All growed up

Seriously. He really is.

I am not sure when it happened-- Perhaps on Tuesday?-- but it really has happened this time. He really is a kid now. Not a toddler at all. No trace in the slightest of my little baby.

Unbelievable.

I think it was Tuesday, actually. We were sitting on the patio at Chipotle with Melinda and Will (two double strollers at our table, my goodness) and Jack, the social little monkey that he is, befriended a 3 year old girl at a neighboring table. Before we knew it, he had pulled up a chair to their table and was sitting having a conversation with this young lady. Just the two of them. Talking together. No facilitation from the grown-ups required. "I like ice cream," our boy told her. "I like chocolate and vanilla. And I like green!" She shared her favorite flavors back, which included chocolate. "I like chocolate too!!" said the boy, obviously delighting in the fact that they had something in common. And on went the conversation, centered mostly on who else liked ice cream...The content was less important than the fact that our boy can now sustain a conversation with a friend. Somehow this is a turning point, a trait of a bona-fide child. No going back now. We've got a little boy in this house.

There are a million other little things that make him seem grown up these days. The way he says his words is changing. The bits of attitude he gives us-- "No, I WON'T say goodbye."--or the way he asks "Why??????" about every little thing. They way he plays pretend, making up names for his cars and little dramatic storylines for wild thing and old fashioned car and their garage. The way he remembers everything, from day to day and over surprising periods of time (he refers to everything that happened in the past with the word "yesterday" but some of those yesterdays were actually from 6 months ago!). The way he is all legs and arms and elbows and doesn't want to be kissed but gives good, run-at-you-and-wrap-like-a-monkey hugs.

Here are a few little tidbits about an almost-3-year-old boy:

He likes to do this funny little "breakdance" move-- 2 hands and one foot on the ground, the other leg kicked up behind and a little twist at the waist. Accompanied by this lovely look of concentration and pride. He thinks he is quite something when he does this.

Walking to Wade Oval Wednesday, he pointed out a sculpture. "Look at those beautiful rocks, mommy! Can we cwimb on them?" When I said maybe some other time, he replied, "Actually, they're kind of dangerous, it's dangerous but that makes it kind of more fun" "Did Daddy tell you that?" "Yes!" :) Gotta watch what we say these days!

"I love fresh strawberries! They are so fresh for my body!"

"It was my idea!" -- said when heading to the potty because the deal is, if it's Jack's idea to use the potty he gets a bonus M&M. And the boy knows it and so ALWAYS tries to convince us that it was his idea. He can also count out 4 items pretty well these days. He talks about 4 as "3 and one more" which I think is some pretty nice math thinking, actually.

*By the way, the boy is using the potty 3-6 times a day and staying dry when awake almost all the time. He won't wear a pull-up or underwear though. Or poop on the potty, though he's tried a few times and did poop in the grass in his playhouse the other day. So, progress but not there yet. The clock is ticking on preschool-- will we make it??

His faces. His silly face, his "I'm not smiling" face, his smile to prove that he's happy, his face to prove that he's sad, his stickingouthistongue face and the look of concentration he gets when he is building something. The face he makes when he is creating (startlingly realistic) truck and train sound effects. His handsome and perfect little face. I could just eat him up.

Except, of course, for the fact that he does not like to be gobbled on, these days. He's all growed up.