Pa-Pop
My dad came to visit us last weekend for a quick Saturday through Monday visit. George just adores my dad and has talked about him ever since he left. In preparation for the visit, I'd talked with George about how Grandpa was coming to visit and tried to get him to say "Grandpa" since I knew that would make my dad's visit extra special. George tried and tried to say "Grandpa" and finally came out with "Pa-pop".
We do a lot of video chatting with our distant relatives, so George knew who "Pa-pop" was, even though he hadn't seen him in person for a few months. The two of them played and chatted and had a wonderful visit. George was not his usual happy self when we dropped my dad off at the airport due to some teeth coming in, and didn't really acknowledge my dad leaving. We went home and took a nap, and later that afternoon George awoke happy and slightly confused. He kept running around the house looking for my dad. He was especially cute (and sad at the same time) the way he'd stand at the base of the stairs and cry out "Pa-Pop?"
He's settled in this week and finally stopped asking for his grandpa as much, content to just video chat with him instead. He'll grab my laptop, hit some keys, and then ask "Pa-Pop?" expecting his face to appear on the screen. After I get the video chat going, he'll visit with Mom and Dad and then when he's done he'll say "Bye-Bye" and shut the laptop lid, effectively ending the conversation.
This evening, George and I went upstairs to ready the guest area for our next round of houseguests. George hadn't mentioned my dad in a day or two and we wondered what he'd do as he headed up the stairs. Sure enough, he got to the landing and yelled out "Hi, Pa-pop!". When he finally made it to the top, he was a little confused that Pa-pop wasn't hiding up there but he was easily distracted by his Big Wheel which we keep upstairs out of the way, since George isn't big enough for it yet.
I love this picture, it's of George sharing his cracker snack with my dad - can't you just see the adoration in his eyes?
