Almost Four But Not Quite Yet
August 28, 2012
Ezra, on the other hand, has one more week of summer vacation before he goes back to school.
He didn't realize this. He was so disappointed.
Back to the manual labor grind, then.
(He takes this task very seriously, in case you couldn't tell. We have the watered-est garden in at least three counties, I'd reckon.)
Ezra will be four years old soon, which is weird. Not in the "OMG FOURRRR?" sense, but in the sense that...really? He's not already four? Or five?
I sometimes forget that he's only three, usually right up until the moment when he suddenly lets his three-ness show through in the most spectacular three-like fashion. And then I remember how small he still really is, and how relatively easy we've had it with him. He wants to please and help and do things and make us happy. He waters the garden, he helps with the dishes, he cuts Ike's banana into perfect slices for him every morning, he puts groceries away.
He is the reason I found a brand-new container of chicken stock in the freezer, frozen solid.
He gets jealous of Ike, naturally — if you stop to coo over him in public you can expect Ezra to immediately jazz-hand his way back into the center of attention. "I GOTS MUSCLES! I'M SUPER FAST! ONE TIME I ATE A BUG!"
His jealousy is mostly unwarranted, because he's openly the favorite of just about everybody he meets. Noah likely isn't interested in anything you've got going on (unless your forehead is currently screening an Adventure Time marathon, that is), and Ike is too enthralled with walking and climbing to cuddle much these days, but Ezra...oh you best believe Ezra is up for some cuddling. Ezra will cuddle you SO HARD your heart just might explode a little bit.
He attacks our legs and necks dozens of times a day and hangs on our bodies like a little rhesus monkey, happily shrieking MOMMY I LOVE YOU! while I try not to fall the hell over. And try not to get annoyed by the sudden assault on my balance, and remind myself that yeah, I WAS trying to unload the dishwasher but it can wait. One day he's going to stop doing this and I will miss it.
Oh, I will miss it. But I also can't wait to see what this kid will do next.
P.S. Do you think I should remove the blue sparkly toenail polish (that he insisted on) before school starts?
I dunno. I think he makes it work.
I could not love this kid more if he were my own.
I think he makes it work, too :)
Awww. My three year old grandson is sweet like that!
He too, is a middlechild, bookended by sisters. But talk about sweet and loving!
I really, REALLY want him to meet my daughter one day. Every since he was a wee one, he has seemed like the male counterpart to my 4 y.o. Maybe one day they'll meet at college and get married?
Love him....he reminds me of my little man (who will be four in Feb) and has a little sister....and "SURPRISE" a little brother on the way!
Leave the polish. He won't be the only one. My sons is green and sparkly right now.
Four. Yeah. I can't believe it either. Not with your son or mine. (They're what a week or two apart?) It feels sometimes like yesterday that I was stalking all the other September 08 baby people and seeing who else was going to have their dang baby before me. See: ALL. Heh.
Ezra's cuddly/huggy personality may be less about his age than it is about his position in the family. My middle child is the cuddliest of all three, and at 16, she'll STILL wrap herself around me "like a rhesus monkey" at least once a day. I'm glad she never grew out of that :)
Can't believe Ezra is almost 4...that's unpossible!
He is totally working that polish. Ah, the middles. They are so special. His almost fourness is still kinda mind blowing though. Not for you because he's yours but from the outside? Four? Already? Damn. And wow. Also, Adventure time. Come on grab your friends, we'll go to very distant lands. With
Jake the dog and Finn the human, the adventures will never end, it's adventure time.
Totally rocking the polish!
I say let him rock the polish. My boy went with it on his fingers and toes last year. Im hoping if I let him do it now he wont come home in high school with giant facial piercings or a tattoo across his throat to "express himself". Plus who doesnt love blue sparkle polish???
He sounds like my middle son who is now 10. And still amazing and helpful and loving. And still a total Mama's boy - which is FINE BECAUSE NO ONE WILL EVER BE GOOD ENOUGH FOR HIM. I'm kidding. Sort of.
Also? I had that same baby doll - she was my first one ever. Her name was Karen. Wherever did you get it???
OK. I was never gonna say it but you totes said it and you're mom so I can say it. Right?
I mean, you have the most gorgeousest boy babies EVAR. I can say that because I have the most gorgeousest girl babies EVAR.
