It has been called to my attention that my “middle child,” George has been getting very little air time here at The Big Piece of Cake. A least, in comparison to his brother and sister.
Four year old, Oliver is my special boy with special needs, as well as my oldest – so he’s automatically Mr. Spotlight. Eleanor, at age two, is a dramatic girl with an excessive love of all things classified “ballerina” (including tee shirts and jeans that I’ve somehow managed to convince her are “ballerina shirts” and “ballerina jeans”). So she also claims star status on a frequent basis.
One would assume that my middle child fades by comparison. Yet this is far from the truth. George, who is actually the middle child by only one minute (he and Eleanor are twins) is no stranger to the spotlight. And I’m not referring to my posts about his bald head and his pasty white legs. When we are out in public, George gets noticed.
People really gravitate to George. He has the sweetest little face with the proverbial big brown eyes, as well as a smile that could melt even Satan’s icy heart. Well okay, that’s probably going too far – but Satan would be enchanted with him and would probably want to adopt him as a demi-demon. Note to self: throw out the Ouiji board pronto. Of course I’m just kidding about that last part! We don’t own a Ouiji board.
George is my snuggley kid. He always wants to be picked up and hugged, and he clings to me like a little monkey. Luckily, he’s always been tiny so it’s not too taxing. I’m used to much bigger loads. George is a feather in comparison to his older brother. who was always on the gargantuan side. Even now, Oliver easily doubles George’s weight, though their age difference is only 18 months.
I have a million “awww!” inducing stories about my George – but really, who wants to read that? Okay – grandmas aside, I mean. A sweet anecdote every once in a while is fine, but let’s face it, that gets old pretty fast. Besides, where would I start? I mean, he’s a walking adorableness factory.
And you know what? I’m actually very pleased that he gets the most votes for “cutest Hood child” because he started life as one of the weirdest looking babies I’ve ever seen. He was fine at birth when he was all swollen, giving him the illusion of pinchable cheeks. But he very quickly began to look like what one my friends astutely described as “something from The Lord of the Rings.” My mother in law called him “The Woodland Creature.” I called him “The Changling.” And we’re the givers of unconditional love! So you know he had to be a little “unusual” as far as newborn babies go. Want proof?
But then he started looking like this:
He’s the one on the left.
And this:
And – Ohmygodhe’ssocute – this:
And even when he did look like a changling – he was soooo sweet. You couldn’t help but fall in love with him. Okay – I’m back on the precipice of eye roll-worthy “aren’t my kids cute” blather… So here are a few recent George antics.
First – his mad climbing skillz have proved to be the catalyst for taking down the cribs in the twins’ room. One day, he just stopped sleeping in his crib. He would either come into our room and climb into bed with us, or if he couldn’t get out of his own room (is it bad parenting to lock your kids in?), he’d just sleep on the floor. We finally got to a point where I’d just make up a bed for him on the floor next to Eleanor’s crib. And he was thrilled. But then Eleanor wanted to sleep on the floor too. So after a few nights of making up pallets for them, I decided to stop the madness and dismantled the cribs.
We haven’t decided what to do with them yet (toddler beds or big beds), so their crib mattresses are just sitting on the floor. Not that George actually sleeps on his. He still prefers to create a nest in odd areas of the room. My favorite is when he wedges himself up against the door so I can’t open it. I have to force my way in if I hear Eleanor crying for me. And he sleeps through that! What a weirdo.
He’s also taken to snacking on ice. Seriously – he will stand by the refrigerator and ask for it. If I say, “no George, you’ve had enough ice – no more,” he will wail like I snatched a chocolate bunny out of his hands. There isn’t too much to say about this other than the fact that I never expected to be having fights with my child about overeating ice.
Then there is his pronunciation of certain words. Every parent has a moment when their child says something that sounds dirty or rather age inappropriate. I recently wrote about my two year old daughter saying something that sounded like “Mommy! What the fuck?” Well George has a whole repertoire of these gems.
