T-Rex

I have been wanting to do a post about Traevan for a while, partly because Asher posts are over-running my blog and also because Traevan is just plain awesome. I have been thinking a lot about my time with Trae. Somehow he has managed to squeeze me into his life since he was one and a half. I find myself comparing the things Asher is doing right now to the things Traevan did when Josh and I first started dating.

Some things that always, always blew my mind about Traevan is that he was and still is the cleanest child I have ever encountered. Even at one and a half he would blow his own nose and wash his hands several times a day. He rarely made a sound and would crawl around picking crumbs off the floor. He was also incredibly content sitting in his car seat, stroller, grocery cart, and I never once saw him protest having his diaper changed. We go through rolls of paper towels when he is over. I once told him when he was playing in the sand that it was ok to be dirty because he seemed so conflicted. He ran around the rest of the day telling everyone "It's ok to be dirty!!"

When Josh and I first started dating Traevan was definitely shy, but he warmed up to me pretty quickly. We played all day together when we had him, and when Josh and I took him home it just hurt. Traevan didn't seem bothered too much when we got married. He had just turned two, and I think he was young enough he didn't mind. About a year later Traevan's mom remarried, and it definitely shook him up. Since Trae was getting old enough to understand, he became much more possessive of both his mom and dad. Because of this and because I was too pregnant to play anymore, Traevan definitely started to like alone time with Josh which I was fine with.

Trae was completely indifferent to Asher and avoided him at first. In Trae's eyes, Asher was just tiny and made weird noises. Nothing exciting there, but seven months later, when Trae got a new little brother at his mom's house things went south for all of us. He decided he hated me and his newest little brother, never hesitating to tell me so. It was devastating to me. I know every child tells their parent "I hate you!", but it is so much different with a son who is not yours. It hurt so much to love a little boy that you had tried to seamlessly welcome in your life, and he decided after two years to hate you. After a few months, many tantrums and a down-pour of tears from both parents and step-parents, Traevan was fine. He now says he loves both of his brothers and me! Hopefully it will last. Sometimes he prefers Josh and sometimes he prefers me, depending on the activity, but I think his hate toward me is gone for now. I love the time we have with him!

Nowadays he is doing preschool books with his mom. I am getting really excited for the beginning of soccer, baseball and the works! I am also looking forward to him learning to read. I read to both boys as much as I can, but I think it will be really fun when he can read to me and Asher someday. He really likes to read books, do puzzles and play memory games when he is over, but lately he has mastered the Wii. Just Dance, Mario Kart and Smash Brothers are his favorite.

It amazes me how grown up he is. The other day he asked Josh in the car "Dad, when I am 8 will you baptize me?" He also tells us that he is going on a mission when he is 19. Traevan and Asher entertain each other so well, and I love that they are such good buddies! Traevan came up with nicknames and sound effects for all of us which are:

Josh= "J-Dawg Woof, Woof"

Kimber= "K-Money Chaching!"

Traevan= "T-Rex Rawr"

Asher= "A-Bomb Boomb!"

So the point of this post is that I really love the kid.