Mr. Dallin

My youngest has an interesting nickname that has been part of him since he was a baby. He has been called "Mr. Dallin" from various people and sometimes when a person has never heard anyone else call him that. He just seems like an old soul sometimes. He has been changing and so I feel impressed to record some of the things he is doing/has done. Here he is enjoying our wheat grinder and finding out how to make it work.

Don't you just love his disheveled hair?! It adds characture. His eyes smile when he smiles!

This is how I found him the other day. He grabbed the stool out of the bathroom and proceeded to play with the microwave. I call him my "button boy" since he has to test any button he finds. I let him play with the microwave to get it out of his system but I was right nearby to make sure he didn't cook something or turn it on. He liked to hear the beeps as he pushed the numbers.

When my oldest son Tyler was two, he was playing with our microwave and ended up locking it so that it wouldn't cook anything. We had to find the manual and call the company to find out how to unlock it. This time, when Dallin did the same thing yesterday, I was smart enough to unplug it. That reset the controls and I didn't have to search for the manual. I guess I've raised two "button boys".

I just love his sweet face with a hint of masculinity. Dallin is showing great interest and ability in learning the letters of the alphabet. He has known the letter "O" for quite a while now. The second letter he learned has a funny story that goes with it. He and I were driving home at night when he started saying "M". I noticed that we were passing a brightly lit McDonalds and the big yellow letter M. I was so surprised and I told him that he was right! Then the next letter he learned was the letter "I" and he grasped that one by watching Word World and Super Why on PBS. They are his favorite shows since we don't have cable TV.

The next letter he learned also has an interesting story. He and I were in Ace Hardware when we walked by a sign just his height and he pointed to it and said "A"! It read Ace Hardware in big read letters, so I knew he really was talking about the letter A.

I recently had a birthday check of his cashed that he got from a relative and some Christmas money for him as well and I thought he would really enjoy some sort of learning toy. I remembered that my sis-in-law Katie has a cute letter Leap Frog toy that is magnetic and is always attatched to their front door. There are magnetic letters as well and when you put them in the recepticle, it says the letter name and sounds that it makes. It's set to a catchy tune so that the little ones remember it better. I got this for Dallin and he loves it. He has learned the letters X, and T and is probably learning more letters since that is the pattern so far. My other two kids weren't interested in learning the letters so early. It just comes naturally to him. I just love this little man and I can't cuddle and kiss him enough during the day. I'm so glad to have him. I love you Dallin!