My two favorites are “penguins” and “Percy.” Percy is a character in Thomas the Tank Engine stories. He’s one of the best known characters – one of the “leads” if you will – so when my boys play with trains, the names Thomas, James, Emily and Percy come up fairly often. But George doesn’t say “Percy” – he says “pussy.” I think this must be common – but that doesn’t make it any less startling.
The other one is truly bizarre. First of all, I wouldn’t think that we would have so many opportunities for the kids to see penguins in our house. Sure a DVD is playing 24/7 – but most don’t involve penguins… Somehow George manages to find reasons to yell “Penguins!” on a daily basis. But again, it doesn’t sound like he’s saying “penguins.” If I had to spell it phonetically, it would be “PEHN-is.” So we’ve gotten used to George yelling “penis” a lot.
You would think we’d get used to it…
You would be wrong.
Oh how I love my George… I can’t get enough of him. Really, I can’t get enough of any of them (except for maybe at 2 a.m. when I can’t get enough of uninterrupted sleep). They’re all so wonderfully sweet and odd and completely themselves. They have such distinct personalities. And while I wish so many things for them, it’s this sense of self, this unique brand of “me” that all children possess for most of their early years that so often makes its way to the top of the list.
We’re all different. We’re all individuals. But we’re not all so completely confident and guileless in this knowledge as we were when we were two. Or four. Or seven. I really don’t know when this fades, but it’s such a wonder to see and such an inspiration for the parents who have spent most of their lives whittling away at those odd edges and corners – all so we can fit in the round holes that fill our daily grind.
So I hope that my George keeps his quirks and odd edges. That he continues to charm the pants off of the grumpiest of curmudgeons (that old softie Satan included). That he remains oblivious to the concept of “fitting in” as long as possible. Of course I eventually want him to “fit in” – but I’d like him to do it on his own terms.
This most charming middle child of mine will never fall through the cracks in our family.
And if for any reason he ever did – all he has to do is yell “penguins!” or “Percy!” At the very least, I’ll try to shut him up with a piece of ice.
Well I’d love to read a million awww stories about George – but I’m sure that’s no surprise to you! I hope I get a chance to visit soon and hear George yelling for Percy or Penguins! And I think it’s so cute that you’ve convinced Eleanor her tee shirts are princess material! hehe.
George sounds like a great kid (as I’m sure all of yours are).
I just love how all kids are so strange and unique. I its so much fun to watch them and seeing all those quirks (of course dealing with those quirks can be tough sometimes).
Your house sounds so much like mine! Makes me laugh though. My middle son is such a charmer too. People flock to him. He just has these little ways about him that are so charming. He's a cuddlebug as well. Sometimes I feel badly for the other 2 but they get their attention being that one is the oldest & the other is the youngest and also a girl.
OMG I CANNOT imagine my life w/o the crib tents. I really feel for you because once they get out of the crib that's it! How are you sleeping with all the action that I know is going on behind the scenes??
I heard that chewing ice means you could be deficient in something. Can't remember where I heard it or what it means but thought you might be interested on an FYI basis. Or could be he just likes to chew ice. :-)
BTW my Lucky jeans have never ripped. I would write them a letter. They're not cheap by any means and if they ripped I would be really mad!!
Much love from NJ,
Sue
xoxo
I think it’s cool that you refer to him as the “middle child” even though he’s a twin.
The picture of he and Eleanor as babies makes me want to suck on his cheeks.
He’s adorable, and your stories about him are wonderful. You’ll be glad you documented them someday. So will he!
He’s adorable! His little prayerful hands in the baby photo made me truly say ‘Awww!’ outloud! Then I had to scroll back up to look at it again a couple of times! I’m on baby overoad lately! George sounds like a lot of fun to have around!
Kate, I LOVE this post. I loved hearing more about George and all his George-ness!