BUT.
Ez is my fave. There. I said it.
Oh, you had me until Adventure Time. Oh, that is such crap - shut-it-off!!!!
But yes, he can pull off the polish. I have a soft spot for Noah (cause he is just like my Drew), but otherwise Ezra steals the show! (and oh, then there is IKE!) The cuteness is non-stop.
OMG, y'all have a Baby Honey doll too!!! Was it yours? I had one as a child, but couldn't find it for my own, so I had to bid for one on ebay (gently used), and I couldn't be happier to have one back in the house.
Sorry, just had to notice.
Let him keep the polish if he likes.
So adorable, and he totally makes that nail polish work - definitely leave it. Also, I am fueled to let boys do 'girly' things and vice versa right now having just listened to "The Gender Trap": http://www.cbc.ca/ideas/episodes/2012/08/01/the-gender-trap-part-2-1/
Re: the Baby Honey doll! It was actually Jason's doll! My mother-in-law kept it and gave it to us when Noah was born and it has (miraculously) survived all three of them so far. Jason said he named it...Jason. Heh.
And while we're on the subject (and feeling SUPER OLD about HOW OLD THESE KIDS ARE NOW), here's a video of Baby Noah playing with the Jason Doll:
http://www.amalah.com/amalah/2006/06/for_absolutely_.html
That is such a snuggly adorable picture of him holding his toys. What a sweetheart. And he totally makes the polish on his toes work so I'd leave it up to him.
Ezra's always been my favorite of your boys, too. I think it was because I came to your blog during his pregnancy, at a time when I was just starting to think of getting pregnant myself. He's so adorable.
Funny thing, too. When I saw the title of this post in my reader, I immediately thought, "Oh good! A post about Ezra! My favorite!" I never thought you'd actually write about that in the post itself.
Good hell he's fantastic.
Also, I'm a little jealous of how quickly he perfected the side-eye. It took me years.
He is delicious.
My baby honey's name is Linda. I haven't shared her with my son yet, but he' really not interested in soft and cuddly things. If it can't be banged on or otherwise made noisy, he's not interested.
Remove it?! Pfft. I plan to paint my toes this weekend now that my nail has finally grown back - grossest thing ever - which means Ev will be begging for his painted just in time for PreK. Whatev. Like they care.
My son's toenails are painted all the time now... recently my mother-in-law admonished him, "Boys don't wear nail polish." And he deadpanned back to her, "Sometimes they do."
What's next, gender neutral bathrooms in preschools? ;)
Also, I adore all your boys, which feels weird but also cool. And so modern. Carry on, then!
Oh! I had that doll, too! The story in our family is that someone at my dad's work gave my sister that doll when she was born, and I (age 2) used to sneak into her room and steal it when she was asleep. So they got me my own. My kids play with it now, too.
Wow. Everything you wrote? From the cuddles to the sweet boy to the watering the garden to the TOE NAIL POLISH? Sounds exactly like my Gabe, who is almost 2.
This makes me excited for the next few years. :)
My sister and I had the baby honey doll too! My neice plays with it now. Those must have been hot sellers.
Go Ezra!
Must eat up the Ezra, right down to his rockin' blue toenails.
you will miss it. stop and enjoy it. just dropped my youngest at college for the 1st time. he was my cuddler, my" sit next to me on the couch and watch this movie mommy" boy and "let's snuggle"kid. he's still a sweet heart, but i have to ask for my hugs now! keep the blue nail polish- he is adorable!
Sparkly blue toes are the bomb. My son and I rock matching tutus for gay pride, so there's always that if you ever need to level up. ::grin::
Ezra is such a great kid. So much joy he brings to your life!
Sparkly blue toes are the bomb. My son and I rock matching tutus for gay pride, so there's always that if you ever need to level up. ::grin::
Oh gosh. I have a little boy exactly like this. He's the youngest of my 4, and is now 6. I've never encountered such an abundance of love to give away as this little man has. He actually sometimes backs off a couple of meters just so that when he does come and do his run-hug-kiss-hold-bearhug thing, he gives it even more vooma. He gives the best kisses, the most magic hugs, is so verbal about how much he loves me, is so completely smitten with his mama and other favourite people, that it quite honestly takes my breath away some days, and helps me make it through the day on others. It's a gift to have a child like this - and I have a 13 year old son very similar in temperament and "otherness" to your Noah, and 2 wonderful girls... but the charm and sweetness of a little boy brimming with love is something wonderful.
