You Are Special

I don't think I've told you all that the little kid is showing signs of "quirky-ness" (is that a word?) just like his big brother. I thought my chances of having two neurotic kids were slim, but the little kid is fixated on belly buttons. His, mine, yours, toys, the dogs', whoever's. I'm not speaking of a casual interest, I'm talking hardcore fascination.

If you look closely at the Disney Tabblo, you'll see several of him mid-poke. He is constantly lifting his shirt with one hand and jamming his thumb or pointer finger into his navel. It's like a comfort thing, he just digs around in there constantly. I'm not kidding when I say that this happens several times an hour. If I put him in a one piece outfit, his little hands tear at his clothes and try to sneak in from the top or bottom to reach the belly button.

It got really red at one point and we started to wonder if it was red because he was poking it or is he poking it because it's red? So we asked his pediatrician and he said it would be very unlikely for a child this age to have a quirk like this and that it seemed unusual so to keep the belly button extra clean and covered in Neosporin for a week.

Honestly, I didn't really bother because I think his desperation to get to other people's belly buttons rules out any physical problem he's having. It would be just like me to have an advanced quirky kid and I hardly ever listen to my pediatrician because I need to find a new one anyway. I can also tell by the visible relaxation on his face when he does dig around in there that it is just something that he enjoys.

So we pretty much just let him indulge himself. I don't think this is the sort of thing he'll still be doing when he's 30. That's pretty much my compass on whether or not to let something slide, will this be a problem for a 30 year old? God, can you imagine if he was still doing this at 30? Hitching his shirt up with one hand and digging around in his belly button with his thumb? LOL. Let's hope I'm right that he'll outgrow this. In the meantime, I dress him in 2 pieces, let him poke mine within reason, and read him the Belly Button Book. My MIL bought this for him for his 1st birthday and it has become a family favorite. It's just too cute and for us, it is very relevant.

She bought the Big Kid Puff the Magic Dragon around the same time, which was also pretty relevant for me and Mr. Ashley back in the good old days. This is a gorgeous book. The illustrations are really pretty and it is so fun for me to sing the song. Probably not so fun for the kids to hear me sing the song since I pretty much sound like a cat being swung around by it's tail, but I have fun and that's all that matters. It came with a CD too. I haven't listened to it yet because I'm lazy like that, but it was a great gift to get. We are overrun with kids' books, but these 2 were welcome additions.

While we're on the subject of children's books, You Are Special by Max Lucado is quickly becoming one of my all time favorites. It would be hard to pin me down on my favorite, because I adore all things Dr. Seuss, I love Shel Silverstein, and Goodnight Moon holds great sentimental value, but this book makes me teary eyed and gets me feeling philosophical every time. It is a beautiful story. My aunt bought this for the little kid for his Christening and it was such an appropriate and beautiful gift. It's wonderfully illustrated and tells a great tale with a meaningful message.

Much to Mr. Ashley's chagrin, Big Kid's new favorite is Pinkalicious. It is a super cute story about a little girl who eats too many pink cupcakes. It was written with a lot of imagination and is a really fun book. I saw on the Bargain Board that someone had given this book as a gift, in a pink mixing bowl with a box of cupcake mix, frosting and a mixing spoon (or something like that). Isn't that a cute idea??? I am definitely stealing it. I may do themed gift baskets based on other books too, I can think of lots of cute things and I love giving books.

Have I mentioned that I wrote a series of children's books based on a character named Toothy McCurlicue? That's what I used to call Big Kid. They are genius, if I do say so myself and if I wasn't one of the laziest people alive, I'd try to get them published. If there are any children's book publishers out there, get a hold of me, would ya?

I still owe you all that required reading list to be my friend. A tip for you all: I am very bad at following through. I don't mean to be, I'm just easily distracted. So if I tell you I'm going to do something, it doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to do it. I could just do it now, but this post already seems too long. I'll do it soon, I swear.