I can attest to the fact that Infant George (who could fit in the palm of your hand) did resemble a Wood Elf with his tiny little face and sticklike arms and legs and also wild long black hair. Sooo sweet though. One thing I love about him is how he is so easy to entertain. All he needs is a little car or truck and he quietly plays, all alone, rolling his little truck on the floor. He is a most endearing little guy.
Doting Grandma.
Aww. I don’t think that tiny baby George really looks strange. But 2 year old George sure is cute!
“but it’s such a wonder to see and such an inspiration for the parents who have spent most of their lives whittling away at those odd edges and corners – all so we can fit in the round holes that fill our daily grind.”
I love that thought above.
So cute! Love this post, George seems like a fun little boy! Love that you moved to beds, regardless of where they are now. I plan on doing the same, crib tents scare me, even though they are highly recommended. So cute that he creates his own space, my husband was like that when he was a kid and its not uncommon to find him sleeping on the floor some nights! I guess you never grow out of it… lol!
I love that he’s the middle child by one minute! Sweet, sweet pictures.
Awwwwww. ;-) They all have such individual personalities and you did such a great job of conveying George’s to us. Love it.
Lol, great stories!
He’s a super cutie. I love that you appreciate their uniqueness and quirkiness.
When my kids were infants I thought they were the cutest, most adorable babies ever. Now I look back and pictures and wonder what I was thinking. They were all sort of funny looking babies.
First of all, thanks for commenting on my blog. I appreciate what you had to say. Secondly, CUTEST BABY EVER! The photos are great!
He’s got a lot of power if he can charm Satan. That will come in handy when he needs to finagle out of speeding tix.
Reminds me, did you see the 30 Rock episode with Jon Hamm? Absolutely hysterical! His character was living in this ‘bubble’ so to speak because everyone was so charmed by him that they never corrected him when he was wrong or anything…they just told him how awesome he was and treated him like a god.
Just hone your son’s superpower and he’ll be fine.
John
http://johnandstevearehavingababy.blogspot.com
Oh my holy sweetness! That picture of George and Eleanor sleeping as babies is just so precious. He wasn’t weird looking at all!
My Dylan, on the other hand, was a strange looking baby. We once took a poll to see what people thought he looked more like: a hobbit, a rabbinical priest or a beatnik poet.=)
I was wondering. Do you have any – like children – or anything?
Anyone who calls their own child/grandchild ‘the changeling’ or ‘woodland creature’ is my soulmate. because that is the funniest thing ever.
Hysterical, Kate. A nesting Woodland Creature. HMMMMM Wonder what will be next. Maybe he is just practicing for a major tree climbing event. Or a cool tree house( inside a knot). Lord help us!
You crack me up Kate. At least your kid just sounds like he using inappropriate words. My kid throws out the F bomb on a daily basis, and she totally means it.
omg. I could SERIOUSLY eat him up. Get him over here NOW!!!
Those pics are adorable. He doesn’t look like a changeling at all! Seriously cute. The pic of the two of them sleeping together? GAH! Died from cuteness.
OK. I’m totally done.
Except to say that the way he says penguins and Percy are adorable. And cute. And GAH!
I agree. my sisters and are so incredibly different from each other it’s quite amazing and yet like you said, we were all trained to fit into the round hole only I have never quite gotten there and it can be hard at times. I want my kid to never fit into any box or shape at any time unless it suits her b/c although it can be difficult ultimately it has been very rewarding.
I think that he was a beautiful baby!! And an adorable little boy…
So nice to read about your amazing kids!
Keep it up.
It’s posts like this that make me think that maybe, MAYBE someday… my bio clock will kick in and I’ll want a Georgie of my very own…
George is adorable!!! My middle child is younger than his sister by one minute. :)
how funny! Love it, especially the penguins. I feel so sad whenever my girls grow out of a mispronunciation!
a smile that could melt even Satan’s icy heart…
How do you do that? Every, every time you pull out something funny like that out of your hat…so to speak.
Great, great post!
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