I never liked it. I still don't like it.
But I empathize with the man in the yellow hat now. I AM the man in the yellow hat now.
And Curious George is turning four.
Curious Kekoa is a fine sort of fellow. He is thoughtful, fun-loving, and a very big helper. Kekoa is also an excellent big brother. The other night Ellie was crying, and I found him in her bed beside her, gently stroking her hair. He looked up at us and said, "She's pretty adorable, huh?"
Ellie asked to sleep in the toddler bed, and her kind-hearted brother offered to switch beds with her. So yes, this is an almost-four-year-old, willingly sleeping in a Pack n' Play for over two months. He had to sleep either in fetal position or in x-position so his feet could go into either corner.
Sometimes being a "good" big brother crosses the line into "overbearing" big brother though....
[Scene] Josh and I are in the living room, and we hear Ellie start to cry a little. She can be a little dramatic, so we give them a chance to work it out themselves. She's not calming down, though. We go into the bathroom, and find Ellie and Piglet in the bathtub, fully clothed, with an entire bottle of shampoo dumped on their little heads. Kekoa is using a cup to bathe her. "Look! Ellie's hair was yucky so I'm giving her a bath!"
[Before you judge Kekoa too harshly, Ellie was a willing subject. He cannot put her in the bathtub, so she had to have climbed in herself. But let's just say baths given by three-year-olds are not her favorite.]
[/end scene]
Kekoa is also our master builder. Legos and Duplos are his tools of choice (he'll take Legos any day, but Mom has stepped on Legos one too many times so there are strict rules governing their use). The picture below shows a forklift and a crane carrying a big pipe (with a rabbit driver, obvs). He can find any use for Duplos.
But sometimes he can find one too many uses for the Duplos...
[Scene] when the children are allowed to come out of their rooms at 7:00am, I notice that Ellie smells a bit...overripe. But when I change her diaper, a smeary Duplo comes out.
"Why is there a Duplo in Ellie's diaper?" I ask.
"Well, Ellie was uncomfortable because she was dirty, so I used the Duplo to scoop it out. And then it got stuck."
"Why didn't you just get me?"
"Because we weren't allowed to come out unless I have to go potty, and I didn't have to go potty!"
The Duplo ended up in the trash.
[/end scene]
He has always loved baking, but recently he has started helping with the cooking, too. The other night he prepared (with help on the chopping and heat portions) and served up a meal of carrots, sauteed spinach, and salmon. The spinach in particular he prepared without an ounce of help, only verbal directions and a watchful eye near the stove.
 |
| If Kekoa serves you, be prepared for large portions |
His desire to be helpful is wonderful. But occasionally he's a little too helpful....
[Scene] late afternoon, and the children are suspiciously quiet. I'm enjoying the productivity, and the thought crosses my mind: "I'm so glad the kids are keeping each other occupied so I can get some work done!" But I dutifully check on them.
The door is closed, and Kekoa runs to meet me as I open it. He's not wearing pants. "Where are your pants? I ask.
"My pants? Why would you ask about my pants?" Uh-oh. That's not a good answer.
"What are you doing?"
"We're doing all the laundry!"
Wow, what helpful children. But uh...where could two children who can't reach the washing machine do the laundry?
And the laundry they did indeed. Every stitch of clothing from the dresser, all the bedding, every stuffed animal. All hung lovingly to dry all over the furniture. The children are nothing if not thorough.
[/end scene] (that wasn't really the end of the scene, but it was the end of the internet's view of the scene).
Kekoa is going to make a great husband someday. He's practicing already, you know. This week he was having a hard day, so I asked him if he needed some time to himself to regroup. He agreed, and half an hour later I walked into our room to find him doing some light reading:
The title is Date Your Wife. It's never too early to start preparing, I guess. He will be a very dutiful husband.
But sometimes you can be too dutiful....
[Scene] I am loading the dishwasher, and the phone rings. I answer the phone in the other room. While I am talking, I wander back into the kitchen to find Kekoa and Ellie drizzling dish soap into the dishwasher soap dispenser, closing up the door, and starting the dishwasher.
Fortunately, I am in time to stop the madness before bubbles start cascading everywhere, and Kekoa helps me wipe out all the dish soap that spilled in the bottom of the dishwasher.
[/end scene]
There you have it. He's Curious George. He's the only kid I know whose biggest messes come from trying to clean up. The intentions are honorable. The execution is...poor. And did I mention these were all from the last two months?
The good news is that he's learning. He now knows how to clean poop off of Duplos (and also when to give up and just throw them away). He knows which detergent goes into the dishwasher. He knows to never, ever give his sister a bath. He even knows how to fill the washer, measure out the soap, and get (three consecutive) loads of laundry started. Someday, just maybe, our curious little monkey will be a responsible adult.
But the better news is that we love him, and we get to keep him. And not only do we get to see the responsible man he will be someday, but we get to see the process that takes him there. Some days it's a funny process. Some days it makes me want to rip my hair out (or at least rip the toilet-water drenched carpet up). And some days the carpet-ripping days turn into funny days, in retrospect.
Happy birthday, sweetheart.
