Mama’s Boy

There’s a saying that the oldest child is the father’s child, and the next child is the mother’s. That’s definitely true with our boys. When Kai was an infant and a toddler, Maria often felt a bit left out, as Kai always glommed on to me. Now, with Eidan, the shoe is on the other foot. And it’s even more pronounced with him, because he’s more openly affectionate than Kai was. Maria is regularly peppered with hugs and kisses throughout the day. And me? I get nuthin. Well, once a week or so I’ll get a hug, but that’s about it.

An interesting aspect of this is that Eidan is very friendly with men. He’ll happily run up to men who are strangers, and he’ll gladly let any man pick him up. But, other than Mommy, he doesn’t like women to get close to him. This was frustrating for my sisters and my mother when we went to visit this summer. Eidan warmed up to them eventually, but he was instantly friendly with my father and brother. Maria is the only woman for him. I’m sure that’ll change by the time he’s a teenager
The last time I wrote about Eidan I reported that he said his first word - “no.” He stopped saying “no” after just a few days, and hasn’t said it since. But he’s added “hi” and “bye” to his vocabulary, along with vigorous waving. What’s freaky about this is that he says “hi” and “bye” in a low, raspy voice. It’s not at all what you’d expect from a baby - hearing these words come out amidst his usual stream of babble is a bit startling - it’s like suddenly hearing your dog start talking.

Yesterday he said “shoes” and pointed out the window. He knows “shoes” means its time to go outside, and there’s nothing he loves more than being outside.

I can’t emphasize enough what a terror Eidan has become. I have now come to fully understand and appreciate the sportscaster phrase “you can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him.” He literally runs around the house with the sole goal of creating as much chaos as possible: laundry flies out of the bathroom and down the stairs, books fly off shelves, toys and food are thrown everywhere. And for him, it is all sheer joy. The weather turning colder is going to be a big problem for us. The back yard is the best place for his exuberance. There may not be much left of our house if he has to stay in it for days on end, when it becomes too cold to play outside.