Yesterday he started Grade 1. As he was standing under the canopy that parents hold up over the kids while they give them a blessing for the year, all the other kids were raptly paying attention, and my little boy was raptly facing the opposite direction, blowing kisses to his mama across on the other side. It's amemory I'll hold forever, that on this most exciting day I was still important enough for him to turn around and tell me how much he loves me.
You should be blessed always to know how important you are in your kids' lives :-)
So I looked up the Baby Honey Doll because now I need one, obvs. And when I searched, I found this mutant creeper from Satan, himself:
http://tinyurl.com/8tnvx2c
All I was trying to do is find Karen again. *sniff*
Ezra can rock the nail polish and anything else he wants to do! And he's my favorite, too. But I really love your whole family.
Oh he is totally rocking that blue nail polish!
The pictures of him gardening nearly made my heart melt. What a sweet lil' helper!
Keep the polish, he makes it look good! :) And 4...how can that be possible already? I swear he was just Ike's age.
Our middle grandboy, who is now 11, has often worn two different flips to school and everywhere else (they live in AZ)as just one example of his "out-of-the-box but oh-so-smart and loving" personality. He has always rocked it and Ezra does too.
Totally keep it.
He's so sweet. My soon-to-be-4-year-old is so very three right now, in contrast. I hope 4 calms her down and straightens her out. Or maybe I should just bring her over to Ezra's house.
Your kids are adorable! My daughter will be 4 in November...can't believe it!On a side note...I am also the proud owner of a Honey doll although I thought I was a clever kid and named her that! lol. Mine is missing a few fingers thanks to my childhood dog!
Baby Honey was my favorite baby doll! I didn't know she was a he, so her name was Patricia. I loved her so hard that she had a big hole on the top of her head. :)
We had the Jason doll for my daughter (probably nearly Jason's age), and she liked it so much she took her Christmas money when she was about Ezra's age and bought a second one. Then they were named "Clean Dolly" and "Dirty Dolly." Keep the nail polish.
We had the Jason doll for my daughter (probably nearly Jason's age), and she liked it so much she took her Christmas money when she was about Ezra's age and bought a second one. Then they were named "Clean Dolly" and "Dirty Dolly." Keep the nail polish.
That was such a sweet entry. My little guy is just shy of 5 months and I still can't believe how much he has changed. I too have to remind myself to cherish his little smiles and giggles and his desire to have me hold him, because it won't last forever. Your boys are beautiful. :)
Ezra reminds me so much of my little guy, who is just 2 weeks younger and also QUITE the snuggler (that is his current bed-time stalling tactic - "but Mommy! We didn't schnuggle!" Works every time). I think I started reading you during both of our pregnancies, so I definitely have the warm-fuzzies for Ez, although I'd love to build Lego masterpieces with Noah and giggle with Baby Ike too. Those are some cute kiddos you gots there!
I think the toe nail polish is a keeper...
That's Yellow Baby. I have yellow baby that my daughter plays with that was once mine! I love Yellow Baby. I love you. :)
My mom saved my baby honey too!
Adorable! My almost 4-year-old son is sporting some blue fingernail polish and is about to start preschool next week. I was wondering the same thing about taking it off. I vote nah. :)
Awww, my soon to be 4 year old boy is also rocking the blue sparkley toenail polish! It stays on, for just as long as he wants it on. :)
so, i'm expecting my first kid in about t-minus five weeks. and i've been officially freaking out a little. (how can i be sure i'll love it enough to merit all the energy, attention, boobs, bad tv, MONEY, etc. it sucks up? how will i ever apologize to my dogs? how will i regain my waistline? how?!) and then i read this post, and the post about noah's first day of school. and the blubbering assures me that i'm really, really looking forward to this. which is not to say that i'm not scared shitless. just that i'm simultaneously kind of thrilled. so, thanks for always taking the chance on being honest and authentic -- it matters and it helps.
Keep the polish.
I really enjoyed this, I see some similar traits in my middle boy. I always forget how young he is. I love reading your blog over the years and particularly enjoy your tone and how it hasn't changed.