I'm Marty, You're Doc and This is Loraine

Dear Marty, 
Yep, I said Marty.  Settle in, this is going to be a long one.  There is a particularly imaginative, a little over the top, entrenched deeply phase you're going through right now,  let's call it the "All Things McFly Phase."  I've mentioned pieces of it here and there, this obsession with Back to the Future and now it is time to dedicate at least one full entry.  For once I know I can't even touch in the blog how deep this thing runs...  I will miss the richness of details it takes to get it across.  This is mostly because the details of all things McFly at this point are in the 100,000,000's.  That is likely a drastic underestimate and only based on the thoughts, questions and demands we hear outside of your head.  Perhaps this thing is less of a phase and more of a lifestyle choice.  I'll start with this, 80% of the time when someone asks you your name you say, "Marty and this is Loraine(pointing to me.) and this is Doc (pointing to Daddy)."  Yep.  You force Bahboo to call his truck a DeLorean and he is Biff.  *Please note Bahboo is "the good Biff that doesn't treat people badly."  Due to the lack of women characters in Back to the Future you decided Grandma P could be Cinderella  per her suggestion (I think she pulled a con with this one but you agreed after she told you the story) JoJo is Loraine's friend, Grandpa Tim is George McFly...and so it goes.  If Henry knows you then he tries his hardest to fit you in as a character.  A few weeks ago I showed you Teen Wolf.  Your face looked as though I was personally twisting your guts up by hand.  I told you over and over and over that this wasn't Marty, but the actor Michael J. Fox.  This actor that plays Marty and Scott.  You said but, "He is wearing Marty's jean jacket and shoes!"  You "got it" half way through but based on your comments the rest of the movie you decided this Marty is in some alternate universe and in the Teen Wolf universe cousin Tony could be Scott, the teen wolf.  "But why is that guy in the house with Marty?  That's not Marty's house and his dad isn't George!"  I am pretty sure you wanted to live in denial rather than acknowledge Marty is not a real person.  So let me list some ways you've allowed this admiration of all things McFly to manifest.
-We can't pass a city/ town clock tower without you making comment.
-You make us call you Marty, if you are playing something else like Ice Age you are Marty playing Diego and I am Loraine playing Ellie and Daddy is Doc playing Manny.  This gets confusing!  
-If you are being disciplined and I call you Henry many times you correct me or will ignore us until we call you Marty.  Speaking of discipline, one time we were in a store and I was trying to get you to hold my hand and go to the bathroom and you yelled, "GET YOUR DAMN HANDS OFF OF ME!"  Like George yells to Biff when he is assaulting Loraine.
- The last one leads me to my least favorite, the face punch modeled off of George punching Biff when he has George's hand twisted behind his back.  Ouch.  You've got the look of it down and I think the force is pretty close too.
-You may as well be wearing a WWMD bracelet because every time you dress you go into a long conversation about what Marty would and would not wear.  
-Speaking of clothes, you make me take an ink pen and write "Marty" on the waist band of your underwear before you'll put them on. Yep!  You don't want Loraine mistaking you for Calvin Klein anymore like in the movie.  You won't wear certain socks or shirts because you believe Marty wouldn't.  You have also expressed to me on more than one occasion we really need to find black suspenders.
-You ask me to put on your too big Nike's because they are like Marty's shoes and if they had a "red swoosh it would be even better."
-You are insisting in this 100+ degree weather to wear blue jeans.  Cousin Jonny and I explained that this just didn't make sense.  The move took place in the fall, if it were summer Marty would be wearing shorts.  This you seemed to let go of.

-Anything that triggers any reminder of back to the future you point it out, no matter how remote.  For example last week in Dayton as we walked on the tunnel to the hotel you saw cables outside the window that were "just like the ones Doc uses to attach at the clock tower!"  They were too.
-You are Huey Lewis and the News fanatic now.  I mentioned how you made the DJ at our friend's wedding play Power of Love...at home we borrowed the CD from the library.  Each night or when anyone comes over you insist on taking them to your room and dancing with them and the Power of Love blasting out of your radio.  You also scream out some of the lyrics.
-You have suspenders and a checked shirt you want to wear EVERYDAY but luckily there is one advantage to not getting the laundry done super regularly.
-You take our old skateboard and try to toss it and front of you and jump on like Marty does.
-Last night you came in the dinning room with water soaking your hair, shirt and clothes.  You jump in front of me asking, 
Henry- "HEY! How do I look?"  
Me- "Wet! What have you been up to?"  
Henry-  "Trying to make my hair look like Marty."
Me- "Oh! It looks great! Let me take your picture so you can see."
Henry-  "Oh! That sounds like a great idea!"
After a couple of photos- "I think you need a little more water, it is almost just right.  Can you show me how you do it?"
Henry- "Sure!"  See the subsequent photos.  Too funny.

