#4: May Nephew Time

I may have a new favorite nephew.

Nephew 1 turns three towards the end of the month, and this weekend he was utterly delightful. On Sunday, we met for family lunch, and he was so fun to be around. He arrived wearing a Batman mask. Wearing a mask is a big deal for him. . .only a few months ago a mask or disguise of any kind freaked him out. But now he has decided that Batman is good (previously, he thought Batman was bad because of his "mean eyes") and should be imitated. When he is Batman, he walks with his fists on his hips--elbows out--and talks in a deep voice. While we waited at Lunch Location #1 (for an hour, only to be told it would be 45 more minutes, yikes!), he found a pile of dirt to pile up and sit in and play with. At Lunch Location #2, he was thrilled to see the train come out of its tunnel and drive on the tracks all around the room. He pointed it out every time, and more than once actually jumped for joy. As part of her gift package, my mom received a bag of jelly beans*. She was nice enough to share them with him, one at a time. He would select a bean from the bag, and ask what flavor it was. Mom wasn't wearing her glasses, and couldn't read the description on the bag, so she asked me to tell him. He was so excited to hear the different names, like "cotton candy" "juicy pear" and especially "chocolate pudding." Several times, he walked around the table telling the others what flavor he was about to eat. After a few, he started calling them "jumping beans." Perhaps because they made him feel like jumping around like a frog? K and I were about to leave when he said he wanted to go look at dogs. (Petsmart is a few doors down, and they were having an adoption fair.) He asked my mom if she would go with him, and then pointed to me and asked if I would go, too. How could I resist that little cutie pie? We walked down to see the dogs, and he let almost every single one of them lick his hand (or face). Many of them he proclaimed to be "nice dogs." He has a dog at home, so he knows how to pet them gently. So cute! I found out that he has been enjoying wearing sunglasses lately, and calls them his "rock out" glasses.

The little man, who turned one in March, was in fairly good spirits, although sleepy when they arrived and sleepy as we were leaving. My dad hogged him during the wait at Lunch Location #1--actually intercepting him when SIL was handing him to me. Like he doesn't see him every week! (grumble) The little guy still loves to stare at K, with the little triangle of facial hair. This time, he and K played a sunglasses game. Little guy would put on his sunglasses, and look at K. K would put on his sunglasses, and peep over the top at little guy. Little guy would try to peep over his, but kept dropping them off his face. And then he would poke himself in the eye a couple of times putting them back on. Bleah, eye-poking gives me the heebie-geebies. The little guy also points/pokes to his eye if you ask him where his eye is. . .or where his nose is. . .or where his mouth or ears are. The jury is still out on whether he just thinks that's a funny joke or if he hasn't quite figured out the names that go with each part. Later, SIL force-fed the little guy a bite of cobbler. She kept insisting he try it, and he kept his lips sealed, shaking his head from side to side. Eventually, she crammed it in and he ended up liking it. But. . .later K and I had a conversation about never force-feeding our future kids dessert, so that was productive. Little guy also enjoyed feeding himself BBQ sauce with a spoon. A man after his dad's own heart. I was a little disappointed that the little fella didn't let me hold him very long--maybe 5 minutes--when I'm usually one of his favorites. And that's why his big brother is starting to overtake my favorite nephew position. haha! Whoever likes me best, I also like best. ;o)

*K and I visited and toured the Jelly Belly factory when we went to San Francisco in 2005. If you have the means, I highly recommend it.