He is 100% rough and tumble get out of my way because I'm going to fashion anything I can find in to a sword and swing it around my head and run in to walls and wrestle imaginary villains and sometimes, the imaginary villain is my brother - or sister - or the dog - and ROAR!!!
As far as the boys go, William is an imaginative intellect that is very aware of his personal safety; whereas Henry is an imaginative spirit that can be a danger to himself. I'm careful that the windows on our second floor are always locked because I wouldn't put it past him to try and "fly" like Superman.
He is, in my opinion, the epitome of a rambunctious little boy. He was "dismissed" from his first preschool a week after he began and has lost two of his top teeth, prematurely. And while I still carry the guilt of knocking out one of his teeth, I can't help but think that if that horrible incident hadn't occurred, he'd have lost them prematurely on his own accord. Consider, it was a wrestling match with his brother that caused the loss of one front tooth and several face plants in to tables (including a significant injury yesterday), that has effectively loosened other teeth and I now believe it will be a miracle if he's able to retain any of his front teeth until Kindergarten.
(Sigh. The irony of the time and care I've invested in to our children's dental hygiene is not lost on me.)
Being a mother to Henry is like having my heart on the outside of my body. If only I could put him in a bubble and then tie that bubble down somewhere. Preferably in a padded room.
At this stage in his life, Henry is obsessed with super heroes and dinosaurs and when Charlie thought that maybe the kids would enjoy the movie, King Kong, a few weeks ago (Charlie, Charlie, Charlie - tsk! tsk!) the triplets were in tears from fright whereas Henry was purportedly jumping up and down from excitement and asking for a King Kong costume for Halloween.
Monsters! Scary! Extra Points!
Alas, less than a week after Henry finished preschool this summer, he's been asking if he could have a play date with one of the little girls in his class. Seeing as Henry has never requested a play date before, I thought it was a wonderful idea. So I wrote the child's mother a note and for the past two months, we've been trying to coordinate a time and place to meet.
After much anticipation we met earlier this week.
What made the get together all the more precious for me, is that Henry's friend has Down's Syndrome. And when Henry saw her, he went berserk. He ran over and gave her a big hug, then he very carefully took her by the hand and spent the next two hours, playing as gently as I've ever seen him. My little boy who never slows down, never sits still, was transformed in her presence. It was a wonderful break for my nerves because for the time that they were together I kept thinking, "OK, good, at least he's safe. The chances are less likely that he'll hurt himself..."
As I stood watching him play, my heart felt like it would burst with feelings of love and pride. At one point, he caught my stare and said with a little smile, "Mom, I really love Kaya. But you and me, we're still getting married. Okay?"
The gauge on my affection meter is completely shattered.
I don't know how it's possible to love this little one any more than I do.
