Mr. Sneaky Pants

Ms. Crazy Preschooler has been away the last four days with my husband visiting great grandparents and cousins in Iowa, so Mr. Sneaky Pants has been hanging out with me.

I’m changing his name to Mr. Sneaky Pants because he is one very, very sly young fellow. For example, when I was taking a shower the other day, he rummaged through his father’s closet and found a case of old matchbox cars from when Dr. Peds was a boy. When I got out of the shower, he was sitting ever so nicely zooming the cars around on my bed. We called Dr. Peds on his nifty cell phone, and he said it was fine for Mr. Sneaky Pants to play with them, but it’s the principle of the thing! Sneakiness. I am telling you, the kid knows how to creep quietly out of his room at nap and at bedtime and move things all over the house. Yesterday I was working at my computer diligently and I went downstairs to get a drink of water and found him playing with blocks, oh so pleasantly in the family room, entirely at the other end of the house from where I thought he was and where he should have been. The day before that he explored in my room when he was supposed to be in bed for the night, and came up with a wad of cold hard cash (that I was actually happy to see because I’d forgotten I stashed it in my room).

Anyway, Mr. Sneaky Pants and I have had a great few days together, along with The Banana. We’ve had bike rides on the lakewalk, walks to the library and around the neighborhood, and lots of comfy snuggles with a stack of good picture books. He’s helped set the table, assisted in cooking supper, and taken out the trash for me. We’ve played puppets and a lot of “Slowly, Slowly went the Sloth” dominoes, which is his favorite game. He’s pretty good at it too! He can even identify tricky rainforest animals like spider monkeys, and double crested basiliks.

It’s been good to have a little time without the slightly domineering big sister, although we love her so. He has been asking about her constantly, and even has been setting a place at the table for her “just in case.” However, I KNOW as soon as she gets back, it will be pick, pick, pick pick pick. And that’s OK, because I miss the crazy preschooler too.