Mr. Mischief (An Update On Robben's Doings)

Oh, the joys of raising a boy! I'm reading Dr. Dobson's book "Bringing Up Boys" (ha ha! I was distracted just now when I was typing and I accidently put "Bringing Up Beans"! Don't ask me why :)) And it seems that my little man is "textbook". I have a feeling we'll be getting to know the staff at the emergency room on a personal level over the next few years. No ER visits yet, but I'm sure they're in our future...

Here are some of his antics over the last few days...

He dug through his diaper bag, removed a container of green beans, popped off the lid, and took a few swipes at it with his own fingers (as evidenced by the green face he sported later) before feeding it to Lily. I walked in to find him hovering curiously over the dog as he studied her lapping form. (He was under Tyler's supervision at the time, who happened to be reading a book, and his response to the situation was, "well then you guys watch him if it's that important." This to Wesley, Amy and myself as we were sharing the duty of preparing dinner.)

When I caught him with a pen in his mouth, I spouted off the usual statement: "Not for your mouth!" And he very quickly shoved the pen into the dog's mouth, who happened to be standing by as an accomplice.

Sunday at church, Robben toddled over to a walker, - clearly not noticing that someone was using it! - grabbed both sides of it and proceeded to shake it with all his might. I ran over and apologized profusely, and the elderly lady answered, "oh, good thing I was holding on!"

Today Robben and I colored. At one point, Lily made off with a crayon. I tracked her down to confiscate the drawing utensil, but knowing what the doggie's heart truly desired, Robben took the very same crayon back to the pooch and gently stuck it in her mouth.

Again, Robben decided to sit in the doggie bed. He now enjoys playing in the crate, sometimes closing himself in. (If I was a kid, I would love that. I remember the secure feeling of being underneath the up-turned laundry basket.) To make my life a smidge easier, I removed the empty food dish and not-so-empty water dish. I placed the water dish on the hearth, thinking that would be good enough. I am learning. A little while later, as I spoke with my dear friend Amy on the phone, Robben not only splashed violently in the water, spilling it on the hearth and the floor, but I barely made it over in time to stop him from lapping the dog's water up with his own tongue. What's good for Lily is good for Robben (or so seems to be his mind set).

I cleaned the living room today, which is close to impossible with a male toddler on the loose... and we won't even talk about the dog. (It was almost as difficult as untangling a mass of 12 latex balloons and 2 oversized mylars outdoors in a windstorm with no assistance. I did that the day Amy brought her twins home. It took me a half an hour and afterwards I had to apologize for the hair stuck in the ribbons of the balloons, because with all the whipping wind, balloons and hair, factored in with the static cling, I lost quite a bit of my mop to the endeavor.) Anyway, aside from taking things out as I was putting them away, Robben found it very entertaining to stomp in the piles I had swept up. Think kid jumping in leaves, but substitute cat litter and dust bunnies.

That's all I can think of for now. Suffice it to say, my little one keeps me running and laughing. I'm so thankful for my precious boy... certainly there will never be a dull day!