What a character!

I've been meaning to post about this for a while now but other things keep coming up so before that happens yet again, I'm going to post this. LOL

The last couple of weeks have seen a full emergence of another side of Nico's personality and what a character he is turning out to be! He will do anything for a laugh it turns out and has discovered the art of the slow-motion pratfall and playing "dead". He practices them constantly and if no one notices and laughs appreciatively, he will come over to you, yell at you (translation "HEY, LOOK AT ME HERE!!!!"), and repeat the performance. I'm hoping to try and get this on video as it's just the funniest thing to watch him do.

And in with all of this, his sweeter side is starting to come out on top more often. There have been a lot more hugs, a lot more kisses, and tons more cuddles from him. All spontaneous (it's still 50/50 whether or not I'll get a kiss if I ask for one LOL) but all so sweet. I'll frequently disappear into my room when they are having snack to just kick it and read and he'll usually end up coming in and climb up onto the bed with me, laydown next to me, and cuddle up for a minute. Of course, then he usually ends up jumping over me until I shoo him down or pushing the crib out to "get stuck" between the crib and the bed so he can show me how well gets himself unstuck. Funny guy! He is also doing a lot more spontaneous sharing which is so sweet. He'll get two snacks and present one of them to someone, just to share.

He is also having a lot of fun playing at being a doggy or kitty and will crawl around the house with objects in his mouth while making animal noises and chasing his brothers around so he can lick them. This, of course, elicits wonderful screams from them to which he takes great delight. But on the flip side, he'll use his stuffed animals the same way and then feed them part of his snack and put them to bed, tucking them in gently under his blankie and giving them a kiss good-night.



He's also decided that he LOVES outside time and is constantly wanting to go out. We did replace the deadbolts on the doors going out to make sure he doesn't just let himself out but we are also in the process of making the backyard more Nico friendly (just added a mini-trampoline and hopefully the sandbox will be set-up this weekend) so Matthew or Christopher can take him back there to play. Of course, he is still demanding with his new demand being that Matthew take him for rides in the wagon. LOL I get phone calls from Matthew when they are playing in the backyard telling me that either Nico won't let him come inside yet or that Nico insists they go for a walk. Matthew is such an obliging older brother and will so often go along with whatever Nico demands so they have frequent walks around the block together. Matthew assures me that Nico stays in the wagon and holds Matthew's hand if he gets out to look at something closer. I'm so glad to see the two of them growing so close and I get a glimpse of what a wonderful father Matthew will be if he chooses that path.

It's just been so wonderful to see all the sweet parts of his personality starting to shine through amidst all the temper tantrums and demanding behavior. It's nice to be able to see that and say to myself "hey, he really won't be Nico the Destroyer forever". It's nice to see things turning around instead of just hoping and praying day after day that you are doing an okay job of turning your toddler into a civilized person.

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Insight from the Dalai Lama:
We need to actively cultivate the antidotes to hatred:
patience and tolerance.