Growing Up

He's only 2 and 1/2 years old, but he could easily pass for nearly 4. I think it's his mastery of words, and his ability to ask questions and express his knowledge verbally. Most of the time I appreciate his inquisitive mind (and he can come up with some doozies), and sometimes I just want to tell him to relax and enjoy the simplicity and quietness of life without having to verbalize EVERYTHING that he sees or thinks about...but I realize it's all a part of developing and growing up. Some things he enjoys doing are riding his tricycle with Vincent over at Woodmen of the World; catching caterpillars and other insects and letting them crawl up his arm; playing in the sandbox; having books read to him; having books read to him; having books read to him (get the picture?); watching movies - current favorites are The Velveteen Rabbit and Shaun The Sheep; enjoys helping in the garden - harvesting fruits, snapping beans, and collecting seeds for the next year; playing with his remote controlled dump truck - especially in the big parking lot next door; riding on the motorcycle with Martin, and pretty much helping us do whatever we find to do, like washing dishes, doing laundry, cleaning, baking, watering gardens, etc. He also loves to go places and is generally sociable but seems to be entering a bit of a shy phase. He's also into things being scary, like being anywhere that is slightly dark or a little bit isolated, then he says "that's scary!". Oh, and one more thing - the other day when he caught a caterpillar and was watching it crawl up the underside of his arm, he said while laughing, "That tickles my arm, caterpillar." Having a conversation with a caterpillar -too cute!!