My Boys

This kid is talking more and more every day. Not always articulately, mind you, but he's talking nonetheless. He's also just recently taken to being a bit more surly and defiant. He pulls this exasperatingly adorable face where he scrunchs up his eyebrows and copies my voice when I'm getting onto him for doing something particularly impish. I honestly don't know whether to laugh at him or send him to his room without dessert.

David has truly mastered the art of tantrums, especially the all-important (and often insincere) drama involved in getting his way. This includes the "going limp" maneuver, where he will hang piteously by his arm when I'm trying to hold his hand to get him to go somewhere. Also, there's what I like to call the "Screech from Hades", which he's perfected in order to make it sound like he's being torn limb from limb, when in actuality, stevie is just standing too close to him or has a toy he wants or something.

And yet he's so adorable and I love him so much I can barely punish him...which is probably why he's being such a stinker lately.

Stevie, on the other hand, seems to be mellowing out lately. I was concerned for awhile there because he was so darned OCD about things like being able to lock the car door or having to leave the bathroom before the toilet finished running (that last one stumped me, I'll admit). But lately he just seems to gripe for a few minutes and get over it.

Stevie really enjoys restating facts that he already knows the answer to. I think it's just satisfying to him to be able to list his knowledge out loud. For example, he'll say something like "How old is Jared, Mama?" and I'm suppposed to reply "I don't know, Stevie, how old is he?" And he'll smugly answers "He's four years old." And heaven help you if you answer his question for him. He will, of course, immediately correct me by saying "No, you're supposed to say....etc, etc, etc.

I need to start incorporating Stevie/Mommy date nights, I've decided. I've noticed that I tend to give David all the attention and just expect Stevie to fend for himself. And he can and does, which makes it all the easier for me to focus on David. But the other day I was noticing that my baby is now all skinny arms and legs and his face is slimming out and he's losing all the baby fat. He's growing up so fast, and I better spend time with him now while I'm still one of the most important people in his world. I want him to be able to really talk to me all of his life. And if I don't start now, I can forget about it once puberty hits!

Sometimes I feel like I just want to stop everything and rock him in my arms for hours, but I doubt he'd let me anymore. He really just likes to check in every now and then with a big smile and kiss. And really, what more could I ask for?