Do You Believe In Magic?

Do you believe in magic?  Because Aaron does.  If you ask him, he'll tell you all about his magic.  It lives in his tummy.  Sometimes it does things for him, like turn on the sink in the bathroom.  Other times, it keeps him from doing things...his magic won't let him do it.  This is just one of the elaborate stories/plots that Aaron created.  That boy has quite an imagination.

The past few weeks have been very low-key, which has been much needed.  Aside from a few birthday parties, we have had the weekends free, yet we never seemed to be just laying around! We all wish there were a few extra hours in the day so we could do more of the things we love.  Last week we declared Monday night "Family Game Night" in the Weatherwax house.  We ate a family dinner and then played Connect 4.  We all took turns playing each other, and both Mudgie and Aaron beat Dave and me at least once (for real).  It was a lot of fun for all of us, and we have decided to make it a weekly event.

Tommy has become quite vocal and opinionated.  He has an opinion on who he wants to be with, where he wants to be, and what he wants to be doing.  Gone are the days of just having him tag along with the big boys wherever they want to go, or sit on my hip while I try to be productive with 1 hand. Now he wants to "walk" around the house (holding onto someone's fingers), and knows exactly where he wants to go!  He's pulling up on anything he can get close enough to, but still not crawling or putting himself into a sitting position (though he can sit if you put him there).  Much like his brothers before him, he will now cry for help if you put him on his tummy, and he will spin around in a circle to make sure you can see his face while big tears stream down his cheek!  He is absolutely strong enough to crawl...I think he just knows that if he protests long enough and loud enough, we'll give in and he can "walk" instead.  We are such suckers.

Tommy has also become an eating machine.  I'm honestly not sure this boy has an "off" button when it comes to food.  He certainly seems to like everything we feed him.  He will happily eat pureed veggies (even the green ones!), fruits, and loves to feed himself real food.  While bananas seem to be his favorite, he also really likes eggs, waffles, mac-and-cheese, and tofu pups.  Pretty much, if it's food, he wants it.

Mudgie and Dave have been playing Lego Star Wars on the Xbox.  For Dave, this is the jackpot of parenting!  While I'm still not thrilled about Mudgie "killing" things, even if it's just a video game, it has been really good for him. When he started playing, he would get frustrated all the time and was not able to do a lot of the game.  After playing for a month or so, he's improved so much, both in his patience, and in his skill, and he is SO proud of himself when he completes something he was unsuccessful with in the past.  It's really great to see him learning that practice and dedication pay off.

Aaron, while also very particular about the way he likes things, is becoming more and more accommodating.  I don't mean that he'll always willing do what you ask of him.  In fact, that's almost never the case!  But, with a little persuasion, and perhaps a little reverse psychology, you can usually convince him that he can enjoy doing anything.  The best part though, is that whatever he does, he performs.  He is always the entertainer, and has such a goofy sense of humor.  I almost fear what he will be like once he gets to school, because he will do almost anything for a laugh.  Maybe he'll say his magic made him do it?  In any case, I hope he always keeps that magic, because it really is contagious to everyone around him.