A Day With Dylan

There are so many daily ups, downs and diagonals with Dylan.  Here's what a typical day looks like.  After breakfast, he dresses himself.  He is so excited for Anthony to be here that he doesn't ask for help.  Mr. Independent sets out to accomplish his goal and is successful at achieving it.  He plays in the sandbox with Anthony forever.  Those kids love that sandbox.  I am so happy with how well they play together most of the time.  I turn around and content sandbox playing has turned into climbing the fence to see the fish in the pond next door.  That or the garden hose, which can mean a number of things, most of which are not good for moms. Crisis control and we're back to playing, smiling, laughing, joking.  Go change Preston's diaper and come back downstairs to see the fridge door wide open.  Try to figure out what he got out of the fridge and why.  Oh, he's lugged every piece of fruit I own outside for a picnic and is cutting the fruit into small slices with his plastic knife.  Lunch.  He eats his lunch well without much of a fight and cleans up his plate without being asked.  What an angel.  More kid play.  Bathroom break.  Wait a minute...where's Dylan?  Yep, naked in the bathroom with all of his plastic animals lined up along the bathtub.  Why is it that he cannot stay dressed when he goes to the bathroom?  I will never understand the need to shed his clothes in order to do his business.  Preston and Anthony go down for a nap.  Before I can get Dylan to come hang out with me for some books and maybe a movie, he has decided to take a nap with Anthony.  Yeah right!  The kid hasn't taken a nap for two years.  I watch him haul blankets and stuffed animals as well as his binoculars to the living room for the two of them.  Then he tucks Anthony in and says a prayer so he can go to sleep.  Man, the kid can be so dang cute sometimes.  I almost start to cry at my son's little prayer.  Of course instead of using the animals to sleep, Dylan wants to use them for a safari, thus the binoculars.  I pry him away from Anthony and convince him that he should stay downstairs with me.  Another bathroom break.  I realize the silence and again go to check it out.  Yep, naked once again with the sink plugged, filled with water, toothpaste and soap.  He is stirring the entire concoction with his toothbrush.  He smiles at me and proceeds to tell me about the delicious soup he's making.  Not one thought of being in trouble.  Apparently it's his imagination and creativity and not the desire to be naughty...at least that's what I decide this time.  A little indoor playing.  I remind him 95 times not to wrestle Preston as Preston screams at the top of his lungs.  Somehow Dylan can tune out both of us.  Not long after, we get out the trucks.  The kids have been playing with their "scoopers" in the sandbox all day.  I turn around and Dylan has brought in a cool whip container filled with sand to play with inside.  It takes me a few minutes, but I successfully get him to take the sand back outside and play with the trucks in beans instead.  It's a brilliant way to play with animals, trucks or just about anything.  We get out the dry beans and the kids scoop and play with their trucks and some dinosaurs they find.  Another lapse in mommy attention and Dylan has Altoids out launching them through a piece of PVC pipe.  Dylan disappears to the basement (a place he rarely goes alone).  The kid wants Popsicles.  I decide it's a great idea and bring up a few otter pops so the kids will a variety of colors to select from.  I get Preston situated in the highchair with one and cut off the ends of two Popsicles for Dylan and Anthony.  I start cleaning up some of the mess from earlier.  Before I get anything done, I realize every Popsicle has been cut open and they've eaten them all.  Honestly!  Grocery trip.  Nothing too extreme, but about 15 people chuckle for one reason or another.  He tries on some sunglasses and asks me if he looks blue.  He's such great entertainment.  Later, we have FHE and talk about the liahona.  He is so excited about the idea of a compass and asks lots of questions and wanders around the house talking about camping.  Close enough.  At least we got a real lesson in.  He keeps us on our toes all day long, but we have fun and laugh so much too.  Anything to do with water, dirt, wrestling, jumping, running, climbing, rolling, scooping, shooting, fighting...  it's all Dylan territory.  We have such beautiful, tender moments and such crazy, destructive boy moments every single day.  And that's just the 4-year-old.  What a wonderful life!