Let me entertain you

Isaac loves cars. I don't let him play in my car but that requires some work on my part. The car must always be locked. (I'm not a locker by nature, my parents not only don't lock, they leave the keys in the cars. And I was raised with that so the locking thing took some getting used to.) But it doesn't end at locking. Ike, he's 2 remember, can unlock my car. He's perfectly comfortable unlocking either with the key fob thing or the key itself. And he makes sure to lock the door behind him. (I may not be a locker by nature but he is.) He likes to turn on the lights and the blinkers and generally do things that make turning on the car very interesting for me the next time I get in it. He also likes to put the key in the ignition and turn on the radio. And because that's not interesting enough anymore, he starts the car.

Let me tell you how fun it is to stand outside a car that you can't get into because it's locked with the key inside and try to talk your two-year-old into turning off the car and letting you in. Really, really not fun. (Here's a hint, if you show any sign of how mad you are he won't unlock the door.) So we keep the keys on top of the fridge where he can't get them. Yet.

It's not just my car that he likes. He's an equal opportunity car lover. He climbs into my mother's car when we go there, He'll climb right into any car he can find. He doesn't talk a whole lot but he can and will identify the "owner" of any car that he recognizes. He knows which car is Laura's and which is Grandma's. He yells out "Ne har" (Sydney car) every time our neighbor drives by. (As an aside, I'll tell you that he calls our van "mine har" that's mine car. In his mind it's not my car, it's his.)

Ike also climbs the fence of our fully fenced yard. He's been brought back by the neighbors on more than one occasion.

Given the above, why was I at all surprised when the Maggie and Aidan came running in the other day crying because Isaac had locked himself into a car that was left parked (but apparently not locked) on the street? (They were crying because they were afraid he was going to suffocate in the car. There wasn't much danger of that.) Whose car it was, I have no idea, but I feel safe saying that Ike has now taken things to a whole other level.

And I thought raising Aidan was going to be bad.

Love to all, wish me luck- Allison

Boys!

Isaac was playing out in the yard the other morning. I went out to check on him and I found him crouched down, looking intently at something on the driveway.

"Ike," I call, "whatcha got there?"

He looks over in my direction. "Sbleh bleh," he says standing. (Most of what Isaac says sounds like Sbleh bleh, it's a pretty versitle term, kind of like smurf or dude.)

"Sbleh bleh?" I ask as I walk over to him.

"Sbleh bleh," he confirms crouching back down and pointing.

I peer intently, my gaze following his finger.

"It's a spider," I say.

Now I am female but I find that I don't get all that worked up over spiders. In fact I had a very live and let live attitude even toward spiders in my house until I found a black widow. A big black widow. On my mop handle. About half an hour after I finished mopping (it had, very obviously been on the mop since I pulled it out to mop that morning). When I was six months pregnant. Since then I kill the arachnids in my home. But I still don't get too worked up about seeing spiders.

And this is the smallest spider ever. It is the size of an ant. Not one of those big ol' army ants, one of those teeny tiny itty bitty ants that you almost can't see. How this thing ever attracted the attention of my two-year-old son I have no idea.

"Sblehbleh," Ike repeats. (Obviously he was saying sblehbleh rather than sbleh bleh, silly mom.)

"Did you find a spider?" I ask.

"Yeah." (Probably the only word he says that someone who doesn't live with him would understand.)

"Is he a little baby spider?" Of course I'm talking in high pitched baby talk voice.

"Yeah."

"Is he cute?"

"Yeah."

"Do you like that little spider?" I ask innocetly.

"Yeah," he says. And then stands to his full hight of nearly two and a half feet. He lifts his cute little size 6 sneaker. And stomps on the spider.

*sigh*