Ethan belly slid down the stairs and came running to me: “Ouey! Ouey! Boo bun!” I got the rabbit-wrapped ice pack from the freezer and asked where it hurt. Instead of answering, Ethan just ran back up the stairs. It was Mommy who was hurt. Ethan had accidentally poked her near the eye with a corner of a book.
I was surprised, since Ethan’s tone and intensity were exactly as if he had been hurt. I was also proud and quite thankful for a boy who cares so much for his mother.
Ethan’s favorite stuffed animal, Big Blanky Bun, has a twin. We bought two so that we’d have a backup in case one gets lost. Neither one is set aside; they’re both in active service. Ethan knows this, and if he doesn’t have both at bed time, he usually asks for “two bunnies”. If they’re readily locatable, then fine, but if not, we let Ethan know “just one bunny tonight” (otherwise, the whole backup plan goes right out the window).
Tonight Ethan wanted some reassurance. He wanted to know that both bunnies were safely at home, even if not with him for bedtime. Fortunately, he took my word when I confirmed his timid assertion, “Two bunnies home.”
Ethan likes to climb onto the ottoman, then jump off so that I can catch him while lying on the floor. He calls this “Bug jump Daddy”. Today, Ethan told me it was Big Blanky Bun’s turn to do the jumping. Of course, Ethan took plenty of turns, too.
Ethan’s favorite toys are probably the little wooden vehicles we bought from a local craftsman. We only have a few, and now Ethan has a request: “More tractor.”
What better way to go for a wagon ride than sporting a hat and scarf that Mommy is sizing up in preparation for Hollandfest? Only something was different this time: instead of me pulling Ethan in the wagon, our little boy was walking down the street beside me pulling his bunny behind him.
Sometimes Ethan’s questions make me realize how much everyday knowledge I take for granted. Today, he was asking what gets mowed with a lawn mower. The grass? Yes. The mulch under the neighbor’s tree? No. The driveway? No.
Ethan has four music boxes in his bedroom, some or all of which we wind as part of the bedtime ritual. Depending on how well studied he is of late in the Big Book of Bedtime Stalling Tactics, the ritual can outlast the springs on some of the music boxes. Today at naptime, Beth wound up the windmill, the bear, the lion, and the round music box, but before she could take her leave, Ethan asked her to wind the windmill back up. Since there were still three music boxes playing on, Beth hadn’t realized it was stopped. But Ethan knew.
Shortly after Beth wound the windmill, Ethan asked her to wind the lion, which had now stopped. After Beth took care of the lion, finally he was ready to nap.
I’m reminded of when Ethan critiqued an opus; he sure knows his sounds!