Anyhow I steal this idea from her too. A list of 10 things I love about my baby boy.
1. How he cuddles and clings when he is tired or hurt. His little legs wrap around you, he grabs hold of your neck tightly with his arms and lays his head on your shoulder. He is comforted. He has all he needs at that moment to be well and calm. It is very zen like.
2. His non-stop chatter. He talks and chatters and makes noises all the time. I worry sometimes about his language development but really he's fine. He hits all his milestones and goes through all the normal things. He does chat a lot though, and the only time you can hear quiet is if we give him TV time. Otherwise it's blabbing and choo-choo and other miscellaneous words throughout the day. I love to hear his little voice.
3. Which brings me to number 3. Deserves a call out all of it's own - hearing him call for his Momma. He's just starting to understand the difference between quiet in the house talking and calling out loudly for someone who isn't within eye sight. I like to hear him call for me, and then answer him with a big smile.
4. 'I'm gonna catch you'. We play a silly game of chase where we run around the house in a circle (living room and kitchen). Calvin squeals and laughs and says 'I'm gonna catch you' and sometimes gives himself the hiccups from too much laughing. After a short bit both Jersey and Guinness get in on the fun and it's a full family game of chase.
5. Seeing Calvin greet his little kid friends and hold hands, hugging or giving kisses. He's learning to respect other people's feelings, things and needs. It's an amazing process to watch as they learn this. I love to see his face light up when he sees his playmates.
6. Watching him with family. I love to witness his interactions with everyone. Grandma Newark just got a bunch of unsolicited hugging and kissing this last visit, after Calvin having been shy and reserved the previous visits. The joy on her face gave me joy. There is no greater love than the unconditional love of a young child. Calvin doesn't lead us to activities the way I see other kids do, but he will do this with Grandma and Grandpa Campbell. It warms me to see it happen because he only does it with them, not even with me at home. He has special reserved loving behaviours for each person it seems.
7. He will eat. I suppose I should just leave it at that. I see how other people struggle with feeding their kids. I just had three days of Calvin not eating well due to sickness/teething/who knows what else, and it made me realize once again how well he eats in general. Beef liver and cold broccoli anyone?
8. His laughter. There is nothing more contagious. He has fun sounding giggles, from the evil trouble making giggle, to the uncontrollable laughing, they are all great. I will perform and be silly just to hear them. Whatever it takes, it's worth the beautiful sound of him laughing.
9. Quiet cuddles. He will sit nicely with me for long (in a toddlers world) period of times. During long periods of restraint (in an adults world) he is pretty well behaved too. Two and a half hours on a plane after not getting a proper nights sleep - he was a rock star. It makes me happy to know I can comfort him and help him to learn patience. This skill will serve him very well as he grows up.
10. Baby kisses. It took a bit of work to convince him I was not ever going to give up demanding kisses and now he complies quickly and happily. I love a good baby kiss! (Sound effects optional).