He Nose So Much

(First off, I want to open up with a shout-out to my nephew Connor, who turned 7 today and is cool!)

On Sunday, Melissa, Ian and I went to a train exhibit in Meijer Gardens. It was the frosting on the cake of a fantastic weekend. Ian was just a lovable little guy the whole time and there were a lot of smiles and laughter throughout.

Today was Monday, and the usual Daddy and Ian shenanigans were going on around here… But first let’s talk about Ian’s nose. He’s got a bit of a headcold going on, and his nose is running. I took this as an opportunity to try and teach him. So he went from his original state, which was “knowing how to wipe his nose when handed a burp rag” at the beginning of last week, to “knowing to go get a burp rag and wipe his own nose when requested” to “learning how to blow his nose by exhaling through it” to “wiping his nose without being asked” to “pushing the ottoman over to the counter, climbing it, grabbing a tissue, and blowing his own nose into the tissue without being asked, and then throwing it in the garbage when described by his daddy as ‘icky.'” The last two stages I only got to see executed once each, but they were so spectacular that they were worth mentioning.

Ok and now other stories of the day. He has these plastic tupperware-like canisters he keeps his train parts in. They’re made out of a kind of plastic that it seems like nothing sticks to very well, so I had him start decorating them with stickers because up until now, he hasn’t had any clue what to do with a sticker once it is given to him. I mention this only because if very rarely does Ian show a face of pride, but watch him if you see him go near these canisters, because he absolutely beams when he looks at them. Definitely something like “This is cool,” but also “I did this.”

I asked him if something tasted good today and he said “Mmmmm dee-ishus.” Here’s a sound clip of this one…

While we’re on the topic of cool things that Ian has said recently, please give this one a listen, and again, watch the volume, folks… parts are very quiet and parts are loud. Click here to hear Ian say mmHmmm, and a few foods.

A few minutes later I asked him if he wanted a fruit snack or cookies for dessert… and… (get ready for this one) he said “Bofth.” Now look — I don’t know how he could know to say that — it shows a level of complex understanding that I’d assume should simply not be happening yet. But that is precisely what he said. “Bofth.” Just the fact that I gave him choice A or B and he chose C is so endearing to me… Melissa must have felt the same, because when I texted this to her she replied “that’s our boy.”

We put three teddy bears in a chair today and it was fun watching Ian decide that the bears really need a blanket… and some pizza (plastic food tokens)… and they each needed a ball… and a truck. It looked to me like he’d read “If you Give a Mouse a Cookie” one too many times. See this image larger.

I took him out on a sledding run today. Threw him in the sled, ran ahead of him and pulled him around the yard. I went one lap and started a second one, asking “Are you having fun Ian?” “Noooo.” “Oh, you want to go back inside?” “mmHmm!” (The latter said sweetly, like in response to an offering of cookies.) See this image larger.