I had one of those random moments today where I looked at Enzo and he seemed so much older than his 3.5 years. My little boy did not seem so little, and a tiny part of me was reminded that someday he won’t really need me. Okay, he’ll always “need” me on some level, but he won’t depend on me as much as he does now, and I had a glimpse of what this would be like this morning at the dentist. Don’t get me wrong – it was incredibly helpful that I didn’t have to bounce back and forth between both kiddos since Phoebe had to be convinced to allow the hygienist to clean her teeth. Still, though… one minute they’re dependent on you for everything and then they start to say, “I do it!” and then they are actually doing it without any assistance whatsoever.
I was really impressed with Enzo this morning as he hopped up on the table/chair/whatever and just casually started chatting and not once was he uncertain or did he need me. I was so focused on trying to help with Phoebe that I suddenly realized I hadn’t checked on Enzo and he was just totally relaxed, watching TV while his teeth were cleaned. This of course helped a lot when it came to Phoebe as she could watch him and she always wants to do what Enzo is doing. (We ended up getting her some undies after this day in the photos when she insisted on wearing two pairs of Enzo’s underwear over her diaper. She’s a tad indecisive at times… not sure where she gets that from). 😉
On the downside, Phoebe also likes to mimic Enzo and his particular brand of preschooler cursing, so that’s fun (“No Poo Poo/Boo Boo/Bee Bee!” etc in the whiniest voice ever). I also take no responsibility whatsoever for his new favorite exclamation “What the heck?!” He’s also quite fond of Donald Duck’s signature phrase “Ah, phooey!” which is admittedly more child-friendly. I’m really just more impressed that he uses these phrases at the appropriate times… so there’s that. Now I’m curious as to what other sayings/phrases/words I overuse and which they’ll decide to point out.
In any case, they’re getting too big too fast, are sassy and are also cavity free. We do, however, have to begin Operation Take Back the Nuk with Miss Phoebe as her teeth are becoming affected. If you should hear something in the distance that sounds a little like someone’s heart being ripped out, fear not! It’s probably just the soul-wrenching cry of our toddler being forced to walk around without her beloved nuk.