My darling boy

I am always quick to throw Ian under the bus and make jokes about how spirited he is and if preschool had a boarding school option, I'd have sent him. But I feel the need to pay homage to my little guy and sing his praises.

For the past 4 months or so, Ian has been a delight to be around. I enjoy spending time with him and miss him when we are not together. Really. He is funny, thinks quickly on his toes and has a very bubbly personality. I am in awe of the boy he is turning into and very proud of him for so many things.

The big ticket item is how he handles himself with Sam. She is really pushing his and everyone else's buttons lately. Ian could not be more patient and understanding of her temperamental ways. Most of the time he will willingly hand over the toy she is trying to grab from him and in fact, offer to teach her how to use it.

The other day we were at a park, having a picnic with some friends. Sam was throwing a temper tantrum over something or other and I was doing a pretty good job of ignoring her and eating my lunch. At one point, Sam stopped screaming/crying long enough to take a side glance out of the corner of her eye to see if anyone was watching her. All the moms I was with saw this and we busted out laughing. Ian quickly came to her rescue and said very sternly, "Hey, don't laugh at my sister. She is only 2." Got to love how he is already protecting her.

Ian goes out of his way to be considerate and if he sees me having a particularly trying morning with Sam, he will do things (like pick out his own clothes, buckle his car seat, brush his teeth without me reminding him, etc.) and then say, "I wanted to help you. Was I being thoughtful?"

Ian's manners are kicking in nicely automatically. I am very pleasantly surprised at how often he says "please" and "thank you" completely on his own. He is playing with the other kids incredibly well and does a great job of sharing and taking turns. He is more than fair and will always put himself last if he is picking the order. (Caveat: at least this is what I've observed. Maybe it is different when I am not around. I've already written earlier that I am worried I have an Eddie Haskell on my hands.)

I hope I don't jinx myself when I write this, but I can't remember the last time I had to scold him, or put him in time-out, or send him to his room. I don't remember his last meltdown or temper tantrum. It has been truly fantastic having him in our family.

I must not be the only one who thinks the changes in Ian's behavior is phenomenal. His bedtime officially keeps getting later and later. Six months ago, he had to go to sleep at 7:00pm. Then about a month ago, we officially made his bedtime 8:00pm. Just last week, we have extended it to 8:30pm. I guess we are all enjoying him so much we don't want him to go to bed.