Our silly boy

I think one of the best and most refreshing part of parenting is learning how our kids see the world. Of course that it easiest once they start to talk! Alastair is a total crackup, although he usually isn't sure what he said that was so funny.

Sometimes when he sits at the table or plays in his room he says the funniest things out of the blue. My favorite, by far, is when he apropos of nothing, exclaims "RING OF FIRE!" like they say it in Finding Nemo, his all time favorite movie. He also will come out with a "Kachow!" like Lightening McQueen when he runs around the house. And there is no end to the talk of tractors and noisy trucks that are all around the house, but which adults mysteriously cannot see or hear.

This weekend we went swimming in the hotel pool before we checked out. Alastair wanted to get into the little pool (aka "hot tub") and I explained to him that pool was too hot for him. So a little later, he tells me, "that pool is hot. You have to blow on it." Too cute!

Kids don't necessarily get the meaning of words, or perhaps they are so enamored with the word itself they decide to designate an alternate meaning. For example, Alastair uses the word "nauseous" the same way a So-Cal surfer would say "Gnarly!" or "Awesome!" (If they still said that, anyway...) Sometimes when he is really excited about something, he emphatically exclaims, "That's NAUSEOUS!" What can you say to that really? It is hard to formulate a response when laughing hard enough to actually become nauseous.

Another interesting word reassignment is "supervisor." The other day Alastair and I were playing and I told him that he was super fast. He will often tell me he is a "fast boy" and he loves running anywhere and everywhere. On this afternoon, he looked at me and said, "I am a super..." pausing for thought, "VISOR! I am a SUPER-VISOR!" What a crack-up!

Lately, he also wants to bring odd things to bed for a snuggle. When we started having trouble with naps around the time Mr. Bopice (pacifier) "broke" and had to be thrown away, I kept all the toys and books out of his room so he would sleep. Lately, I have realized that he actually does better with a quiet toy and a few books to lay down with. Since he is relaxed and already lying down, it is easier for him to have a snooze at that point. Alastair brings a toy with him to bed and tells me "I snuggle him." Recent snuggle mates include a front end loader and a dump truck (neither of these are small nor soft) and once a toy microphone. Last night he had an arm and a leg draped over the dump truck when I went to check on him. Just wait till he gets the construction set I have in the attic for his birthday. Then my sweet boy will be cuddled up with a hammer...