John, more than the first two kids, has kept me entertained as he pursues the "Who am I?" questions of the toddler world.
He loves to parade about the house in my high heels, draped in Maggie's fancy beads and bling. He likes to play baby dolls with Maggie on occasion. But he also likes to run full-tilt through the house shouting, "Bang, bang, I shoot you! You are dead!" He also likes to beat things to a pulp with a hammer. (No, we don't give him real hammers. The toy ones - wood or plastic - seem capable of enough damage. There are holes or gouges in most of the house and its furniture now.)
Today, as I picked him up to put him on the changing table, I remarked on how big he is getting (heavy to lift, for sure!). He stretched out as long as he could, and proudly said, "I am getting big like a Daddy!" But other days, he is not so sure about this. We have had some conversations more like:
"James will grow up like a Daddy?" (Yes, John, someday.)
"Maggie will grow up like a Mommy?" (Yes, John, someday.)
"John will grow up like a Mommy?" (No, John will grow up like a Daddy.)
"I want to be a MOMMY!"
On these days, no amount of arguing will convince him otherwise, so I no longer even try. I just tell him, "Well, we will have to wait and see." I suppose I don't necessarily even know what he means with his questions - I of course assume looking like a man or a woman, but who knows what his toddler brain associates with these terms. Maybe on the day he is asking, he means, "I want to grow up like a Mommy who drives me to my swimming lessons, not like a Daddy who makes me go to bed."
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