All Boy

So, I'm sure that there are some quiet toddler boys out there who would prefer to stay inside and read a book rather than throw themselves here and there and everywhere.

And I'm sure that there are some girls who are non-stop bundles of energy.

But I also know that stereotypes come about because they are more or less true (even though there are exceptions to the rules) and I'm also sure that Eamon is All Boy.

Eamon loves to run. Why would anyone walk anywhere ever?--that's his philosophy. Even when he doesn't know where he's going, he's getting there as quickly as humanly possible. He is loud. Always. He is curious. About everything. Sometimes he just starts dancing and screeching with wild, carefree abandon, as if life is simply too wonderful to not break out into a jig in the middle of your well-child check-up.

The doctor was, thankfully, amused.

During the appointment, Eamon did sit nicely for the doctor to examine him. He even let Dr. Bolduc poke around in his mouth, because quite simply, Eamon loves Dr. Bolduc. He always has. With other doctors, he will be reluctant, he will fidget, he will fuss. But he seems to idolize Dr. Bolduc just a bit.

After the examine part was over, and we were discussing, I don't know, sunscreen or something, Eamon ran (because he always runs) up to Dr. Bolduc and took a hold of the bottom of his stethoscope. Dr. Bolduc had used it briefly with Eamon during the physical exam, and Eamon had seen something about doctors once on Sesame Street the week before. Eamon took the bottom of the stethoscope and breathed into two times. One, two, check. Then he held it up to Dr. Bolduc's tummy, and pointed to his ear, like he wanted Dr. Bolduc to listen.

Once again, thankfully, the doctor was amused.

And Eamon, he's a BIG boy. Well, a tall boy, anyway. He's at the 95th percentile for height (34 1/2 inches), 90th percentile for head (this explains why we have such a hard time getting his shirts on and off), and 50th percentile for weight (25 1/2 pounds fully clothed). I would like to be jealous of Eamon's metabolism, but I know exactly how he maintains such a slender physique: Eamon never stops moving, unless he's sleeping (and often, not even then).

Eamon doesn't just idolize his doctor, either. While he lurrrves pretty girls, Eamon wants to be a Man. Anything his father does, Eamon has to do, too. One time...ONE TIME...Aaron brought Eamon and Nesta (the dog) back from my parents' house, and to make everything easier, he put the leash around his neck instead of carrying it...and now Eamon is obsessed with the leash. He wants to wear it around his neck. All the time. We don't let him, of course, because that's a choking and tripping hazard, but if the leash accidentally gets left where Eamon can find it, it immediately goes around his neck. Because Daddy did it. Once. Months ago.

This isn't to say that Eamon doesn't love the female presences in his life, and we're doing our best to acclimatize him to the quieter things in life as well. I am doing my part by trying to dress him nicely every day, so that at least he'll be a well-dressed wild munchkin. I have him help me pick out my jewelry, which he does by either shaking his head and saying, "No," or clapping wildly (granted...the child has no taste, but at least he's getting into the spirit of things). We've finally gotten him interested in books, which require sitting still for a few moments.

I think the difference between little boys and little girls was most poignantly illustrated over the July 4 weekend when we went to visit Eamon's second cousin, Kala, who is three months younger than Eamon, and obviously, a girl. I observed Kala's mother stand Kala on the ground, turn around, fix a plate of food, talk to someone for a minute, and then turn back around...and Kala was still in the same spot, even though something like TWO MINUTES had passed.

I looked at my little boy, who during the same amount of time, had tried to empty out the cooler, thrown a stick, run into the pool locker room and had been brought back, and was currently trying to see how rocks tasted.

One of the other mothers there, another mother of girls, laughed as I tried to keep up with my little boy. "He keeps you busy, huh?

Yeah. You could say that.