Hangin' With the Mancub Part !!

So after spending the day together a couple of weekends ago, I decided that the mancub really needs some toys. Since we won't always have the option of going outside and I don't want to rely on the TV too much to play babysitter, I figured it was time we got set up for a boy creature of the toddlesome persuasion. So I headed over to Tuesday Morning and stocked up on fun stuff. I got:

1. a TON of books! SO cheap - $3 and $4 for books I had seen at Borders for $12 and $16. Got about a dozen fun titles, especially pop-up books since I remember loving those even when Nivek and Semaj were little and I would read to them. The mancub is still not too sure about this reading thing so sitting still is a little bit of an issue. I figured a bit of pop-up magic would help keep him interested.

2. A wooden pirate ship and crew.

3. A bouncy playground ball, like the red rubber kind you used to play kickball with at recess.

4. A soccer ball. When he plays with balls, he always shouts out the names of soccer players and yells "Goal!!!!"

5. A wooden farmyard set with a barn and play animals and equipment.

6. A wooden train set, the simple kind with the little magnetic train cars and the track you can set up in a figure-eight.

7. Some toy cars.

8. A set of play musical instruments (xylophone, harmonica, kazoo, castanets, flute, etc.)

9. A wooden castle and royal family.

10. A tub of jumbo lego-type blocks.

11. Some CDs of kids' music. I got a 3-CD set of "102 Children's Songs" and two Lullaby CDs, since he has trouble falling asleep. (He has never slept alone and he also demands that the light be on. I haven't tried to sleep with him yet and I really don't see me and the two Snoring Lions sleeping together in one bed with all of the lights on. Not sure how we're going to break this habit - Supernanny, where are you?? - but stay tuned.)

I brought all my loot home, hoping that T-Bone wouldn't be too freaked out with my expenditures, and set about assembling the barn and pirate ship. I decided that we should wait until we move to put the castle together but I wanted him to have a couple of cool things to play with now. The pirate ship was super-easy - just one pre-drilled screw to secure the crow's nest to the mast. But the barn was a real headache because it is solid wood with no pre-drilled holes and the screws are flat-ended rather than being pointy. We don't have any power tools so when Muscles (one of T-Bone's aliases) came home, I solicited his help. After a few hours of struggle, we declared the result "good enough" (looks find now but will probably need to be drilled a little tighter soon) and called it quits.

T-Bone was thrilled and excited and showered me with praise and gratitude when he saw all the toys. He was so happy and kept thanking me for all my love and getting really goofy lovey-dovey. [sigh] So adorable! We were both really excited to bring the Mancub over and see his reaction. On Saturday T-Bone went and picked him up from his mom's house. Before they even reached our apartment, T-Bone had called me to tell me that the Mancub loved his new CDs so much that he had flung off his seat belt and was trying to dance around in the backseat! (T-Bone had made a hasty dive toward the shoulder and re-secured the Mancub, this time with strict instructions that all dancing must be done in one's carseat.)

I could hear them barreling up the stairs and then a few moments later, the door flung open. The Mancub toddled in and gave me a huge grin. We waited, just letting him discover the new toys on his own.

It didn't take long. The first thing he found was the farm set, which we had left set up after we'd assembled it. He began naming all the animals and he got them all right, even the ones that had me and T-Bone going, "Er, I think it's a cat? Or maybe a mouse?"

In a matter of minutes he had hauled out all of the tubs I had bought to store the toys in. His favorites were the balls and the musical instruments, particularly the flute. He also loved the cars. I made the mistake of leaving the soccer ball in one of the tubs. He grabbed it and tried to bounce it on the floor; it made a hearty thud and I thought the neighbors might not appreciate having their ceiling pounded so I told the Mancub this was an "outside ball" and I hid it on the highest shelf in the closet. Throughout the afternoon he would occasionally stand at the bottom of the closet and whimper for his ball but even then he didn't go into full-blown howl.

I also noticed that his speech and comprehension seemed much better than last weekend. He was speaking in sentences rather than words and enunciating much more clearly. It was really remarkable, more than can be accounted for just by saying that I am getting used to how he speaks.

Anyway, at some point T-Bone snuck off for a nap. When he rejoined us, he also had a great time learning what all the toys were. While Daddy was sleeping, the mancub and I had had a quick tutorial and I had shown him how to use the flute, harmonica, and kazoo. T-Bone picked up the kazoo but for the life of him, he couldn't figure out how to play it. He blew and blew and just couldn't figure out why it wouldn't work.

"Mancub, show Daddy how to use it," I said.

The Mancub took the kazoo and soon had it humming. He handed it back to his daddy and T-Bone blew. Still nothing but the hiss of air. The Mancub giggled and showed him again. Finally I revealed the secret but the whole episode was really cute.

When he finally wore himself out, the Mancub once again crawled up on my chest. He brought a little toy car and his flute and lay quietly sucking his thumb and pinching him knuckles. But he couldn't fall asleep, so I carried him back to the bedroom and we lay down. After about ten minutes, he drifted off to sleep. T-Bone took a quick shower and dressed while I watched the Mancub and tried to help him breathe as best I could. He was lying with his back to me and at one point he woke up. Not seeing anyone, he sat up quickly and whimpered. "Sh-sh-sh," I whispered. Once he knew I was there, he lay back down and went right back to sleep.

T-Bone was going to take him home after his shower. I decided to clean up the toys so that there wouldn't be any tears when T-Bone carried him through the living room on their way to the car. I gently uncurled his fingers from the flute and tiptoed out to the living room, where I put everything away as quietly as I could. After T-Bone was dressed, he woke the Mancub and carried him off still blinking and drowsy.