Not It!

“Not it!” seems to be what Harry picked up over the Memorial Day Holiday.

With an extra day of diaper changing duty to share, Kevin and I began calling out these words the second we smelled something not-so-good.

More often then not, it was nothing…but we shouted “Not It!” just to be safe, just to avoid having to change one more #2 diaper.

I guess Harry caught on, although not completely. After saying “Hi” to everyone showing up at Daycare on Tuesday (everyone refers to me, another mom and Menike’s husband, and if I recall correctly, Sid, who popped out from behind some playground equipment), he called “Not it!” as we were leaving. Maybe he felt a little grumble action going on? Who’s to say.

So, Tuesday afternoon, after much fun had over the weekend, we headed to Aidan’s for a play date (yes, Aidan is 32 but we can still have play dates). Harry brought his tea set. After a couple of years of rolling my eyes at Paul’s little buddy’s “Mermaid Hair” and Dominic’s Ruby Slippers, I decided there was nothing wrong with a pink and purple princess tea set (still searching for the Starbuck’s mini barista set). Harry really liked Isabella’s set, so I picked one up at Target. It didn’t come in GI Joe.

Harry likes that he can open the lid of the giant tea cup and put things in and take them out. He likes to stack the cups. He likes to pretend he is eating and drinking. He gets to practice using a spoon. Nothing girly about it. I’ve said for a while now, give him a newspaper and drop him off at the coffee shop and he’ll be happy for hours. I guess the apple really doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Harry also developed a fascination with Mardi Gras beads. There was a Mardi Gras dance at the Wiley’s Beachcomber campground, as well as a Mardi Gras themed bike parade, so there were lots of beads hanging around. Harry learned how to put them on himself and seemed to enjoy wearing them. But, with a little Hawaiian shirt on, he looked more like Charlie Sheen than a little girl playing dress up.

A little Charlie Sheen…sure, the connotation has its drawbacks, but Charlie always plays the cool guy that everyone wants to hang out with. Harry strikes me as this type. I can’t seem to get the image out of my head of our next vacation taking us to Ireland, where we find Harry in a bar, surrounded by a crowd of happy old guys with long eyebrows, telling stories and singing. Kevin asked if this was really how I wanted to picture my son…maybe we’ll wait a few years to take that trip! Meantime, he can just practice the choreography to "Tommy K."

Harry spent the rest of the Memorial Day holiday on his bike. I’d guess a good 12 hours. At least twice he fell asleep while riding. He would start at 7 in the morning. It was a good way to get him out of the house so the Deckers could sleep undisturbed. The first lap would usually take an hour, with several other jaunts mixed in throughout the day.

A good portion of the weekend was also spent at the playground. The swings are cool, but nothing beats the slide, sitting up or lying down. We gave Harry the freedom to climb the large flat steps himself. Once at the top, he didn’t have the patience to sit. Down he went! The purest joy I’ve ever seen.

I enjoyed the slide as a child, but my favorite was the swings. After watching Bobby and Cindy Brady attempt to break a World Record on the Teeter Totter, I figured it could be done on a swing too. I was fed so much candy back then, I probably could have done it.