Walker has started showing interest in some of the things we do. This morning he decided he wanted to have some coffee with his banana. Of course, we didn’t pump him full of caffeine but we did provide him with a coffee mug full of high-octane (full strength) cranberry juice. He very much enjoyed the morning ritual and it may possibly become part of his daily routine. There were many toasts with Mommy and Daddy accompanied by a jovial “clink” setting Walker up for a wonderful day of frequent peeing.

Walker is terribly interested in decorations — specifically Christmas decorations. Immediately after Halloween he started talking about them. We have no idea how it started but apparently he’s also been pestering Sofiya about Christmas decorations. We’ve been teaching him about holidays and explaining that Thanksgiving comes first. (Sometimes we tell him Turkey comes first.) So he’s now aware that in two weeks it’s “Firstgiving” and then comes “Christmas decorations.” Pop Pop has the Halloween pumpkins, cats and ghosts we made for him on his windows still and Walker made him a turkey to add to the windows. When we go up for “Firstgiving” we’ll be bringing some stuff to make some more seasonally appropriate holiday decorations — perhaps even making a dreidel or two. We may even expand his horizons to make some Hanukkah decorations.

It seems that Walker is starting to identify his emotions. Nick Jr. has little shorts between shows which teach kids about different themes and this month is all about giving thanks. Today Walker was watching the short and turns to Raow sitting next to me, points to him and says, “I’m thankful for you, Raow.” The cat sort of looked at him quizzically and sniffed his yogurt and peanut butter covered finger. I don’t believe Raow understood but I’m sure he hopes Walker would be thankful enough that he might abstain from jumping on him or chasing him around the house with clanging cymbals or bouncing balls.

Earlier this week, Adobe had layoffs and my team was impacted. It was a very difficult day for everyone. I came home and Daddy had a nice glass of red wine waiting for me and Walker had drawn me a very beautiful card. It was so very thoughtful. The next morning, we all started getting ready for work but at one point, Walker came over to me and very seriously looked me in the eye and declared, “Mommy, I so happy.” You know what? I so happy too.