Me Wike...

That sweet little frustrating James! One moment, he can be sharing his deepest dreams and desires with me:

• Sitting on the sidewalk, watching Matthew use his pincer grasp to examine the mulch and seeing Robert climbing to new heights on the playground, James has his legs out in front of him and his feet are rocking side to side on his heels. He's leaning back on his arms, casual-like. He turns his head to me and flashes his impish grin with the smiling eyes and says, "Me wike modocycohs. An' me wiiiiiike candeeeee. An' me wike fide-ing wif sords and evee good fing. Yah."

• Another day, I tell him we need to run some errands and he perks up, "Us go uh gwoh-swee stoh an' gedduh gwoh-swees. An' us go uh boat stoh an' gedduh boat!"

• Or he'll make up one of his fantastical adventure stories about us throwing a rope up to space and swinging up there to catch bad guys with our swords and rockets, then throw them into jail and blow up the jail and get candy from the bad guys and eat it. When he's finally satisfied with the story's outcome, he half-sings, "Us go do it! Us go dooooooo it!" and shakes his hips. I wasn't paying good enough attention one day and I said, "Sure!" to one of his delightful "us go do it" dances and now he calls it the "wope stoh-wee" and he insists we need more rope before we start.

And the next moment, he's grabbing Alice's swim suit and running away with it. Or pulling out Matthew's pacifier and throwing it on the floor of the car. Lately, he's had a hard time keeping his shoes on in public places. Argh! And too often he's suddenly unable to walk a step further when we're 5 yards from the car. Let's not forget the "Wait for me!" screams that actually mean, "Stop, turn around, look at me, watch me pass you, and then start going when I've already beat you to the destination." Every once in a while I think he goes deaf:

"Whuss dis, Wobuht?"

"That's a calculator."

"Uh whuh?"

"Calculator."

"Whuh?"

"Cal-cu-la-tor"

"Whuh?"

"CALCULATOR!"

(James is so surprised by the shouting that he reflexively slaps Robert on the face full-force)

(both children run to me wounded and crying)

But there's one thing about James that I don't want to change for a long time. Part of his bedtime routine involves a "snuggle" from me. I lay down next to him on his bed and sometimes he wraps his arms and chest around my whole head. I hear his heart beating. He says things like "Me wike you" or "You so sweet" or just smiles at me long and big. I just bask in that unfiltered affection and take it all in. I know my kids like me, but James likes to TELL me that he likes me. That's something wonderful.

So, I'll keep him a little longer, if only for entirely selfish reasons :)