New Beginnings

Look! A new mommy butterfly!!
Originally uploaded by Sheriagogo.

It was time to head inside after a Father's Day morning of yard clean-up and get ready to go out for lunch; I was finishing up some under-the-deck sweeping, Steve had already bounded inside to change, and Liam was just heading up the stairs when Zoe started to shout "NO LIAM! Don't go up the stairs! There's SOMETHING on the stairs!!! It's a BUTTERFLY! It's a new MOMMY butterfly!!!"

It took a moment for her words to sink in. I had no idea what she was talking about so I finished up and went to investigate. Liam was frozen half-way up the stairs and Zoe was standing at the bottom, pointing and shouting. And there was a new butterfly just hanging there off the bottom step, drying it's boldly coloured new wings.

I called out to Steve to bring the camera and then peered under the step to look for the chrysalis. I had just swept behind the steps so I knew the butterfly hadn't been there only a few minutes before. Sure enough, there was the coccoon, stuck up under the step.

New beginnings. A good omen for the various things we have on the go these days.

Little Giant

Liam was in his first play last night.

He was cast as the Giant in a re-worked version of Jack and the Beanstalk - mostly because he is really good at stomping and glowering and he has a big voice. Of course all the most prominant personality traits of a five year old tend to fade away under the blinding lights of the stage - or in this case, rows of parents in a community hall. But it was cute.

Most of the kids stood shell-shocked and expressionless while Joan, their teacher, read an animated narration that included physical prompts and verbal cues. Apparently the lack of expression was, in most cases, due to intense listening for these cues; for suddenly a mini actor would momentarily spring to life and say their lines; some with more expression than others. Liam kept up the glowering, but it is pretty hard to stomp barefoot on a linoleum coated cement floor - nothing to reverberate. And his much reduced big voice wasn't too bad in comparison to some, not as good projection as others. Only one little girl burst into tears - but then the golden harp always was prone to emotional outbursts. All in all an big success!

So Liam has had his first taste of the Horak trade; I wonder where he will take it from here?

Faster Than A Speeding Bullet

Liam has developed this odd little habit lately.
As soon as Steve or I start the shower he jumps out of bed (or runs upstairs) and ducks under the outer shower curtain, tucking himself under the tub (the newly exposed cast-iron footed tub) for the duration of the shower. And as soon as the water is shut off he shoots out of the bathroom faster than a speeding bullet. When questioned about his strange behaviour he blushed and said he just liked the sound of the water and how warm the tub was. No super-hero behaviour here despite the fact that in most cases the speeding bullet is in Bat Man or Spider Man Pj's.

SuperHeroes are big around here these days - mostly Batman. The recent influx of the odd bits of Grandpa Horak's legendary comic collection have helped to cement an already budding interest in the world of superheroes. Budding - because various marketing items like Spiderman backpacks, Batman Pj's and the stuff his Gang introduces him to have created a familiarity; Cemented - because suddenly we have a source of deeper information on these brightly clad super-heroes; AND his Dad knows tonnes of stuff about them, having grown up with the Complete Horak Comic Book Collection as his main source of reading material. Liam needs to be able to soak up INFORMATION if he is going to develop an interest in any given topic. He just loves to KNOW stuff.

Liam is a surprising little boy. He's one of those kids who tries out the full emotional and behavioural spectrum at home, drives us nuts, and then goes out into the world; a model of little boy behaviour. One of his teachers called him "laid back" the other day. Laid Back!!?? Our Liam? Wow, I wish I knew that kid!
Actually, I have caught glimpses of him:
When his buddy Zach has a meltdown at the end of Preschool because he doesn't want to go yet, Liam is the cool kid, saying "Hey Zach, It's ok. I'll see you tomorrow". I keep expecting him to say "chill man" he's so cool about it. And then there are the instances when I'm watching our neighbours daughter (soon to be 4 and a handful!!) and I have to referee an interaction with Zoe that has resulted in screeching; Recently, after I had reprimanded Isabella for grabbing a toy out of Zoe's hand instead of asking, Liam chimed in all been-there-done-that, "yeah, Isabella, my mom says the same thing when I do that. It's just not worth it. You should just ask her for it, nicely." Who is this kid??

Out in the world, Liam is the kid who walks his own path, confident in who he is and not giving in to peer pressure when the Gang isn't doing what he wants to do - or doing something he doesn't think they should. He thrives on knowing his boundaries; he seeks out the rules of any new situation and then settles in to watch. He'll follow when he wants to, lead when the spirit moves him, and he does his own thing if nothing else inspires him; a far cry from the sensitive little toddler who cried at every imagined slight, breaking down at every stumbling block life threw him. We still see that little boy around here - and that's a good thing. As long as he feels safe to explore his emotions at home we know we're doing something right. Preschool has been good for him, and despite our early reservations, we think he'll do fine in public school. Besides, he has his sister to help him learn about bullies.

Liam is a little boy of Hearty Laughs, Deep Sensitivity, Black Moods and Goofy Humour. He loves to wrestle with his dad, fight with his sister, and negotiate 'deals' with me all the time. He is a good big brother and always helpful when a sitter is over (so they tell us). And, oddly enough, he seems to have good taste. He always likes to look good, and he really loves getting his photo taken - especially at SEARS. But recently I have been sending him to get dressed on his own - as in picking out his own clothes. At first I found myself cringing as I heard him coming down the stairs, expecting a mismatch like only his father is capable of, but so far he is always coordinated and spiffy - and a looker to boot. I'm not sure if this is due to some innate sense of style or just his observant nature picking up on my past co-ordination efforts. Probably the latter.

He'll be FIVE in a month. He's growing up, our little boy - right before our eyes!
Not quite as fast as a speeding bullet, but fast enough.