I can tell you without a shadow of a doubt that the best part of being a mother is watching your child become his own person. I watch in awe at how fast he is growing and changing and I love to lay in bed at night and wonder what his future holds. What will his passion be? Will he play a sport? Love to read like me? Be a science geek like his dad? :-) There is nothing like a tiny baby in your arms, but it is even more amazing to see Colin as my little boy instead of an infant. Colin is turning into his own little man. There are several things that I have made note of lately, not the least of which is that I have been wrong about him. Colin and I spend a lot of time out and about now, playing with kids his age and in busy places. Every single time that we go out, a mother will lean in and say something to the effect of:
Is he always so quiet?
He is very shy!
He is a thinker, huh?
You have an introspective little one!
That last one was from yesterday when I took Colin to an indoor play park. Normally, the first thing out of my mouth is, "Oh no! Not at all! He is just quiet/shy/introspective when he first gets to a new place!". It hit me yesterday like a ton of bricks that I am quite wrong about this and I don't know how I have been so insane. Colin is absolutely a quiet thinker and extremely sensitive and will probably be called "introspective" at some point later in life. In the comfort of his own home, of course he is loud and silly. We are his home base! How Colin lives in the outside world is obviously a giant part of who he is and that part is without a doubt very sensitive and shy. He is a watcher...he closely watches everything and everyone around him. He inspects everything with precision and takes his time checking things out. When he plays with train tables, for example, he keeps a serious look on his face and does not tend to giggle or rough house with the trains. He will play happily forever with the trains on the track, while carefully putting them in the compartments and sliding them down the track. We have encountered several boys around Colin's age during these outings that play very rough. This is not a bad thing, boys are boys and toddlers at that! Yesterday, one boy was very pushy and shoved Colin away from the table. Colin stepped back and looked at him with a face that was clearly shocked. He did not cry or push back, but rather just stared at him like he was a bit crazy. ;-) He does not run up and take things away from other kids, as a lot of the toddlers his age do. That is not to say that he won't transition into a phase like that down the road, but for now, he is much more of a lover than a fighter. :-) He is very sensitive, however, and once he decides that a place is too loud or rough, he will let you know he is ready to go. He is not a big fan of strangers touching him and he likes to take his time to get to know people before he gives them his two dimpled smile. Most of all, he does not like to be pushed or rough housed with by other kids, especially ones he just meets. Despite the shyness that he has in public, he loves to go to new places and is always the first one to go check out everything he sees. He absolutely does not like to sit in a chair and watch movies. We took him to the IMAX movie "Dolphins" last week and he lasted about 10 minutes. He would have watched the whole movie if he had been allowed to move seats when he wanted and check out all the stairs and speakers and projectors. He likes to walk around, try everything out, experience everything by feeling it and seeing it up close. He is very sweet and loving. His obsession with babies continues with him announcing "baby!" when he spots an infant carrier while we are out. He says "HUG MOM!" and holds his hands out when he wants to put his arms around me. There have been several moments in the last few weeks when I have had to reprimand him for something and he shocks me with "I sorry, Mom". I can't express how that melts my heart. He talks in these sweet little sentences now and surprises us with how funny he can be. He will offer you a cookie, but if you go to take it, he will grab it away and then roll with laughter. He asks to "get cozy" and will pull the covers over both of us in bed to watch his shows. When we are laying together, he will pat my hair and the side of my face very lightly and say "Mommy, Mommy" in a sing song little voice. He has turned into a beautiful, precious little boy who I just can't imagine life without. For all of these quiet, sweet things he does, he still jumps on the furniture, yells at the top of his lungs and throws giant tantrums when I won't let him do something he wants. I must emphasize that he is no less a "terrible two" than the rest of them! However, beyond that inevitable part of him, he is such an interesting and brilliant little man.
