Man oh man....

Man oh man is it getting harder for me to keep track of my little men. They are just too quick, curious, and rambunctious and I'm just too tired, round, and slow.

Today was a fun day though.

Fun in the sense that it was perfect proof how every day of my life as a parent brings new surprises. It started out great. Benjamin is getting really good at getting his entire self dressed and somehow Grant wasn't in need of another outfit before 10 a.m. We continued to work together to get out the door (yes, this takes teamwork in our house) and successfully arrived to meet our friends ON TIME for a little event going on by a nearby elementary school.

Once we arrived Benjamin immediately started to ask questions about the elementary school and I explained to him that that school is for big kids and that today we would be in the smaller building next door. As we all continued to walk towards the doors he continued to stare at the big kids on the playground, but I was confident hopeful that once we got inside he'd follow along with the activities set up for the kids his age.

Wrong.

One thing I should share about our wonderful Benjamin is that the kid thinks he's 6 years old - somedays 10!  He's really 3 1/2. I think he's had this age complex since birth. In fact, he was born with so much hair that in some of his newborn photos it looks like he had sideburns. At 6 months (when they're suppose to develop that whole "stranger danger" thing), he could care less who held him as long as they were interesting. By 10 1/2 months he was a walkin' and by a year old we felt like he was already 2. We never try to hurry him along with anything, he's just always been like that.....a man on a mission! Just the other day while we were outside he decided he wanted to eat his popsicle with our neighbor on her porch. So he walked over and took a seat next to her....she's over 30 years old. If you ask him who his best friend is, he'll answer Matthew, our neighbor who's 12 years old. 

Being so confident and independent has its pros and cons. At age 3 1/2 pretty sure there are more cons than pros.....Exhibit A being today when he was told NOT to go on that playground with all the big kids DURING their recess.

So, we first attended the little kids event for a good 20 minutes. Then Benjamin found some outdoor toys that he asked if he could take outside. I told him no, we weren't going outside quite yet. Next thing I heard was the door of the main enterance close (thankfully mothers of young children have uncanny hearing). Yep, he'd taken off. I quickly followed, spotted him outside on the playground, and yelled for him to come back. No response. Usually he just has to get these types of things out of his system, then decides to listen, but not today. Today was Benjamin's day to pretend-he-was-a-big-boy-at-a-big-kids-school-playing-on-a-playground-during-a-big-kids-recess.  

A few seconds later, my younger one (Grant, our 2 yr old) came running out to me. He too is very confident but likes his mama (lucky me :)). After scooping him up I knew I couldn't carry him AND chase after Benjamin so I went back inside to put Grant in his stroller (thank goodness I decided to bring it!), and say goodbye to our friends which was just enough time for recess to end and for Benjamin to....

you guessed it.

Go to school with the big kids!

Good thing was once I didn't see him on the playground, I knew that that's where he had gone. Bad thing was I didn't know the exact age group of the kids who were just at recess. Grant and I hurried as fast as we could into the school and scoured the halls. No Benjamin in sight. I then began peeking in all the rooms with open doors but they were all conducting classes so I didn't want to interrupt. I then decided that the teacher who's class he had joined must have noticed this new little pupil and turned him in to the main office. Office, office, office, where the heck was the main office? This elementary school was suddenly starting to feel very big. Uh oh, I thought. UH OH. When I finally found it, there was no one at the main desk. Then someone appeared and I explained what happened. She just gave me a plain dead stare. I wanted to say "I usually don't loose my children, I promise!" (never mind this past little incident) but I instead decided to flee her judgmental face and go back to searching for him solo. Thankfully, a couple halls later there was Benjamin being escorted by two really cute little girls. Not only did he get what he wanted but he also managed to score two dates! The part that kills me is how cool, calm, and collected Benjamin was about it all. He was half smiling, strutting around that school like he owned the place. I followed, pregnant while pushing around a toddler. Man oh man, I thought....this is what I'm in for.

On the drive home we had a long talk about what happened. About how he can't take off like that and how scary getting lost can be. He seemed to let a little of it sink in, but I think to him it was still worth it. He really, really wants to be a big kid and hates being reminded that he's not old enough to do certain things yet. One day my son, one day....

I sure do love my little men but every once in awhile, I need them to stop. Slow down just a bit. I love them too much not to follow in their every footstep but all my poor pregnant feet are in need of is a nice massage. ;)