Tiny Man's Ten

I've spent the last several minutes looking at pictures of this little thing when he first arrived and still wonder: What was I thinking???  Obviously, I wasn't.  And I am so very thankful I had that lapse in judgement.

11.  Responded to "dude", "doodle", "doodlebug", "tiny", "tiny man", and occasionally his own name.
10.  Loved Kleenex.  It was not at all unusual to see him stand on his tip toes, grab a tissue, actually blow his nose, and then toddle off to throw the kleenex into the bathroom trashcan.
9.  Spent a good chunk of time in my arms this morning watching a solid waste truck picking up people's branches and tree limbs. "Truck! Mommy! Truck Tree!!!"
8.  Called Little Sister "Wobbie" which is nothing at all close to her real name. But you can be darn sure we reinforced that cute little misnomer so it would stick.
7.  Had a slapstick sense of humor at a very young age. The girls used to take turns jumping off their chairs, from sitting position....not even a big jump, and he'd laugh his head off. 
6.  Pronounced "thank you" "Gum". I think it started as him copying "you're welcome". It got even cuter when he started combining words to "Gum, Mommy, Gum" when I handed things to him.
5. Loved the hair dryer.  Sat on the stool in the bathroom every time I dried my hair and patiently waited for his hair to be "dried".
4.  Called anything with feathers "duckie." Last week, when we went to Sea World, we saw a show with an acrobat lady suspended from a ring above the water.  She was dressed as a parrot or some exotic bird.  Mine was the child screaming "DUCKIEEEEEEE!!!!!!!" for about half of her performance.
3.  Clearly, soooo clearly, grew up around three girls. He loved playing babies and wearing heels and carrying purses and putting on chapstick as much as any other kid in this house.
2.  Was the world's most considerate roommate.  Tiny slept about 6 feet from my head. If he woke up before I did, as early as he could stand, he'd grab a book off the nightstand and "read" rather than waking me up.
1.  If he loved you, he petted you on your arm or your head. Wobbie was petted on her arm during dinner on a regular basis. I was petted on my ponytail every night before putting him in his crib.  The cats were petted as much as they would allow. When he wanted held, he often lifted his arms and said: Pet Mommy. As crazy as it sounds, I'm going to miss my ponytail being petted.

A year ago, I had NO idea what a baby would be like. When he was on his way, I had to call a friend from the baby aisle at the grocery store so I knew what to buy. I remember being somewhat startled when she said: Did you get formula? (WHAT??? He's gonna need FORMULA?!). Thank you, Tiny Man, for being my learning experience. Any baby who walks in after you will appreciate what I have learned in the past year.

And in case I've ever left any doubt in your mind how much I love you, Doodle: Right up to the moon--and back.