Toddler quirks

As Nick comes into his own little personality more and more with each passing day, I feel like there are a million little moments that I want to just capture in a box and lock them away forever. And I want to remember them.  All of the moments - good or bad.  All the little quirks that make my toddler who he is.

So I thought I'd jot down a few of his current quirks that either I can't get enough of, or leave me scratching my head in disbelief.

--His current love for the song "Thrift Shop" by Macklemore.  Every baby/toddler/kid has their song...the one that makes them stop what their doing and bust a move.  Nick's is Thrift Shop.  The other day when I picked him up from daycare, he was throwing a fit in the back seat about what a mean mommy I was for not letting him watch Dora on our 7 minute commute home, when suddenly Thrift Shop came on and he stopped his yelling and started busting a move.  I cracked up.  And the harder I laughed, the harder he danced.  And he's done it every time since.  BUT, only in the car. 

--The efforts he is putting in to make Whinnie like him.  Granted, they aren't best friends just yet, but he's working on it.  Every single morning he insists on hugging Whinnie goodbye before we head downstairs and out the door for the day.  And yesterday as we were sitting on the couch, Whinnie climbed up between us and snuggled in.  Even though Nick was caught up in playing with his Leap Pad, every couple of minutes, without even looking up, he would absentmindedly reach over and pet Whinnie's back - it was so natural and adult like, I couldn't help but feel my heart swell.

--The bi-polar tantrums in public places.  I know this is common two-year old behavior.  But seriously, Nick thinks public outings are great excuses for meltdowns.  For instance - last week I had to pick up a prescription from CVS after getting him from daycare.  He was happy and lovey all the way into the store, but as soon as we got in the pharmacy line it was like his inner wildebeest couldn't be contained anymore and he went nuts.  For no good reason.  The woman in front of me in line (God bless her!) insisted we go first and attempted to calm my nerves by saying "oh he's so precious" and "they all do that, don't worry".  So we hurriedly checked-out, while Nick (screaming the entire time) proceeded to empty an entire box of Twix on the floor, and made a bee-line for the exit.  Only, as soon as we got out of the pharmacy line, it was like his inner angel found it's way back out and he was the happy-go-lucky, lovey little guy again.  I, on the other hand, was completely frazzled at that point.

--His exclamations.  Granted, he doesn't say many understandable words yet, but little dude can really put some emotion into his reactions.  My current favorites are when he will pull a random cheerio out of his car seat - one that's probably been there for a few days - put it in his mouth, look right into my eyes, and exclaim "MMMM!" like he just ate a freakin' Filet Mignon -- and also the way he will blow on something hot as though he's trying to single handedly blow out a forrest fire.  OR the way he strains his neck and loudly grunts "UHHH!" when exerting extra energy to climb the stairs or carry something heavy.  And don't get me started on how he thinks he's a body-builder.  If it's not nailed down, and he can lift it, he will. The diaper pail, his bean bag chair, the humidifier tank, the ottoman to the rocking chair, his play kitchen...and no item is different -- he strains and grunts loudly like "oh my gosh, can you believe I'm carrying this heavy S.O.B.??" with every single thing he picks up.  It's totally hilarious.

--His infatuation with the way things work.  If it has buttons, knobs, cranks, handles, levers, etc, he's into it.  He loves to see how things work.  Especially the vacuum.  Have I mentioned his love of the vacuum cleaner on here before?  I mean, if you know Nick, you know he's obsessed (and I do mean that literally) with all things vacuum related.  We currently own three toddler vacuums.  And he would gladly use the Dyson anytime he's allowed.  The babysitter says he's going to be an engineer one day.  I told her it's either that, or a janitor.  (Let's pray it's not the latter, shall we?)

--The way he pushes the limits. For instance, he loves to stand on the back of the couch.  I have horrifying visions of him flipping off, and cracking his head open.  And every time he climbs up there, I scold him.  I even went so far as to use his full name the other day - which he responded to really well (now I see why mom's do that...it totally works!).  But every time I scold him, he looks shocked and scared, climbs down, and then waits until my back is turned to do it all over again.  And I know he's standing on the back of the couch by the way he lets out a breathy giggle in anticipation of me scolding him again.  Such a stinker.

--His unsolicited hugs and kisses.  This is my most favorite quirk.  Probably always will be.  When we found out Nick was a boy (while still in utero), people started coming out of the woodwork to tell me "oh, little boys are the best...they LOVE their mommies".  Which I thought was sweet of them to say, but really didn't understand until fairly recently.  Nick constantly comes over and hugs or kisses me or climbs into my lap.  Just last night as I was getting him ready for bed, I stood him up to zip up his jammies and without any warning, he pulled his pacifier out of his mouth, leaned in and kissed my lips, and then threw his arms around my neck and squeezed with all his might.  And if that didn't almost bring me to my knees, when he backed up, a piece of my hair fell across my face and he ever so gently reached up and brushed it aside before leaning in to kiss me again.  Seriously?  Swoon.  I know eventually he'll outgrow this mommy-loving phase...and I'll be ok with it because it won't be nearly as cute (or legal?) for a 15 year old to kiss his mommy like that...but believe me, I'm soaking up those hugs and kisses.  If he wants to hug and kiss on me for a full 10 minutes, only pushing back bedtime?  I'm gonna let him.  Because to me, there is absolutely nothing sweeter.  Except maybe his dance moves.