Things he does that I love

I'm not sure how a more perfect age could possibly exist than two and a half. I find myself melting at things Timmy says or does multiple times a day. Sure, he throws tantrums sometimes or acts irrationally, but honestly, even that can be funny in the execution just because of the sheer ridiculousness.

I've spent even more time with him over the past week and a half than I had planned because he's had to stay home from school with a fever. A doctor visit last Wednesday produced the useless diagnosis of tonsilitis (useless because there is really nothing to do to help it). Then he seemed ok for a few days but the fever was back last night, so we just picked up some augmentin to treat the "secondary infection."

All I know is that even being sick, he's been 95% pure delight. If he had the attention span to watch more than 10 minutes of a movie or tv show, I would go ahead and call him perfect.

At the mention of a birthday party (which seem to be every weekend), he immediately shouts "There will be cake there!"

He similarly gets excited when I tell him we are going to the doctor's office because "There will be a lollipop there!"

He is a ham, and loves singing songs for everyone at full-volume. The latest favorite is skid-dy mer-rink a dinky dink, skid-dy mer-rink y doo, I LOVE YOU! Also popular are Old MacDonald had a farm, the ABCs and Wheels on the Bus.

When looking through birthday cards for friends at Target, he snatched up one with a butterfly on the front and proceeded to recite, word for word, the entire "A Very Hungry Caterpillar" book, complete with dramatic emphasis.

He refers to all of his loved ones as "MY Mommy or MY Daddy or MY Grandma" and constantly wants to "big snuggle" with all of us.

He runs up to me in the middle of playing with his toys to give me a big hug and kiss (including the smooch noise) and then returns to playing as if that was the most natural interlude he could imagine.

If he asks to do something that is a treat (i.e. go look at boats or go to the duck park), he will immediately follow it with the conditions and things we have to do first. So he'll say something like, "take nap first ... yeah, then wake up...yeah, then be a good boy and then go see boats!"

He thrives on being a "big helper" or a "big boy." My favorite example is leaving the house in the morning. This used to be my own personal hell, as it could take up to twenty minutes from leaving the front door of our apartment to getting in the car. Now, if I give him a small bag of trash and ask him to help me throw it away, he takes it proudly, asks me about 10 times "Where the trash room is?" and then goes and dumps it down the trash chute, looking as if he just invented the cure for cancer.

He is sweet and he knows it. Whenever he gives out hugs or kisses, he says "aww, so sweet." He is also becoming more and more empathetic. Anytime he hears or sees a kid crying in public, concern floods his face and he goes to seek out the "baby cryin."

Basically, he is a happy kid. He loves reading books, coloring, riding his bike, putting together puzzles and "playing food." He is cautious and manageable. He also really, really loves to snuggle. He is a mini-PJO.

Let's just say we are more than a little nervous that our baby Airplane will be a mini-Leo. I was a terror baby/toddler/kid/teenager... stubborn, independent, daring and sassy. At one, I climbed to the top of built-in bookshelves and hid from my mom while she was looking everywhere for me, completely panicking and then laughed hysterically when she found me. At a very young age (like 3), I was showing my little brothers how to undo all the child-safety locks, cutting their hair, making up lies and elaborate stories and refusing to follow rules that I wanted to break. Not a bad kid, just one that was extremely difficult to parent. I am soaking up every minute of my easy, loveable and adorable baby boy.