Big Boy Bubby

Reshen asked "why" for the first time last week. He was upset because we weren't driving in the "black car" (the Camry) and finally after telling him what seemed like 100 times that we couldn't drive in the Black car right now he asked "Why?" It stunned me for a second.. just seemed like such an "older" kid thing to say. Really a huge developmental leap in my book. He also used it yesterday when we were talking about the oven being hot. "Why oven hot?" he asked. I have a feeling this is just the beginning of the "Why" questions. I wonder exactly what happens that it finally occurs to them to ask "why". I'm sure he's thought it before, but he is just now vocalizing it. I ask *him* "why" all the time and he's been able to answer me now for a few months (i.e. mostly "why did you do that? why are you crying? etc.). I suppose it finally dawned on him that he could use it too :-) His language development intrigues me to no end.

We had another first recently- the first attempt to climb out of the crib. He had been whining in his crib one evening at bedtime and when I finally went in there, I was shocked to see one leg up and over the crib. Luckily he hadn't hoisted his whole body up yet (his other leg was still on the mattress), but it worries me that he is even thinking about climbing out. I asked him what he was doing and he answered, "Trying get out of crib." At least he's honest. I suppose if he keeps it up we'll have to try a "big boy bed," but it worries me what he'll do to his room if not confined. I'll have to do some *major* toddler proofing for sure.

He's obsessed again with "A Mighty Wind"- the concert at the end of the movie. He gave it a break for several months, but he's back at it again... asking to watch it all the time and singing and playing his guitar along with it.

He's also uber-obsessed with "Choo Choo Soul," and would watch it non-stop on the computer if we let him. He has a specific rotation of video clips he watches- Steam Train, then Bullet Train then Do Your Own Dance. He never wants to watch the Be Polite video though.. he has totally shunned that one.

Reshen has invented a silly word that he knows is funny and uses it whenever he wants to be silly. It's "buggy" or sometimes it sounds more like "boogie"... but whatever he says, it goes for everything. Mommy is "buggy", the cars are "buggy", the food tastes "buggy". You get the drift. He always says it with a silly, expectant grin, knowing that he is funny. I guess his lobster is "Buggy" too. Gotta love this early humor.

And the potty humor is beginning too. A boy all the way, he was trying to make himself pass gas the other day.. and when he did, he would bust out laughing. Nice. Sometimes he also says in his "silly" voice, "I pee pee out my bottom". *sigh* I know this is only the beginning. And I also know maybe I shouldn't laugh. But it's just so bizarre to hear my baby boy saying these things! Wasn't he just learning to coo and blow raspberries yesterday?? And now he's talking about pee and bottoms with delight. It sure doesn't take long to catch on, does it?

He's been talking a lot about monsters lately and having to hide from them. At first I thought maybe he was scared and trying to work through it, so I asked him if monsters were scary. He said "No. They are silly." Well that's good. So we've been chased by lots of silly monsters lately and are constantly having to hide from them- at the park, under the covers, etc.. I taught him to then pretend to jump out at the "monsters" and yell "Boo Monsters!" and scare them away. Figured that if he really was afraid for any reason, it might help to pretend to turn the tables on them :-)

Reshen's feet are finally slimming down. We took him to Stride Rite to get him some new shoes a couple of weeks ago, as he was wearing through the toes of his old pair. I expected him to go up maybe 1 size. He was currently in size 6.5 extra wides, so I thought we'd be getting him 7.5s (with lots of room to grow). Nope. He actually needed 8s! I felt bad that he had been wearing shoes that were too small for him for so long, but honestly he never complained and he was still running and jumping in them just fine. But the good news is that he only needs wides now, not extra wides.. which means we aren't limited to Stride Rite anymore- yay! Don't get me wrong, they have really cute and very well constructed shoes... but they are just so expensive! So we left and went to Payless and got him a cute pair of Champion sneakers- size 8 wide :-) He loves his new shoes and we loved the price- only $15 ;-) I still have to buy him a pair of rain boots, though, and also a pair of sandals for the summer, as I just realized both of his old pairs are only in the 5-6 range. My baby boy is growing!

I'm loving his pretend play lately. He's been doing it for months, but it's becoming more elaborate and abstract lately. Yesterday at the playground we were pretending that Reshen was going to work and Mommy was staying at Pam's house. He would bring me to a spot that was Pam's house and then he would run in this wide circle to "work" and then back towards me and give me a big hug. And then we would talk about our days, like we do in real life. He loved hearing what I "did" at Pam's house and even interjected stuff that he usually does there. Anyways, we did this at least 10 times in a row. And every time I saw him running back towards me, my heart just swelled with love. He just looked so big all of a sudden, and independent... but yet still had those baby cheeks and hugged me so sweet and tight when he finally made it back to my arms. I found myself not wanting to let go each time and trying to get in as many kisses as I could. I almost hated to let him go each time to go back to "work," but then it was so much fun to watch him run in that wide circle and back into my arms. I suppose that is what raising children is about... letting them go to run the world, and hoping that your bond will lure them back for a hug every now and then. I can only hope he will always come back to me with the joy he did at 2 years old.