Where Did My Toddler Go?

Every day I am presented new evidence that I am no longer the mother of a toddler but a little man. From the size of his clothes to the phrases that come out of his mouth, it is apparent that Tait is growing up before my eyes. I'm joyful that he is doing well at everything. That's no exaggeration. He's good at school, excels at sports, and has an uncanny ability to says things far beyond his years and make everyone laugh. He's an angel walking around in 4T clothes and God knew exactly what He was doing when He sent him down to me. At the same time, I'm sad that more and more each day, he does things on his own. My baby isn't a baby anymore.

So lets go over all the things that have forced me to classify Tait into the big boy category.

Toddler shoes only go up to size 10. He's wearing a 10 now. Soon (probably next month the way he's growing lately) we will be selecting shoes from the kid's wall at Foot Locker. That may not sound like a big deal to some because it's on the same wall as the toddler shoes.. Right next to it actually. It's a big step for me though. And if that isn't bad enough, I now have to pay about $15 more for the same damn shoes! The people at Nike will have made a pretty penny off of me by the time Tait graduates from high school.

Let's talk about his TV habits. Tait has moved on from Little Einsteins and other kiddie shows. His requests are now Animal Planet or SportsCenter. Besides sports his greatest love seems to be animals. He sleeps with at least 2 stuffed animals each night and gives them crazy names like Figaro and Shooko. He also absorbs lots of facts from these shows and apparently doesn't forget them. Talking about what your favorite and least favorite animals is a daily activity while in the car.

Tait: What's your favorite animal?
Marlie: I like hippos.
Tait: What? That's not even a predator!
Marlie: Wow. How do you know that?
Tait: Uh... b/c I think with my brain.

He's also taken an interest in what he wears each day and an even bigger interest in what we buy for him when we go shopping. On a recent trip, he was lobbying for the hat below. He may have a little too much Justin Beiber in his life. I should probably rethink the Justin Beiber singing toothbrush I've been eyeing for him.

Tait has no problem telling me that he doesn't want to wear this or that he doesn't think that matches. Are you kidding me?! So I've gotten into the habit of telling him to pick out his own clothes for the day. Problem is, he picks the same shirt every time. Long sleeved Superman shirt. It's 90 degrees outside! He can't wear that!

Now that football season has begun, Tait can regularly display his far beyond his years knowledge of the game and its players. He is always yelling for Tony Romo and Jason Witten. Last week, he popped all the foam letters out of his alphabet puzzle. He then sorted the colors and lined them up against each other to run plays.

He was always blue and Tony Romo always scored a touchdown. Then at dinner last night, sportscenter was on TV and they showed a few Cowboys game highlights. He puts his fist up in the air and announces "Way to go Romo!" to the restaurant. We eat at this particular restaurant probably once a week. We started talking to our waiter yesterday and he told us that he enlisted in the Marines. Tait immediately saluted him and said "Clear for Duty". Where did this kid come from?!

After 3 weeks of soccer games, Tait has scored 6 goals. Not too shabby for a first timer :) Check him out below.