Adam's Turn to Shine

This week marked the start of getting to spend some extra time with my little monkey.  Now that big brother is off to kindergarten, Adam and I have two whole days per week when it's just the two of us.  And now that he is a very infrequent napper, it feels like a solid chunk of time.  Yesterday, when we were out working in the garden, trying to tame my crazy perennials and just chatting, I couldn't think of the last time I'd had so much one-on-one time with Adam.  It was both a sad and happy realization - sad that it took getting to this milestone with Ethan to make this special time with Adam, and happy we finally did have this special time, and would for the next two years.  Adam is a different kid when Ethan's not around; he's calm, cooperative, quiet, introspective.  He's actually a lot like Ethan, which is surprising to me, as I so often cast my two sons as polar opposites.  While he most definitely misses his big brother (I can't tell you how many times I had to answer "When do we go get Ethan?  Is Ethan on his way home yet?" yesterday), Adam also seems to enjoy some only child time.  As I think most oldest children do, Ethan sort of runs the show when he's around, and it's a nice change to let Adam take the helm for a bit.  We've replaced music class with gymnastics (Adam's choice), and we had our first class yesterday.  I fully anticipated positive reviews from Adam, and was not at all surprised when he came out of class saying firmly "I do not want it to be over yet!!".  On the next five Monday mornings, Adam gets to spend a few hours at Broadturn Farm, just around the corner from us, taking care of the animals, harvesting and cooking veggies, taking walks in the woods, and doing crafts.  He started this little preschool program just this week, and cannot wait to go back on Monday.  And in between those activities, we've been playing lots of Candyland and Memory, reading books, doing some crafts, and shoe shopping.  That's right - Mommy needed some new shoes for a wedding this weekend and it turns out someone else likes trying on shoes even more than Mommy does.

Although he's quite a bit less of a handful when he's got my undivided attention, my little guy is still his wacky, zany self.  I've really enjoyed, this week, just listening to him and his funny stories, his interesting way of looking at things.  He's actually gotten to finish his thought before getting talked over / told to be quiet / wrestled to the ground, which I'm sure is a welcome relief for him.  And some of the things that come out of Adam's mouth are just priceless.  Lately, he's been really into saying "What the heck?!" whenever he sees something that surprises him.  But because his voice still has just a bit of babyhood left in it, it sounds more like "Wha de heick?!" and cracks me up every time.  Yesterday we were talking about patterns, and I asked him where he had learned about patterns, and he started his response with, "When I was in Room 4, when I still pooped in my pants...".  Because of course we mark time in this house around potty training milestones.  Although Adam picked up language very early, he still has a few adorable little babyisms that I hesitate to correct because they're so cute.  When his belly hurts, he says he has a "stummy ache"; he calls Mommy's favorite drink (and one he likes to share) "seltzoh"; and he hates sitting in "trakiff" (Ethan still says this too, so maybe we won't be shedding that babyism anytime soon).  

We worked on a school project yesterday, where we were asked to think of three things that make Adam special, cut out a sun and write them in the center, and create rays to glue around them.  I asked Adam what he thought made him special, and his first response was his hair (the same answer he gave when his teacher asked him the same question earlier this week at circle time).  Not wanting to be too repetitive, I asked for another.  Our little narcissist blurted out "my blue eyes".  I agreed that his beautiful blue eyes do contribute to him being special, so I wrote that down.  Next I probed for something "in here", and pointed to his chest, hoping for a trait of character rather than of appearance, no matter how cute it may be.  Forever literal, he looked at me with questioning eyes and said "my heart?  my lungs?".  I laughed and said "how about how you are such a great sharer, or that you are smart and witty?".  A huge smile erupted on his face and he agreed that he was an excellent sharer, and concurred that he tells really funny jokes (debatable).  I feel lucky to have a couple days a week this year to be truly present with Adam, to absorb all these little quirks and traits that make Adam Adam, to really take in and nourish what makes him so very special.