Top 10 Things the Big Man Is Doing These Days

1. Walks the same route round and round the living room with Daddy’s hat on backwards (placed there with his own two hands of course)

2. Finds his belly button and Mommy and Daddy’s, though he’s having a bit of a challenge discerning where Mommy’s is on her body. To be fair, many parts of her are round and squishy. This trick is followed by a squeal, laughter, giant bear hug and the triumphant phrase: “beeeh buuuhhh!”

3. Spends hours outside – hours – despite temps, wind factors or impending storms. These moments are generally filled with chasing the soccer ball, playing magic with sticks, stealing the neighbor’s paper or playing “car car.”

4. Asserts his independence – through refusing Momma’s hand, to pushing her away to go to school to insisting on feeding himself. Though slightly heartbreaking for parents, these are steps we’re grateful for as it means he’s developing into a budding young scientist.

5. Rides, feeds, brushes and kisses Thunderbolt, his wooden horse created by Grandma and Grandpa. He even checks his saddle, the cleanliness of the horse’s ears and then goes cowboy style. In fact, he mounts anything that is the right height, then treats it like a bucking bronco – two hand in their air, up, down, up, down. Items include tool boxes, the poor dog, Daddy, pillows and more.

6. Roars! He delights in his favorite book about dinosaurs, and does a quiet, but meaningful roar at any given time.

7. Climbs in and out of the bath with urgent pleas to get in or the announcement of “all done” when he can’t take the wrinkles and cold water anymore.

8. Giggles, giggles, giggles through dinner in a high-pitched, chattering sort of way. That is, when he’s not feeding himself with “bites.”

9. Hugs – warm, delicious hugs that can last up to 30 seconds, his head heavy on your shoulder, just melting away into yours. Magical…

10. Says “uh oh” more times in one day than one can count. A helpful trick, because he announces prior to doing an act that he probably shouldn’t.

Ok, so there’s way more than 10 – each one more remarkablel than the next. And man are we enjoying counting them and soaking them in, one, by one, by one…