And stacking paper cups for fun.
And wrestling as often as possible, and snuggling, and going to bed the earliest (and asking to do so), playing the Kindle Fire, and eating donuts at Walmart, and riding his bike, and reading Little People Books, and making ghosts out of play dough, and listening to his favorite spooky Halloween CD over and over and over again in the car, and eating ketchup in large quantities, and talking in the dark, and playing batcave, and laughing his deep contagious belly laugh, and just being a buddy.
William is a very fun, energetic and silly 3 year old, who is experiencing life and learning as he goes.
He has made a name for himself in our neighborhood, and it started within weeks of us living here.
William was known for walking across the rocky, weedy, lots, and down the sidewalk with little pebbles on it, with no shoes or socks, and without even wincing or acting at all like it hurt. William did not wear shoes the entire summer last year. Not to the store, not to church, not on vacation, not anywhere!
Part of the problem was that his feet are square. They are pretty much cubes and we could not find a shoe to fit his foot.
He now wears shoes to church, and usually on outings as well. Snow boots seem to be the game changer, thank heavens!
Our neighbors and friends quickly became amused with Williams "style" and he has become a legend for it. Numerous people will tell me that William is their favorite of the tons and tons of rug-rats roaming our neighborhood. He makes them smile and chuckle with his cute, amusing, and silly ways.
William is also known for his shorts. His black or grey (he calls them "whipe", white) cotton shorts with the stripe down the side. I bought them 2 years ago at Walmart for $3.50 each.
These shorts are a legend not only in the neighborhood, but also in our home, at Ben's work, in Idaho, and everywhere we go more than once. William wears nothing else, as far as pants go. I am not exaggerating one bit. William literally has worn nothing but these shorts for about 8 months now.
I have tried everything. When it was -18 outside, I took him to the store and told him to pick out any pair of pants he wanted. He did. And he has never worn them. I tried sweats, I tried pajama pants, I tried every type of fabric, color and style imaginable. Every time William cheers and gets excited about the new pants, and then he just tells me to give them to Sam and never wears them.
These shorts have been stained, torn, sewn back up, washed about a million times, and are worn night and day. Yes, he sleeps in them too.
On the rare occasion that I have to wash them both at the same time, William transforms into an insecure, grumpy, flustered, upset creature, who will do nothing but ask every 5 minutes if his shorts are clean yet. It truly traumatizes him, and in turn, the rest of us.
The one exception is church, thank goodness! Somehow, we convinced William to wear pants for 3 hours once a week. I think God has a good sense of humor. It is only by a complete miracle that William wears pants to church. I honestly don't know how it came about. He puts them on right before church, and he literally has his church pants off in the door way when we get home, and is on the hunt for his shorts.
William never took a pacifier, or had a favorite stuffed animal or blanket.
I think the shorts took the place of all of this. This past weekend, after my mom sewed up another hole in his white shorts, she gave them back to William, and he lovingly looked them over and held them to his chest for a moment before putting them on. I about bit my tongue off trying not to laugh hysterically.
As a mother, I know William, and I know what the shorts mean to him, so I don't mind.
It is another story though, when it is the dead of winter, it in in the negatives, and I am walking my 3 year old to the store, or taking him to preschool, or running errands, in shorts...and Lightening McQueen snow boots of course. :)
The looks and glares I get are unbelievable. I have long ago given up caring what people think about my mothering skills, and my parenting, because I know my kids...they don't. It is annoying though. I mean come on! In reality, because of his boots, only his cute chubby knees are bare. Go find something else to glare at, or put your pointy finger, judgments, and negative energy toward fixing world huger.
Williams preschool teacher thinks it is hilarious, and doesn't judge me for bringing my kid to class in shorts in the middle of a blizzard, when all the other are bundled from the toes to the forehead. William is just as happy and warm as the rest of them. I am so thankful for her good attitude and ability to laugh and let William be.
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| Did I mention we are also going on day 4 of the ugly..I mean "super cool" robot shirt he threw in the shopping cart last week., and is in love with! He does bathe, he just puts the same clothes on afterwards. Whatever. :) |
This is what William wore to the kids club at the gym today, much to everyone's chagrin.
He is also a legend with Ben's co-workers for numerous reasons. The company took all of us to see Frozen before Christmas, and it was a COLD day. We brought William in his shorts, of course. I don't even notice much anymore. William is a walking heater, and honestly, never complains of being cold. The knowing looks, chuckles and acceptance were great. They embrace Williams ways, and love it. Oh William!
And so the shorts saga lives on. I am hoping with everything in my heart, that soon, Walmart will bring the same shorts back out in the shelves.
You see, William's beloved shorts are starting to literally become threads, and, well...
William does not wear underwear.
2 comments:
That's funny! What a cutie. My boys have had Fred Flintstone feet too. Love the shorts!
Ha ha! My son is not that bad, but we go most places with him in his Spider-Man costume...including mask, it was only too much when we got to the store and I realized there was a hole...and he wasn't wearing underwear. Someday he'll find something else to wear. Way to keep loving him!
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