My kid wears costumes.
Most days, he dresses like a firefighter.
He wears full turn outs all around town; to school, the library, the post office...
Sometimes he switches things up and wears a construction hat and vest.
At home he mostly dresses like a goalie.
He sleeps with a pink fairy doll.
He pretends to tap dance like Fred Astaire on my kitchen floor.
When he sings, he roars. Lately he's belting Bon Jovi or ACDC
He can spot a Tomie dePaola or Shel Silverstein book from a mile away (no really, he recognizes their styles).
If he wants to make you laugh he will tell you his last name is "Tooterson" or strip all his clothes off and then put his pants on his head and his legs through his shirt.
I don't have to worry about teaching him anything in particular because his curiosity is the foundation for all his learning. He asks questions all day long. Right now he wants to know all about letters, numbers and the meanings of words. Why does the "g" sound like a "j" in giraffe? What number is bigger than a thousand?
He wants to be first for everything. First in the bath, first to get his snack, first to get dressed in the morning. Being first is big for him.
When he plays on the IPAD he chooses all the wrong answers before the correct one because he likes "how they sound".
I feel like he falls a million times when he ice skates but the joy on his face reminds me how passion makes hard work seem light.
On the playground at preschool, he doesn't follow anyone. He tries cajoling other kids to play his game or give up a toy he wants. When two little girls wouldn't let him in a playhouse he was indignant, "You mean to tell me you aren't letting any boys in here?"
At the park, he tags along with the big kids and peppers them with questions about the game they are playing.
He creates elaborate stories and loves to tell stories together. He wants to hear about the day he was born, about the day Jesse was born, about my childhood again and again.
When he sees dogs barking at each other he thinks it's hysterical.
He asked me to write a letter to a player on his favorite hockey team, telling him "I like you because you wear the same number as my Daddy".
His little brother is sometimes a playmate, sometimes a bother. But if you separate them he wants to know "Why". And after being apart, the first words when he walks in the door are, "Where's Jesse".
I see this 3 year old boy and I see an individual.
He just thrills me.
