That Kid.

Yes, my son is "that boy." Or "that kid." Yes, you know the one. The one that everything that couldn't possibly happen to anyone else's kid, or at least not at the frequency that it happens to my kid...happens. Namely with his head. Always the head. You'd think you'd go for your foot or your hand or your belly or something. Nope, not Gabe. Whack your head, you know, that part that just holds like your most valuable organ. Sigh.

Yesterday we were invited out for a post-church lunch. It was a great time. A wonderful family with 5 kids of their own and 4 foster kids. According to my calculations, they fed 16 people soup and sandwiches for lunch. Um wow. They have a kitchen table that seats 8, and a dining table that seats 8. Wow. So hard to imagine that many people in our home at this point...actually, ever. But I have to admit, there was such a warmth and vibrancy about their home. Never a dull moment, especially when the Nepper's come to visit.

Gabe is still too small to just sit in a regular dining chair, so we have a little portable booster seat that we can strap onto a chair. Well, Gabe wasn't into this out for lunch business, so he was fussy, and decided to push his chair away from the table. Except...the chair didn't slide. It just tipped backwards. Now, don't get me wrong. This is an unfortunate mistake that Gabe has made on a number of occasions, generally to be caught in the falling process by Mommy or Daddy.

But this time was different. The chair tipped backwards into a banister that was separating the dining area from the sunken living room. It was AWFUL! He made full impact, the lump was immediate, and the tears and snot were instant. Poor kid.

Then there was the time at a friend's house (who lives 30 minutes out of the city - meaning, no husband's could easily come rescue him), and I put him in their bathroom for a timeout. I mean haven't we all, on occasion, placed our misbehaving kids somewhere while out on a play date? I mean I can't think of ever putting them in the bathroom, but somewhere. But Gabe...being "that kid" decided that he might as well make good use of his time in the bathroom. No he did not splash around in the toilet (seriously...that's old hat), or turn on the taps full blast and splash about (child's play), no, Gabe just had to lock himself in the bathroom!

Now, I'm not the person who knows how to pick a lock, unless it involves putting a penny into a slot (which was the lock on my childhood bathroom). Nor did my friend. We tried the old pen in the hole trick, but to no avail. I think he was in there around 10 minutes. Completely oblivious, of course. Just chattering away, no concept. I was telling my friend about this key that came with our door locks (for when Abbi had done this at home). This reminded her that she had kept this funny looking key thing for their downstairs lock sets. Thankfully they had recently finished their basement, and she had hung onto this key, otherwise, I'm not sure how we would have gotten him out. Both of our husbands just happened to be not answering their cell phones. Oy.

Or how about the time we were on the Island this past summer, at the waterfront with our friends. Its a beautiful boardwalk area, with lots of space for the kids to run free (without fear of them falling in), so Gabe was just toddling along. The older kids climbed up on a statue (no, not Black Frank's statue). Gabe followed along, and when it was time to get down, instead of, you know, doing the sensible thing like stepping or jumping down, Gabe somehow managed to nose dive about a foot down onto the pavement. Oy, oy, oy. I tell you, its a rare day around Nepper's Landing that Gabe does not smack his head. Generally multiple times.

I don't think he is a clumsy child in any way. I think the majority of this could be chalked up to curiosity. Take for example, when we lowered his crib mattress. Once they can sit up, you have to drop the mattress so that they don't climb out (which he has thankfully never attempted). So once the mattress was dropped, this left a number of old bolt holes exposed. Well, just guess who's son stuck his finger in said hole and had it seriously stuck? You bet it was my son! He started crying, and it wasn't really the "I don't want to nap today" kind of cry but more along the lines of "I may lose a limb if someone doesn't get in here FAST!" Yup, that's Gabe. A small, awkward, probably shouldn't go in there space...Gabe's on it like white on rice.

Don't get me wrong. Nothing beats having a little boy. Its a glorious thing. Its just far more disastrous than I ever could have imagined. Ever...

Isn't he the sweetest little thing? Sweet and mischievous, all wrapped into one!