My Not So Lost Boy

Can someone please tell this little boy to stop growing up! Can someone sprinkle him with pixie dust and fly him off to Neverland? Can he please spend the days tracking down his shadow, pretending to be an Indian brave, and simply stop getting older? I just can't take it. He is getting too big, too fast. 

The last few days I have been going through old pictures from last year and moving them over to my vast hard drive. Really I hate to remove anything from my sight on my computer, but it was so bogged down I just couldn't put it off. Of course this also meant looking through all of the highlights of the last year and reveling in the smallness that was once my very little boy. Oh the things we have done in the last year, but mostly oh how my Littleman has grown. 

These days he can do some pretty amazing things. He talks like there is no tomorrow, stringing words together and making complete sense. I love listening to his stories. He can even keep up a sort of conversation on Facetime with my mom. She asks him questions and he answers, sometimes looking away and rolling his eyes when he gets to the good stuff. Just this morning she asked him about what he was having for breakfast. His response: "Oh just some cereal and toast, with apples and strawberries. And THIS is organge juice in my sippy. My organge juice." Then he turned and took a dramatic swig from his cup. My absolute favorite thing is when he uses words like "probably," or "actually," and "kinda like." Is there anything cuter than a toddler saying, "actuallllllllly?" Sigh, no there is not. It is cute, endearing, and just plain sad that he has already come so far.

Next up, his smarts. To my absolute astonishment, on this last vacation, the kid counted all the way to ten. Yes, I have been counting to ten when I change his diaper, make his lunch, or have him wait before I go and get a toy he wants. In my mind it was just a diversion, a tactic. I wanted him to exercise his patience. At first I would have him simply count to three. Then, his three seconds simply wasn't enough time. So the natural progression was for me to start counting to ten. I would just start saying the numbers out loud and the boy would quiet down until I finished what I was in the middle of before helping him. I counted as slowly or as quickly as I needed. I never expected him to really pick up on all the numbers so quickly, especially because that is not his usual medium for learning. He loves colors and shapes and tactile things. Numbers and letters, usually not so much. Then one time I was changing his diaper on vacation and he was anxious and wiggling. I was getting frustrated. I held him down and told him I was going to count to ten. I started counting and when the pause between numbers was too long for him, K.B. started filling them in. I was so pleased and surprised I completely forgot about the diaper a moment and we had to start all over. Now his newest trick is to count all the way to ten all on his own. Also, if he doesn't want to he says, "one, two, ten!" Too smart for his britches. 

Last of all I notice how big he is when he understands things. I mean to say, when he comprehends what I say, when he sees a problem, and can work out the solution for himself. This afternoon he wanted to play "Hungry Birds," on my phone but the battery had died. I cautiously told him the batter was dead and I was sorry that he couldn't play. This usually triggers a melt down, especially if I lie about the battery being dead (he always seems to know when I lie, but that probably requires a post all its own). This time though, the battery was legitimately gone. Instead of the expected sobs, my boy stopped a moment to think. Then he lifted his pointer finger towards me and said, "One minute. I gonna get the plug. I be right back!" He ran on his tip toes out of the room. As he went up the stairs I said, "OK, you go get the plug," not really sure he would be successful, but interested in seeing what he came back with. Moments later the kid tottered back down the stairs with my long white iPhone cord in one hand and the wall outlet in the other. He had gone up to my room and removed them from the outlet at my bedside. What a kid!

So, as you can plainly see, this kid needs to be shipped off with Peter Pan and his motley crew of lost boys. I need him to stay in this two and a half year old stage right now for a while longer. I love where we are at. I want this fun, adventuresome, smart little boy to be mine for at least one more year before moving on to the next phase. Can anyone out there help me with this?