The Spirited Child

When the toddler was a baby, my mother nick-named him the "Jesus" baby. This, as it turned out, was much like the baby I had been: content, smiley, happy. Now a toddler, and with 2 brothers to contend with, the toddler has had to develop some survival skills. We now refer to the toddler as, "the spirited child." He is independent, strong-willed, stands up for himself, and is by no means a wimp or whiney.

This morning, I was in the kitchen getting his bottle ready. He walked in clutching his blanket and began complaining that I wasn't getting the bottle ready fast enough. He proceeded to drop his blanket and sit on the ground as I was shaking it up. I picked up his blanket and then reached to pick him up. He threw himself back on the floor refusing to be picked up and screamed for his bottle. I gave it to him and once the bottle was being drunk, he grunted for his blanket as well. Then, he contentedly lay on the kitchen floor clutching his blanket, slurping his bottle until his dad came along and picked him up.

Yes, he is a spirited one.

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