I swear, he thinks he’s five years old.
If anybody else has a fork and a spoon, he has to, too. He has to eat corn on the cob, in defiance of his mouthful of 7 teeth (two of which are no more than nubs).
He thinks he has to have whatever everybody else has, from toys to food; he often flatly refuses to drink milk from his sippy cup, or the plastic cup, because he wants WATER out of a GLASS GLASS like EVERYBODY ELSE.
He begs to have his teeth brushed. Yes, I said “begs.” He will actually go up the stairs on his own, and climb up on the stool and wait, howling for help. And lately he’s been trying to do it himself.
He’s learning to express his preferences through signs and by way of Julianna’s system of grunts. A sign takes him about three seconds to figure out; you can practically see the synaptic connections closing behind his eyes.
He thinks he’s five years old—except when it’s not to his advantage. Then, he’s all baby.
When an older sibling torments him (Alex through a surfeit of love, Julianna through pure cussedness…let’s be honest), the screams fill the entire three levels. He comes running to Mommy for a snuggle…but mostly because he thinks I’m too stupid to know that what he really wants is to bang on the computer keyboard. When you tell him he has to eat his vegetables and his meat before he gets a cracker/fruit/cheese/dessert—woe betide the world! Wailing commences! Unfortunately for Nicholas, he’s the third child. Mommy and Daddy are on to the manipulation game now. Temper tantrums get him nowhere. We’ve developed a tolerance for them, and if he outlasts our tolerance, he lands in his crib with the door closed.
It’s really fun to see him blossom like this. As Julianna continues her incremental quarter-steps forward, he leaps the chasm between them like Mario on a bonus. There is no getting used to the difference in the speed of their learning. Even though I know he’s tuned in to a cosmic radio wave she can’t hear and I have lost tuning for, I still can’t help shivering in wonder as I watch him learn.
Growth charts, begone! My baby’s growing just fine.
Kathleen M. Basi 
Sweet! It’s fun watching the third and fourth (in my case) children make their way. Dom begs to have his teeth brushed too….so crazy! Nicholas is a strapping boy for sure! So much fun.
I love it! How adorable! Definitely growing up fine!
Not sure of my comment went through. Just love this post
Cute little tyke! Look at him chaw down on that corn on the cob… It’s no match for his mighty bite!
Sounds like you have your hands full! But you seem to have more than enough love for the job.
Evan
A very cute kid. I think many people underestimate the learning capabilities of kids. They are capable of so much more than one would think. The tooth-brushing thing is hilarious. Thanks for sharing the pictures. I really enjoyed them.
I am so excited when they start growing up but sad because they are growing up.
Too cute! Love those shots. You’re right…growth charts don’t know everything. 🙂
Its crazy how how that works. I cant believe he BEGS you to brush his teeth my little boy refuses to allow that to happen. any if right?