Growing Up

Little Man has become pre-occupied with "getting bigger".
Every morning, "Am I bigger, Mom?"  "Am I bigger, yet?"
He almost doesn't need the step-stool anymore to reach the sink to wash his hands.  (sniff)
"When will I be a big boy like my brothers?"

Yesterday, he told me he was "All grown up!", so he could wash his balloon all by himself.
Hmmmmm.
Wash a balloon?
I was too scared to ask, so I sent one of the girls to check on him.

It's not a bad thing this "growing up".  I will admit I've been fearful at times that he wouldn't ever grow up.  He IS the baby.  Not that I don't work on it.  Helping him be independent and do things on his own, even though there are many willing to do it for him.  But unlike our others, there isn't someone younger clamoring for attention.

He helped unload the produce co-op awhile back.  Taking each vegetable and setting it carefully on the counter like I had shown him.  Then he held up a big yellow onion and said, "What about this little guy?"

I don't want him to grow up too fast.  He is my "cuddle bug".  But at four and a half, he isn't a baby and I don't want to treat him like one.

I'm not sure what he'll do when school starts.  If he'll miss the kids desperately, or be grateful that there isn't anyone around to bug and pick on him all day.

Probably both.

We've been here and there, running errands for school supplies, shoes, etc. the last week or so.
He's found this little stuffed monkey with HUGE eyes (not unlike his) that he wants very badly at several DIFFERENT stores (a big thanks to the people marketing these things).

He's asked me over and over to get this little monkey.

And I keep saying no.

I know I spoil him sometimes.  But seriously, we don't need another stuffed animal in this house.  Ugh.

Finally, at one point when I tired of hearing him ask me about it, I said, "Little Man, we can't just BUY toys.  When the big kids want something very badly, they do jobs and earn the money to buy it themselves."

Thinking (naively, I suppose) that this would quiet him for good.

Except that NOW he wants me to give him a job.

Tonight, while getting ready for bed, he mentioned THE monkey again and I told him that I would think about some jobs he could do for me this week.  He looked at me warily (he had almost fallen asleep sitting next to Nana at my mom's birthday celebration) and said, "But Mom, I'm SO tired."

While tucking him in, we went over (once again) that maybe he could do some work to earn the money this week so he could buy the monkey.

He thought a moment.

Then said, "Mom! Like clean the whole house?"

I knew he was a good kid.  He's going to be just fine.

(This is the turtle that he found out at the farm two weeks ago.  At one point Little Man disappeared for a bit and came back without the turtle.  Then he explained to us that he had to put it in a "time out" because it kept crawling back into the water and trying to swim away from him.)