Hooray! You finally got your helmet off!
It's been a trial the last couple months with how hot the summer has been and how little the helmet breathes being made of foam and hard plastic. The "vent" at the top wasn't doing much. As a result, your Mom and I were getting lax with keeping the helmet on. When you're going in and out of our kiddie pool and sweating otherwise, the helmet was sometimes wet and always stinky. So was your head. Eww.
The people at the helmet doctor (I forgot what their titles are) said the helmet improved your head shape well enough. You can have your future barber thank Mom and me when he's working on your fade.
As I've mentioned before, it's a huge difference to see you with the helmet off. We can see your entire face and expressions. We also get to see your super blonde, thick hair. You are such a handsome little guy.
In addition to seeing more of you, we're hearing more of you. You are chip off the old block and therefore a total motormouth. You constantly point at the world around you and baby talk. You're in constant conversation with yourself. You've also started to try and play with Eliza. You crawl after her while she shrieks to entice, and you two roughhouse on the "mountains" (stacks of couch pillows) she builds. Occasionally I have to save one of you from a twisted knee under a body or lack of oxygen under a pillow, but it's all in good fun.
What was not fun was having to perform a Heimlich maneuver on you the other day when you choked on a cucumber. Your Mom has been a fan of "baby-led weaning," but you sure do like to play chubby bunny with food and cram as much in your mouth as you can and swallow without chewing much. Fortunately I was right there, recognized your surprise and struggle, yanked you out of the high chair, turned you around and popped you hard (sorry) in the back to shoot that cucumber son-of-a-bitch out of your airway.
Let's not do that again. Life is fragile. So are cucumbers. Chew them more.
Love always, Dad