommy took you back to your room, and managed to get you to sleep until 5. She brought you back to our bed, where you slept until I left for work at 6. Not a bad start to the morning! Too bad your fur-brother Lil’ Bit woke you as I was leaving.

As your mommy tells it, you got a nice long nap after a trip with her to the doctor (she has a sinus infection that became bronchitis) and flirted with all the nurses. Oh, and while she was on the phone with your Aunt Kiki, you demonstrated your latest trick, waving bye-bye when someone says, well, “wave bye-bye.” That may not sound like much when you read this, but it’s only recently that you actively started reacting to your name, though you do seem to know what “hug” means, even if your version is more of a head-butt. I’m still trying to get you to understand “come here.”

Another first today: your first cottage cheese, mixed with applesauce. You’re still unhappy with textured food, especially chunks, but your mommy says that after some initial hesitation, you wolfed down an entire bowl of the mixture.

By the time I got home, you were already in your pajamas. Your mommy had already feed you a birthday dinner of pumpkin, squash and other assorted blended vegetables. (She makes most of it herself; only Daddy is lazy enough to feed you pre-packaged food.) We played for an hour — you danced, you babbled to yourself as you paged through books, you stood and fell down, and I tried (and failed) to take pictures of it all. Then you and I sat on the thick brown shag rug in your room, your back against my chest, and we read your favorite bedtime book, Goodnight Moon.

Sometimes when we read you’ll concentrate, touch the pages, babble under your breath. This was one of the other times. You looked up at me a few times, a wide semi-toothed grin on your face, and toward “Goodnight mush” began climbing my legs and shoulders to see what else might be happening.

Then it was mommy’s turn to cuddle you. Without protest, you slipped into sleep.

That was your first birthday. No cake yet, and the presents were mostly in the form of cards (including one from my late friend Doug’s parents, who sent you Goodnight Moon a year ago) and contributions to your college fund. I meant to sing Happy Birthday to you, and forgot, but we have many years ahead for that.

I love you,

Daddy