Why is it that little boys attempt to climb up the slide portion of a swing set and not simply use the ladder? I posed this exact question to Eitan after spotting him doing just that:
Because it’s funny to you.
Later, when asked whether a smaller slide would solve the problem, giving Eitan a shorter ladder to climb, I received my answer.
Yes, a smaller slide like at school. As small as my finger nail!
Eitan recently received some stickers than he really enjoyed…
I’m keeping these stickers till I don’t like trucks anymore, which is when I’m a hundred.
Stickers and trucks for life. What could be better?
One evening, Eitan delighted us with the depth of his human anatomy knowledge:
I know how bodies work. There are teeth in your tummy that go CHOMP CHOMP CHOMP… and then you can run.
Yeah, that pretty much nails it.
Eitan used to not be a dessert guy. Recently, that has changed. Following a relatively quick lunch, he was asked if he wanted cake. This was his response.
A few months back, Eitan enjoyed a day of “Wings and Wands” during a fairytale-inspired day at school. Since then, he’ll randomly whip out his gear and run around yelling, “Wings and wands! Wings and wands!”
More recently, I was gifted this entertaining interaction:
Eitan: How are we going to move this (toy) truck? Magic!
Whooshing noises.
Eitan: I’m not magic! I need my wand…
Runs off.
Eitan is in transition. At school, we’re told he sleeps during rest time. At home? Not so much. Here’s an exchange following a recent rest time at home.
Eitan: Are Nana and Papa here?
Me: Not yet. It’s still still early. You didn’t sleep.
Eitan. I slept. I sleep with my eyes open.
Eitan proceeds to shove his face, eyes wide open, into my own.
Eitan: And I talk when I sleep.
Sometimes, Eitan really surprises us. This was a chat I had during our Dada-son bonding time, aka the minutes after he had been put in his crib, aka the time he should already be sleeping.
Eitan: I want to be a grownup. Like you.
Dada: You’ll get there.
Eitan: When I’m grown up, I want to keep you forever.
Dada: Thanks, buddy. Me, too.
Eitan: And I want to keep Dodo forever.
This evening, the power went out right as we were reading at bedtime. Ironically, we had just finished “Katy and the Big Snow” in which one of the plot lines involves downed utility poles.
After we got the home switched over to running on battery power, Eitan immediately switched from slightly frightened to inquisitive. He just had to know what happened.
One ritual Eitan and I have developed over the last year or so has been a man to man talk about literally anything after he is supposed to be asleep. This evening was no different.
Eitan: Why no power?
Me: There’s probably a pole down somewhere in Needham.
Eitan: Tomorrow, you draw me a map.
Me: A map of the power outage? Sure, bud.
Eitan: Need two pieces of paper.
Me: How about we start with one and go from there?
Eitan: Maybe two pieces. Needham big. Maybe three pieces, actually.
Kids are the best.
For those unfamiliar with Frog and Toad, I recommend you pick up any one of Arnold Lobel’s four compilations. Nearly all of his reptilian short stories can be enjoyed by adults and children alike.
One such story, Cookies, concludes with a teachable moment about willpower. I won’t give away the story, but limiting sugary goods is a recurring theme. Following a recent reading, this was a conversation we had with Eitan…
Mama: How about we dress up as Frog and Toad? I can be Toad, Dada can be Frog, and you can be willpower.
Eitan: No, I will be Toad. You be willpower!
Dodo has become Eitan’s “little boy”. What does that entail, you ask?
Keep wild animals away.
Make sure Dodo doesn’t get hurt.
Hold Dodo’s hand so he doesn’t run away.
Eitan