-You now call your bicycle blanket "Future Blanket."
-You ask if everything is 1980's or 1950's
-Stumbling around our camp site you kept asking where the plutonium is.
-To get to do stuff or get out of stuff you'll say, "Marty doesn't like that."  or you'll go on and on about how Marty does like something.
-You will flop on the floor and act like you're sleeping in the position Marty is when his alarm wakes him up.  Butt in the air arm twisted around over your back.  See photo-

- When you sleep you want to sleep in your clothes because, "Marty does."  But since we explained that he is in his clothes because he has to wake up to meet Doc at the mall parking lot you will agree to wear your guitar jammies because Marty plays guitar in a band called the Pinheads.
- You made me "look up on your computer what pins Marty has on his jean coat."
-  You are in search of an orange vest.  Once we saw an orange coat and you asked if I would buy it and chop off the sleeves for you.


You get the point Henry, sorry I mean Marty.  This is far reaching.  I wonder if this obsession will make it to 2015, the 30 years in the future Marty goes in Back to the Future 2.  Who knows but right now it is keeping life entertaining.  Just now you called, "Hey Loraine! Come and see me."  You were in the kitchen assuming the sleeping position.
Love, Loraine, I mean Mommy.
 

Ladies and Gentleman, Mr. Personality Has Arrived!

Dear Henry,

Sometime last week your personality found its way into your body. Not that you were a lifeless lump, boring and limp until last week but all at once it was as if a lightening bolt zapped you into animation. I have already mentioned the incident with the paintbrushes and water... this was just the impetus to all of the new changes. Perhaps you are meant to be a famous painter and the brushes in your hands and the hope of a canvas was an awakening for you to find your purpose. You babble and talk like it is a race to get everything out, you're playing with toys now and go after them, you can crawl about six inches, you can sit by yourself for at least 14 seconds, you decided yesterday to roll over from your back to your belly and haven't stopped, you are blowing spit soaked raspberries, you said Mama aloud and in sign language!!!!, with some reliability you crudely sign and say I love you and you are growin' out of your 3 month clothes. You were getting SO hungry even after many 8 oz bottles in a day we've started to give you cereal about once a day. Somehow you knew exactly what to do the first time. The second cereal time was with Grandma P. When some would get on your chin she would scoop it up with her finger and you would go at her finger like a feral dog! No worries Fido, there will always be enough food for you. You have honed a sense of humor and smile like you've won the lotto and enjoy making up games and laughing at yourself. The games are not really sophisticated but they certainly show you're thinking and are aware of the world. For instance, today I was riding in the back of the van with you and you grabbed my index finger and started putting it in your mouth, sucking on it twice, you then took it out, looked at it, look at me, you would smile and then laugh. You did this over and over again until you decided to switch to my middle finger. You give me these silly little grins that make you look like Porky Pig or the Piggly Wiggly mascot. It is almost too much to take when you laugh and giggle with all of your body making your shoulders scrunch up into your jowls while wrinklin' your little pug nose.


This past week you had your first experiences in a swimming pool and hot tub. You are so open to new experiences and so you didn't even wince in the water.




You floated around and babbled with Great Auntie Glo, Crappaw and Mommy like your big secret is that you're amphibian and it feels nice to return to the water once again. You didn't cry to get out, you didn't freak if water moved around you or you got a little on your face. I know someday this might change, especially as you develop an awareness that there are things to fear but, for now, I like this consistent trait of Henry. It makes it so pleasant to be around you, for Mommy and Daddy and for others. This easy goin' thing also means your opportunities will be broader because Mommy and Daddy will lack anxiety over taking you to new activities. It is a relief to not have to walk on egg shells filled with worry about what might set you off.

We just love you more and more and more and more and more every day. So does everyone else. Your sweetness diffuses into the air like a sugary cotton candy perfume and I'm drawn to you. It is hard not to snatch you out of the bed at night and cuddle you up. Daddy has to convince me to leave you alone so you can get rest, but I don't want to!

Another emerging part of your worldly awareness is the increase in your fear. You still hold it together, keepin' true to your cool as cucumber self but a sharp noise you can't see and your face frowns. You look to Daddy or Mommy for some reassurance. If you can't quite make out if you're in the clear right away you might let out a mighty 20 second howl then you suck it up and calm down on your own. Sometimes you'll even be stuck between being scared but keepin' the smile on your face. A frown smile war takes over your expression until you get the okay from us. This is way too cute when you do this and we jump to make it all better so you don't have to lose that sloppy pink smile. Last night I laid you in your room to start your sleep and I turned off the light and I could see the ambient light from the hall gleamin' in your peepers. Your expression was a priceless beam of "uh, uh, Mommy I don't know about this dark thing," and, "aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh, boy am I tired and this bed feels good." When your expression returned to calm I said, "I love you Peep Peep," and left you to your dreams. I came to check on you less than 5 minutes later and you were down for the count with your arms surrendered above your head.

I can't wait for what tomorrow brings from you. But stay tuned Henry, I'm sure Mommy will share it here and trust me when I say these first months will be much easier for you to read about than the teen years.

Did I mention you also have finger toes like Mommy?

Ble ble ble ble that's all folks,
Love Mommy