Will

I was just telling Brian today, as we were hauling firewood from the shed to the truck with Will tagging along and Barrett napping in the house, that it's happened so gradually but Will is definitely now at the stage of talking ALL the time. He just chatters 99 percent of the time, and about 90% of the stuff he says is pretty easy to understand. He mixes up words adorably. He is also a little budding conversationalist. He'll sit at the dinner table and ask, "And so Daddy, how is your day?" Then, "And so Daddy, what time is it?" Finally: "Daddy, how was work today?"  He also has started asking new ones, like, "And so Daddy, how is Bo's ear? And so Daddy, how is Bo's nose?"

It's obvious that he doesn't quite understand the purpose of conversation, since he'll often interrupt Brian's answer to ask his next question. But he strikes up a little chat whenever he can. He'll also come up with questions to ask his imaginary people. He never talks to Bob the Builder or Wendy anymore; now it's Bob and Larry and Emma and Morty Bumble from his favorite VeggieTales movie. (Yesterday he was so eager for me to come down to the basement with him so that he could show Morty Bumble his "big new tractor!" Of course Mommy has seen it a thousand times but Morty Bumble apparently has not, so down I went. A little bit later he wanted to show it to Emma and Bob and Larry.) He takes a different toy to bed every night, one night his race car and another night his little white bulldozer.

The last couple of days have been a little bit of a struggle. I can't tell if he's going to be a strong willed child or if he's just having a rough couple of days. He's asking why all the time, usually hurled at me with an angry glare. How do I communicate but that's arguing? Because I want him to be a thinker but that's obviously not what he's doing. He also seems to be developing little fears, many of them. They pop up here and there throughout the day, and I'm beginning to pray against this as something he may struggle with. He's afraid of the vacuum cleaner in the hallway, he's afraid of the balloon shaped like Nemo, he's afraid of the water going down the drain, he's afraid of the Thomas the train engine movie. Things he liked a day ago sometimes are scary to him the next day. I'm often not sure how to handle this. I try to give these items a funny voice to make them more disarming. I also ask him if mommy and daddy are afraid of these things. He'll reply, "No." Then I'll say, "Then why are you scared of them? You don't need to be scared of them. Is God scared of it?" He'll say, "No." Then I'll say, if God is watching over you, you don't need to be afraid of that. But it doesn't seem to be a magic spell that wipes away the fear. Maybe this will be one of those things that takes time. I can relate to him. I was creative and imaginative when it came to bedtime and I remember laying in bed thinking of scary things. My brother, whom William often resembles in personality, was even worse. So I try to be patient and Brian does too.

Will loves people. He loves interaction and being social. He has this agreeable little way of saying, "Oh! Okay!" when asked to do something. He also frequently says I'm sorry even when there's no need to be sorry, which I think he's probably picked up from me. He is learning to be kind to his brother and sometimes he might hug him a little too hard but I know he loves Barrett. He loves presents, chips, and VeggieTales. He loves riding around in the basement on his Christmas tractor. He loves building long trains out of duplos. He calls every meal breakfast. He loves playing with toys at church. He loves Grandma and Grandpa and uncle Matthews 'plane'. He loves being read to more than almost anything. He can be a little bossy, saying, mommy I told you I was playing with those! He helps me put away toys. He gets so excited to see Brian. He is my little conversation buddy and he makes the day a delight.

A while ago I asked him, "William, do you think mommy and daddy should have another baby?" He looked a little hesitant and said, "Yes?"

I asked, "Do you think it will be a boy or a girl?" And he said, "I want Barrett."