Anecdotes and Favorite Things

Michael is a funny kid. It's a lot of fun to take him places, but he's rather shy around other people, so it's hard to show just how clever and hilarious he can be. Sometimes it's hard to tell if he's in a "stranger danger" phase or if he's simply very clingy. Either way, most of what anyone else sees is Michael hanging onto me for dear life. Not much personality. So, I've collected a couple of fun anecdotes from our daily lives to share.

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Just yesterday, I decided that the crumbs embedded in the carpet were no longer safe for Michael to snack on and that it was finally time to vacuum again. Michael hates the vacuum cleaner. Some baby books recommend vacuuming to help calm your newborn if they're crying, but, for us, it resulted in a lot more crying and a serious dislike for vacuuming on all parts. It is not to be attempted here unless you're willing to put up with a very angry boy.

So, when I pulled out the vacuum this morning, Michael took one look at it and started crying. I was planning to just pop him in his walker and deal with the crying while I cleaned, but he crawled over to me and clung to my leg. It was too pathetic to ignore. As long as I held him, he was okay. He buried his face in my shoulder and grabbed my shirt, occasionally lifting his head to look down at the vacuum and whine, then he'd shove his face down again and concentrate on not letting go.

I finally had to pry him off so I could put the vacuum away. He acted like I was handing him off to the grim reaper instead of just setting him on the floor. Thankfully, it only took a few minutes and a singing hamster to calm him down and make him the forget about the scary vacuum cleaner.

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One morning, I was applying mascara while holding Michael. He watched me, fascinated with the little pink tube. When I was done, I screwed it shut and handed it to him for further examination. Michael looked at the tube, and he looked at me. Then, holding the mascara sideways, he tried to jab me in the eye. I assume he was going for a spot I had missed, but lacked the necessary delicate touch.

Luckily, I had already put my glasses back on and no damage was done.

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Michael enjoys grocery shopping, especially now that he can sit in the cart and look around (and yell at people). Last week, we were wandering at Maceys, when Michael started pushing and hitting my hands. I stopped the cart and removed my hands. Michael grabbed where they had been, looked up at me, and laughed. When he let go, I tried to push the cart again. He lunged at my hands and tried to shove them off the again. I let go, and he laughed. It turned into a game, where I was allowed to touch only metal on the cart, not the blue plastic on the handle. If I ever "forgot" and put my hands in the middle, he'd grab my hands and push them as hard as he could. When I let go, he'd grab the blue plastic and laugh up at me. It was easily my favorite shopping trip with the boy, to date.

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In the morning, Jeff will hold Michael while he gets ready for the day. Michael loves to watch him brush his teeth and comb his hair. When daddy has to leave, I'll help Michael stand on the bed so he can watch Jeff walk to his car from the window. It's become tradition for Jeff to turn and wave to Michael before getting into his car. Michael thinks it's the greatest thing ever. He'll laugh and smack the window and watch the car pull away. He'll often knock his head into the window, trying to watch Jeff drive off. It's very cute to watch.

Here are just a few cute pictures of Michael encouraging me to blog. He's such a helpful boy:

Also, Michael's got your nose: