leprechaun

He is full of magic and gold.  He tells me "You're special to me.  I'm special to you."  He doesn't want hugs ans kisses during the day but at night he's a sugar boy.  One tome I was blowing my nose and he said "I'm proud of me watching you use a tissue."  He speaks with a tentative monotone and sings like a bird.  I love my little boy.  He grants me wishes every day.

carnival fun

P took the 4 big kids to a carnival yesterday.  B rode a few rides and it was adorable.  Another ride with fish was really fast and bumpy.  He was terrified and stoic for most of the ride.

dangerous in deed

I don't even remember what he did recently but I thought "Yep.  danger indeed."

Bug, bug.

My sister gave us several hex buggies last year.  B is fond of them and every month or so will come around saying "Bug, bug."  I still always ask if he has seen a bug.  Hey, it's Florida.  But thankfully, he is always just asking for the little robo bugs.  I put a new battery in one and he has a little friend for a few days.  Then it "dies" and he forgets about it, until next time.

B's speech has come along brilliantly in the last 6 months.  I find myself speaking to him in a slow enunciated manner, as he speaks to me.  It's fun.  He really pays attention to word endings, more so than any of the other kids.  It's like he needed more time to get that all sorted out.

B is such a song bird.  He loves to sing "Luyah...luyah...luyah..."  When P put on the Hallelujah chorus today, B grinned so big.  B also sings the "Gloria....." from Angels We have Heard on High.  Of course I'm bragging, he's my kid!  And it's so fun being his mom.

The fish that almost got away

While we were visiting G-town for Christmas B made an escape.  Between being pregnant and having a newborn, I haven't spent much time outside when we go to G-town.  And B has come "of age" (able to open the front door) without me there telling him important things like "don't leave the yard."

I was helping L with her sewing machine and heard the door.  I finished the task and went to look for B.  I didn't see him in the yard.  So I locked the door and searched the house.  I still didn't find him so I circled the house.  Still no B.  I went in the front again and saw him toddling down the middle of the street from 2 houses down. 

My impulse was to scold him, but wisdom lead me to lovingly go with him and ask him to show me what he saw.  We practiced walking on the grass, and asking to go on a walk.  We walked to the P's house (0.5 miles) and back, practicing these ideas.  Later P took B on the same walk to reinforce asking to go on a walk, and staying on the grass.

delightful

It's not just the red hair.  This little boy is so delightful.  He sings.  He dances.  When he cries, it breaks your heart because he has the sweetest cry.  When he is defiant, it just sounds playful.  I wanted him to get out of the car earlier this week.  He had been unbuckled and climbed into the back of the car, while I took L into the house.  When I asked him if he wanted me to carry him out, or if he wanted to come out himself, he said "No" in a sweet voice like I'd asked him if he wanted to... I don't know.  It was just the sweetest little "No" ever.  But that's what he says.  "No" like, "No, dearest mother, I still love you, forever!"

Today he wore underwear for most of the day.  When he went to the potty the first time, after wearing the underwear for a while, I was shocked that he actually peed!  I told him we'd get a treat.  Phillip carried him to the kitchen.  I don't even know where the other children were at this point...  ( Since the oldest 3 are old enough to be out in the yard alone, I'll say that's where they were...)  I asked B if he wanted some raisins for a treat.  "No" his sweet reply.  When I pulled down the candy bowl, and asked if he'd like a candy, his "Yes!" was just as sweet, but much more emphatic.

He's so adorable!

do it self

 6 months ago we were worried about B's language development.  He understood a lot but didn't have many words.  He would say "Mom", "Dad", "Milk" (that sounded a lot like "mom") and "Beach, ha-ha!).  He had about 20 signs which was great, but not as many as the other kids had at his age.   His speech has come so far since then.  And he has this adorable way of summarizing and speaking at a slow rate.  Some of his most cute phrases are "I t'oming!" for "I'm coming!" which he says whenever we call him.  None of the other kids say "I'm coming" and rarely come when called.

One time I asked, what I knew, if he'd pooped in his diaper.  His response "Poop'd self."

 He loves to climb trees.  It's best if we let him climb where other parents can't see.  It's intense.

He's such a beautiful child.  He's still very compassionate.  Though he's getting into fights with lP a lot.  More often it's lP trying to tell him the "right" way to play with a toy, aka her way or the high way.  But he'll resort to wailing on her very fast.  At first she would just sit there and scream.  Now she's learning to run.  And we're learning to watch and listen for the danger signs to head off trouble before it happens.