Oh how I love him!

I’ve been thinking a lot lately. Thinking about how these past three-and-a-half years have flown by. I look at my little boy, remembering how not too long ago, he was just a little baby. Now he’s growing up. I wonder what kind of person he will be when he gets older?

He has such a sweet personality. He’s constantly giving me hugs and kisses. He’s always wanting to sit with me in the recliner and snuggle (and let me tell you, I relish our snuggles because I know it won’t be long before he finds himself too old for such things!) He cleans up his room when I ask him to, puts his dirty dishes on the counter, pushes his chair back under the table, say please and thank you, and is always doing sweet little things to make me and his daddy smile. He loves to give me hugs and will embrace me for so long that sometimes I wonder if he’ll ever let go! (Not that I’m complaining; I absolutely adore his affection.) He’s quick to apologize if he bumps into me and will even apologize to the cats if he runs into them. He likes to run his little hands along my cheeks and asks me if I’m ok or if I’m feeling happy. He has a sense of humor, too. He’ll ask me to close my eyes, then he’ll take a strand of my hair and tickle my face with it. He likes to clown around to get a laugh, and he likes to ask me what my favorite part of my day was (which, of course, is always spending my time with him.) Gosh I love him!

On the other hand, he can be quite onery when he decides to be! He has an incredibly strong-willed personality. I have to be cautious with disclipline- too much negativity sends him into a meltdown. I’ve found that positive reinforcement works quite well with him- I try to catch him doing something right, even if it’s as small as holding over his plate as he eats. And boy, we can really get into Battles of the Wills, let me tell ya. This child is incredibly strong-willed and will fight tooth and nail for what he wants. This can be an asset for him as he matures into an adult, but right now it definitely makes things difficult. Like potty training. Oh man. I’ll save that story for another time.

He loves, loves, loves being around other children, but the poor fellow doesn’t have much in the way of social skills. He’ll run up to other kids, seemingly excited to engage with them, but instead of saying “hi, I’m Nathan! Would you like to play?”, he’ll push them. He also has a rather narrow threshold for the number of kids he can be around. According to the ladies who run the childcare center at the gym, he gets incredibly overstimulated whenever there’s more than four other kids there. If other kids are being obnoxious, running around, and screaming, he loses control and will start melting down. He’ll crash into the floor and walls, pick up chairs and throw them, hurl toys through the air, push, and kick, bang his head on the floor… Then they have to come get me.

I’m not sure if his lack of social skills are due to him being an only child or what, but its definitely something we’re working on. The workers in childcare tell me he is one of the sweetest, most precious children they know- as long as it’s calm in the room. I’m sure it doesn’t help that he has issues with talking. I mean, he IS talking, but just not on the same level as other kids his age. He doesn’t know how to say what he feels, or how to ask other kids if they would like to play, share, take turns, etc. I can imagine how frustrating that would be.

It’s hard to see your child struggle with something, but Paul and I are really working with him, so I’m sure things will work themselves out soon.

He’s a very smart little boy. He’s known his abc’s, both uppercase & lowercase, since he was 2 1/2. He’s been able to count to 100 since he was 2 (with help- he still needs help with the teens and needs to be prompted after 39, 49, 59, and so on.) He loves, loves, loves puzzles! He also loves taking things apart and putting them back together. He’s known all his colors and shapes for over a year now and also knows which way is left and which is right. He can do simple math in his head and has a steel-trap memory. Seriously, this kid can remember something seemingly arcane that I said one time a number of months ago. He can recall commecials he’s only seen once weeks before, and he knows more about dinosaurs than I do. I’m telling you, sometimes I think we have a genious on our hands!

Being a parent is hard. I can say it’s the hardest job I’ve ever had. But oh so rewarding! He makes my heart swell with so much love that sometims I’m convinced my heart will burst. Like when I finish a shower and hear Nathan’s little voice ask me if my shower was nice. Or when I get up in the mornings, hearing Nathan ask me if I slept well. And the hugs! Kisses! And the way he wraps his arms around my neck when I hug him. And when he tells me thank you for giving him amazing hugs. It’s so incredible to watch him grow and learn, seeing his personality develop, and knowing that we are playing a huge role in molding him into the adult he will become.

I love being Nathan’s mommy!

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