Grandson enjoys Slinky

On our last visit to Texas our 2-year-old grandson, Jacob, was speaking in single words. Now he talks in full sentences as he threatens to “Puff and blow you house down,” if I dare ask, “Who is it?” when he knocks. We have reduced the story of the three little pigs down to the essentials — knocking, big bad wolf, let me in, and then huffing and puffing followed by lots of giggling and occasional chasing. Who needs building materials of straw, sticks or brick? I do recite the lines of “not by the hair of my chinny, chin, chin,” but Jacob considers the chins to be as unnecessary to the plot as the straw.
That is the beauty of toddlers. They realize what is essential in life. Actions speak louder than words. Chasing and giggling are far more important than sitting still for any reason. Hiding under a blanket produces more laughter than playing with the many toys received for Christmas. Oversized boxes are more fun than the things they once contained, especially if an older cousin cuts a door into one side. Once is never enough for a favorite story.
He also firmly believes that hugging, kissing and occasionally rolling his baby brother all over the living room floor is something the baby enjoys. Sometimes he is correct but not always. Baby Nicholas alternates between howls of joy and of frustration when Jacob decides it is time to play with him or if the baby is holding something that Jacob wants such as the Slinky I bought on a whim. How was I to know that Nicholas would get more pleasure out of the inexpensive plaything than any of the other children did?
Jacob has become very possessive of the people in his life. Nicholas is his baby. Beth is his mommy. Emma is his sister. Duston is his daddy. Even Duston’s other children, Paige and Nate, belong exclusively to him. These people are not to be shared. It is permissible to interact with them as long as we remember that they belong to Jacob and nobody else. The idea that Beth could be both his mommy and my daughter is akin to heresy. And he will argue the point very loudly and adamantly.
Sometimes it is good to live in the black and white world of the very young. There are not as many misunderstandings. One doesn’t run into conflicting opinions or preformed judgments. Family belongs to Jacob, and him alone. Sharing is not in his vocabulary yet.
 Jacob is sitting beside me as I type. He has Silly Putty, which has become a dead, yucky fish that is now being brought back to life by being lowered into the ocean that was once referred to as the carpet. This brings the fish back to life. I’m certain that as soon as we leave the Silly Putty will revert to an unwanted gift from Grandma far, far away and will be tossed into the trash. But for now it has transformed from a fish into a mustache.
Nicholas is pulling himself to standing by holding on to the coffee table and the older children are in school. Life is good. At least for now. We will be back home and little boys will no longer be crawling all over us by the time you read this. The long drive will be but a memory. So will the warm weather.
I will miss the competition for attention from two little boys and their assorted siblings. I won’t miss having a baby blow raspberries while I’m trying to feed him. I was privileged to feel the budding of Nicholas’ first baby tooth and to beat oldest bonus grandchild, Nate, in a very long game of H-O-R-S-E. Of course he skunked me the next time we played.
We get to pick up Emma from school today. She just celebrated her sixth birthday. I find it amazing that she is that old already. It seems like just yesterday that she was the one who was a baby. Now she has two brothers and she has become a big sister.
That’s the way it is. Babies grow into toddlers. Toddlers grow into children. Nothing stays the same. Except, of course, for the big, bad wolf.[[In-content Ad]]