About a Boy

There's something special about a boy. Little boys in particular. They can simultaneously drive you crazy with their antics and make your heart leap with their smile. Life with a boy is an everyday roller coaster ride of adventure, and I was thinking about it this morning after another of McCrea's surprises. With two older brothers before him, I'm not really surprised anymore, so to speak, but I am sometimes amazed at the new heights of fun and mischief we can reach...

I was still taking care of the baby this morning while Mike brought the kids downstairs to start breakfast. About five minutes later I hear Mike exclaim, "McCrea, why are you naked?! Where's your diaper?" I wonder to myself how this went without notice. How tired must Mike have been to bring a half-naked baby downstairs without skipping a beat? =) (Another boy thing?) Anyway, he treks back upstairs to access the damage and announces on his return that McCrea must have removed his pajamas and diaper shortly after laying down the night before...and slept that way...the rest of the night. Oh joy! It's not yet 7 am but we've already got two loads of laundry to do. Life with a boy!



Which gets me thinking of all the other fun parts about life with a boy, like the ceaseless energy, fearlessness or the incessant curiosity...how he wants to be part of the family and insists on having his plate filled with everything his siblings have, only to eat less than half of it. Or how he loves hot dogs, grapes and bananas one day, while they are anathema the next! Or how he helped himself to a box of yogurt covered raisins this morning not ten minutes after breakfast was over. Have you ever seen a bottom-less pit? I have. I'll introduce you sometime.

Or how they always look like they've been in a cage fight. He currently has a constellation of bruises across his forehead, a black eye and two scratches to seal the deal. And it's not like he plans to slow down...he likes to stand on his toy motorcycle, climb on the table, walk down the stairs like a "big boy," fall off the couch (head first, of course) and yesterday I discovered him 3/4 of the way up the ladder into our over one-story high tree house after I'd turned my back briefly to chat with a neighbor! With a boy you pretty much reconcile yourself to never getting an unblemished photograph. There will always be battle scars. You can accept it as one of the marks of boyhood and cherish the memories they represent...or you can be prepared with a bottle of concealer (assuming they'd let you slather them up with it) and the money for touch-up fees. I tried it once. It wasn't worth the effort! =)



All the things that blow my mind, also make me stop and laugh. Like the way he climbs on me like a monkey to give a hug. Or how he tries so hard to help me clean up that I find things that AREN'T trash in the trash can...only to turn around and find him eating old cereal out of the pile I just swept. And the way he absolutely loves to brush his teeth. If I can't find him, he's probably in the bathroom, either playing with his tooth brush or flushing the potty. Just for fun, because he likes how it sounds, and he knows that "big boys" do it. (Of course, it's also possible that he will be playing IN the potty. It IS a very cool resevoir of water, you know...) But I also love how he gets insanely excited over balloons, sirens, tractors and fire. (Yes, fire. He's a boy remember.) He practically dances! Then there's the way he brings his baby sister her blanket and pacifier whenever he hears her cry, because he is already such a good big brother and loves her. It melts my heart!



Boys are so precious. They have the uncanny ability to wear you out...and make you love them for it. It's a virtually unexplainable contradiction. When you have one...then you'll understand. =)