This kid is a KID now. No more baby. No more toddler. Just a big, huge KID. And an awesome one at that. Speaking of awesome, that's his favorite word. And I'm not sure why, but it cracks me up whenever he says it. Like when something cool happens and he says, "That was awesome!" Or he gets a cool birthday gift and says, "this is awesome!" Cracks. me. up.
So...let's see...about my giant four-year-old. He's hysterical, as always. This morning he told me that when you ride your bike you have to always bring your noggin. Also part of this morning's conversations (WARNING: TMI TALK AHEAD): While I was nursing Emma he told me that if I drink more milk then it would go into my boobs and the baby could have more milk. Then when Matt came out with no shirt on (no way, ladies...he's mine) Ben told him he forgot his shirt. When Matt said no, he was wearing an invisible one, Ben responded with, "but I can see your boobs. You need to put a shirt on." So...good thing the nursing thing will be over soon? Maybe less boob talk? TMI? Whatever. Don't read this if you don't want too much personal information. But he doesn't just talk about boobs. He talks about everything. EVERYTHING. He never really stops talking. And he's very articulate. While he isn't so hot at pronouns (I've tried explaining to him the concept of nominative, objective, and possessive pronouns, but for some reason he just doesn't understand...), he can whip out some impressive adverbs and sentence variety. But sometimes, like any good writer, use an aptly placed simple sentence to make a point. Like yesterday, when he told Matt, completely deadpan, "You can't go swimming looking like that." Where does he get the bossiness and sass? Oh...right.
His favorite things to do are to ride his bike/scooter/anything with wheels, swim, play with cars and trains, put on costumes, play with legos, play Star Wars, talk about Star Wars, watch Lego Star Wars, and make lists of all the Star Wars legos he doesn't have and will need for his birthday next year, which he decided (before his fourth birthday had even begun) will be Ninjago. He loves books (yay!). For Christmas his Grammie got him a big Curious George book with a CD. One day during Emma's nap I was trying to clean up and he wanted me to read to him. I put the CD in and sat him on the couch with his big book so I could wash dishes. A new passion was born. I love it. I love reading to him, and I want to encourage his love of reading, but I can't always sit with him and read all day (as much as I would love it). This CD and book thing is great because he can read along with the CD. He's learning some sight words and learning to follow the story on his own, which is wonderful. And because the book is enormous (it's the complete works, folks), it gives me a solid hour to clean and do laundry without having to turn on the TV. Genius. So my friend got him a Mater book w/ CD for his birthday, and I found them on sale at Barnes and Noble, so I got him a couple more. Life changing, I tell you.
Remember what I said about no more baby and toddler? BOY. Our house has been taken over by boy things. There is an overwhelming quantity of legos, light sabers, guns, trucks, cars, dinosaurs, super hero action figures, transformers, etc. Because he had a Star Wars birthday party, he got a lot of Star Wars things. He is obsessed with every last one of them. Including all of the light sabers and guns. Sigh. Guns. I wish they did not exist. But he's a boy, and it's seriously just in him, despite my best efforts to make it not be. We've set rules and boundaries and whatever, but there it is. My little guy is a BOY. Sigh...again. So I guess there's his Christmas wish list...transformers and legos and things that are manly. (But no more light sabers please...we have enough for the entire jedi army. Do they have an army? If they do, we've got them covered. And the bad guys too.)
But being manly (just ask him--he'll tell you he's a man) doesn't stop this kid from wearing his baby doll. My amazing friend Karen, who knows I am one of those crazy, progressive hippies who resists gender-specific socialization from birth, got Ben a doll and made him a little baby sling for his birthday last year. He plays with it occasionally. When I was pregnant he was really into practicing for his new baby. But the doll has been in a coma for a while as Ben has, of his own volition, decided that he's so manly he can only play with boy-oriented toys. This was about the same time he declared that I couldn't like the color blue because it was a boy color; I can only like pink and purple. So much for my progressive parenting...clearly I'm DEAD WRONG. Nature trumps nurture. At any rate, the baby has made a recent comeback. He found her, and the sling, amongst his things. He spent an entire day wearing his baby everywhere. He also insisted on bringing along her bottle, her swaddling blanket, and a little teddy bear for her. (Karen--you may need to make him a diaper bag, because he's not so good at carrying it all.) Adorable. But he made me change her diapers all day. Not awesome. Since that day she's been "sleeping" in her "crib" (a basket). But he reminds us that she's there and that we need to be quiet because she's sleeping. I told him we may need to take her in to see Dr. Carr because it's not healthy for a baby to sleep for a week.
He's the best big brother a little girl could ask for. Except for that time a couple of days ago when he light sabered her in the face and cut her lip. There was weeping and gnashing of teeth all around. Other than that it's so fun to watch them together. He really loves Emma so much. He calls her his baby, his princess, and his smooshie. Adorable.
Let's see...he loves to wear tank tops (and call them tick tops) and do somersaults (which he calls seasoning salts). While he's super manly, when he sees a butterfly or a pretty flower or something nice he says, "awwww...that's so beautiful." He likes to have tea parties with Emma (or just by himself). He loves to take showers instead of baths, and he has a memory like nothing I've ever seen.
So that's our guy. I'm sure I'm leaving out a million things, because he's a million different kids of awesome.
Thanks for an incredible four years, Benjamin Aidan!
