Piratey Steven

Well, I said some cool things about John on his birthday and I've been kind of behind but wanted to dedicate a post to Steven. He's so piratey.

Whimsical, unpredictable, cuddly one minute and prickly the next.

Surprising. He'll blow you away occasionally by some small detail that he remembers or his large dinosaur vocabulary (he knows about the Jurassic, Betaceous and Triassic periods; and don't get him started on nano Tyrannus'). I'll be sitting with John who is struggling to read a word on a page and Steven on the other side of me will spit out the missing word or phrase (he's not even looking at the page- he simply has it memorized).

Bendy! That kid can flip like an Olympic gymnast. And watching him you'd think he's spent years perfecting his form.

Dramatic. When he pretends to be a raptor, he looks convincingly like a raptor.

Complimentary. Lately I've been told that many people are getting compliments on their shirts, pants and belts. Does he just like all belts or is he trying to impress people or does he like the response he gets when people are pleasantly surprised by this? Does he just like making people feel good? I have no idea. Enigmatic.

Adores his brother. His brother gave him a ride on his four-wheeler (yeah, you read that right) and he was thrilled to death and rejected a similar offer from Dad. When John told him today that the square he had carefully drawn looked like a square that a first-grader could draw he beamed.

Affectionate. Lots of kisses for Lizzie and he insists on giving me a full hug before bed. You'll only get some if you're on his good side, though.

Bookworm. Loves books especially if they relate to reptiles or pirates or sea creatures. He's also wiggly like a worm. Mr. Server tells me that he is "inattentive." (Whose idea was it to put 5 year old boys in school all day?)

Tough as nails. The hardness of his head is legendary in our family, circle of friends and our church where people have witnessed him smashing heads with someone and walking away like nothing happened while the other kids cries.

Boy, I love that kid!