My Thomas

With the imminent arrival of new baby I have found myself being very nostalgic about my baby for the last three years (not that I am allowed to call him that. "I'm just Thomas, mom!!!"). I realized that many of my recent posts have centered on what Samuel is up to. This doesn't mean that T has been inactive (or quiet) by any means. There just haven't been as many isolated, blog worthy moments with him lately. Instead, he is a conglomeration of Thomas-isms that make him our unique, fierce, funny little boy. I don't have the right words to adequately describe this kid's personality, but he is such a unique presence in our home in a way that is very different from Sam. I'm lucky in my boys. They may drive me to the looney bin some days, but mostly I feel like I don't deserve such good kids.

He has recently stopped calling himself "my thomas" as in "where is my thomas' shoe?" but the nickname has stuck, particularly with his dad. Here is our "My Thomas" list:

--He is going through a timid phase at the moment, but feels a lot more comfortable with a sword in his hand and will brandish it and say "I'm a BAD GUY!!!" If possible, he will ignore the many actual play swords in the toy box and reach for an unsharpened pencil and tell us "pretend this is a sword!" Ditto for the hook he has to constantly carry around to be Captain Hook. I got him a play one at a party store and he still prefers a hanger or the dough hook from my kitchenaide mixer. He has to have a "weapon" when watching a show that has anything remotely scary in it, and gravitates toward the few Disney shows that feature guys with swords (Hercules is the favorite) and he will mimic the fighting on the screen.

--I recently made him a peter pan shirt (the quality of which makes me unwilling to post a picture for posterity...) and when he puts it on, he switches right into character. When he is upset about being told "no," his catchphrase is usually "that makes me saaaaadddd...." but when he's in character it's "That makes Peter Pan sad!!" When told to stop throwing bologna on the floor, he looked me in the eye, shrugged and told me Peter Pan did it (what the heck did I expect him to do about it??) To be honest, Peter Pan is kind of a stinker...

--My Thomas is a cuddler and always has been! Unlike Sam who recently informed me that he would only let me cuddle him "when he wakes up with a nightmare, but during the day I just want to be silly." I'm more grateful for my little one who crawls into my lap all the time and wants to have his back rubbed. This morning, he gathered all the pillows in the living room and piled them around us and snuggled down. Every once in awhile he would reach up and pat my face and say "I love you, mom." He may be an evil genius who knows just how to manipulate us but I don't even care. Moments like those tend to make up for the exploration and consequent experimentation with the contents of my make up bag, or the 500th time he smacks his brother, etc.--My Thomas is active. This is a child who barely sleeps and has no time to eat and is the first one up every day and runs into our room to inform us that it is morning. The dark blinds no longer fool him in the morning, since he has taken to crawling out of bed whenever he wakes up in the night to check behind them to see if it is day. Good thing Jay is a morning person... There is no elevated surface in our house that T has not jumped off of and since I recently banned him from leaping from the couch arms, he has taken to pretending to fly from the top of the stairs. I expect a trip to the emergency room every day with this one.

--We call Thomas our "puppy" and he really fits the bill. All he wants to do is play catch and if no one will play with him, he throws the ball for himself and then cheers "Go Thomas!! All Right!!! Yeah!!!" As a barely crawling baby, he would carry things around in his mouth and bring us balls to throw for him, which he would fetch. Since we call him "puppy" a lot, he spends at least some part of every day officially pretending to be one and requires head scratching and doggie praise.

--My Thomas is intense in everything he does and always has been. He recently got a new pair of flip flops that he did not want to take off for a second. He placed them at the end of his bed at night and would put them on first thing in the morning. When he wasn't wearing them, he was carrying them. He is both Samuel's best friend and worst enemy without much in between. I love it when they play, but oh the fighting and the teasing...! Thomas has a healthy dose of "the little brother gene."

--My Thomas is a sweetheart. Not a sunday passes by that he doesn't tell me that I look "pretty" or "beautiful" on the way to church. He has recently started passing the compliments around to J and Sam, but I get the brunt of them, which I am actually okay with. Of both boys, he seems to be anticipating baby sister's arrival the most. He often points out baby girls when we are at the grocery store and asks if sister will be like that.

--My Thomas is a singer. Surprisingly, this kid sings all day long (Sam won't even sing in primary these days). He can remember lyrics really well and is actually in tune most of the time. If you are really lucky, someday you may hear him sing the "Go the Distance" song from Hercules, and it will melt your heart forever. You have to pretend not to listen though or your won't get a performance. His other favorite is the "Happy Family" primary song and usually busts it out when he is in the bathroom for some reason.

Learning to wink!

Thomas-isms:

"Are you nice?" (guaging whether or not I am still angry after he has gotten in trouble for something)

"How I'm lookin'?" (after getting dressed. He will put his hands on his hips and strut around the room.)

"I deeped in the water" (after he has accidently let his head go under the water at the swimming pool)

"I want some cereal with the bag on it" (translation: I want some cereal in a bag?)

"Can I have a juice of water?" (drink of water).

"I'm not going to talk anymore" (his threat when he is mad at me. Unfortunately, he never keeps his word...)

"I'm a BIG boy" (when trying to coax us to let him do something he isn't allowed)

"I'm just a little boy" (when trying to talk himself out of having to eat more bites of dinner)