Five Forever

Tonight AJ said "Mama, in two more birthdays, I am going to turn five and then I don't want to turn six or seven. I want to be five forever!" As I probed as to why this was, he told me that five is the best age because when you are five, you get to chew gum, ride a bike and learn to read. He is most excited about the chewing gum part.

A Story Every Little Boy Can Relate To

From a conversation I had the other day in the car with AJ:

AJ: Mama, I have been a kid for a long time.
Me: Hmmmm, I guess that is true. You have been a kid for three years.
AJ: And three years is a long time. Mama, I think I should try being something different.
Me: Oh yeah? Do you want to be a big person?
AJ: No, I wanna be a superhero!
Me: Oh, a superhero?
AJ: Yes! I want to be Spiderman!

I think it is official that AJ has transitioned from being obsessed with Thomas the Train to being obsessed with superheros. He has Spiderman sheets on his bed, insists on wearing his Batman pajamas every night and asks me to tell him bedtime stories about Superman. Davey is interested in superheros as well, mainly because he likes to make noises like "bam! bam!" while punching his fist in the air, but also Davey still holds onto his love for all things Thomas.

In addition to superheros, AJ is very focused lately on guns as well, and the two are often together in his mind. Think Spiderman shooting the bad guys with his guns. He makes guns out of legos, construction paper or bristle blocks and pretends that pretty much any other toy he can hold in his hand is his gun, including my recent favorite, a frisbee. (Hey, who knows, maybe the physics of a perfectly round gun works better than I think it does.) He loves to shoot at people, despite all of our explanations, threats and eventually punishment on why this is not a good idea. He is especially fond of pointing his guns at people who are sitting in close proximity, such as at the dinner table. Conversations with him tend to center around who is going to shoot in the eye or who he will blow up into little pieces. We don't let him watch violence on tv, with the exception of Kung Fu Panda, which does have some fighting scenes, although no guns. This leads me to wonder whether this love for guns and blowing things up is part of a developmental phase or just part of being a little boy.

Tattle Tail

Davey is talking much more lately, and a lot of it goes like this:

Mama, AJ hit me!
Mama, AJ push me!
Mama, AJ kick me!

And on and on from there. The boys are each other's best friend and biggest rival at the same time. Each wants to be where the other is, doing exactly what his brother is doing until someone wants a toy that the other has, and then it is "Mama, I don't want Davey touching my Spiderman!" or "Mama, no AJ!"

Being the big brother, AJ is happy to have his shadow, his peanut gallery and his biggest admirer all in one little brother. If AJ does something silly at bath time, Davey is the first to guffaw like a tiny Ed McMahon. The other night, AJ threw a glass of water directly in Davey's face at bath time, and before I could reprimand AJ, Davey started giggling, egging AJ on. If AJ wants to initiate a game of chase cats, Davey is the first to get on the bandwagon and will run behind AJ, both of them squealing happily as they try to get close enough to the terrified cats to pet them. Occasionally AJ is willing to follow along with something Davey has initiated, but being the big brother, he typically insists that Davey go along with whatever AJ wants to do.

Being the little brother, Davey thinks AJ is the best thing that ever came into his life. If AJ is getting ready to leave for an hour or two to a birthday party or activity that does not involve Davey, mighty Davey runs to get his shoes, coat and hat and tries to shove his little body out the door behind his brother, wailing "Davey go, too! Davey go, too!" He once did this when he was not dressed yet, so in his haste not to get left behind, Davey had on a diaper, a coat, shoes and a hat and was trying to talk his way into going out the door with AJ. When he returns, AJ is greeted at the door by a little brother who is so genuinely delighted to see his long-lost buddy that I cannot help but smile. "AJ! AJ home!" Davey will say with a happy grin. He will sidle up to his big brother and offer him an update on the news of what happened around the home front in AJ's absence. "AJ, Davey watch George!" or "AJ, Davey play with trains!" AJ sometimes will not give Davey the time of day, as all big brothers do, and other times will be jealous of whatever Davey got to do in his absence.

I will be curious to see how having a little sister adds to or changes this dynamic. So far, sissy laughs whenever her brothers look her way, but they often do not want to give her the time of day. I can see her being a little daredevil someday in an effort to win the respect and get the attention of her big brothers. Time will tell.

Growth Spurt

Hello again, and apologies for the delay. My boss resigned two weeks ago, and I have been swamped. But back to our regular programming...

AJ is having a growth spurt. His pants are getting too short again and he is eating like a horse. The other night a little someone came up to my bedside and whispered in my ear at 1:30 a.m. "Mama, are you awake? Did I eat enough at dinner tonight? Beause my tummy's hungry."

This was enough to get me out of bed and downstairs to give him a bowl of cereal. But AJ liked this treat so much that he started insisting he could not fall asleep without his extra bowl of cereal. Of course, the request always came after teeth were brushed and he was tucked in bed. Being the soft-hearted soul that I am, I permitted this for about three nights in a row when Joe was out of town on business. Once Joe returned, he put the kabosh on it. I protested at first saying "Honey, but he's hungry! I hate to think of his little tummy being hungry, and he does always fall right asleep after he eats again." Joe pointed out that AJ is not wasting away any time soon and can make up for it with an extra big breakfast. I am a night owl myself and so have some sympathy for AJ's difficulties falling asleep at 8pm, but I think Joe is probably right on this one.