What I love about Dustin

So, where do I start with my Dustin? My baby, my baby-sweets, my Dustinator, my crazy goose, my bugaboo, my little rascal...we called him an urchin before we discovered that "urchin" actually means "mischievous child"...and that pretty much pegs him perfectly!

Dustin is so many things wrapped up into one fabulous little package. I love Dustin because he is SO different from what I ever expected we'd have in a child - especially since Joshua has always been so calm...so cautious...hee hee...I can hear you laughing already! *They* tell you that you can wonder how two children who came from the same parents can be SO incredibly different, but you don't believe it until you live it yourself. When we were expecting Dustin, we told ourselves that if we ended up with another Joshua, that would be so neat - because we love Joshua sooooo much. But, it was soon apparent - as in, three or four months before he was even born - that Dustin was going to be a different ballgame altogether. And - surprise! - we love him JUST as much as Joshua.

I love Dustin because he is a nutcase. He is crazy, free-spirited, fabulously in love with life and exploration. I love Dustin because he is anything but predictable, and brings so much color into our lives - don't get me wrong, Joshua brings color, too, but Dustin's rainbow is in a completely different color palette!

Dustin loves to fling himself backwards out of arms or chairs - falling backwards and laughing his head off in the process. Or he likes to play "Blow Me Down" - something he and Joshua saw on The Wiggles one day, and so Dustin climbs onto Joshua's bed and blows himself down - falling over and laughing himself silly. He loves to climb. He loves to pet unsuspecting kitties. "Frogs and snails and puppy dog's tails, that's what little boys are made of." Yes, our Dustin is indeed a little boy. To the core.

Dustin constantly tries to do the things his big brother does. Climb/jump on the couch. Play his recorder. Make funny fish-faces. Make rude noises. They're quite the duo, those two.

I love Dustin because he's a go-getter. A little too much of a go-getter at times, but he has a zest for life that I dare not quench. I must learn, under God's wisdom and guidance, to direct Dustin's vigor for life into something productive and positive. This is where the rubber will meet the road -Dustin's intensity may be a challenge, but God is faithful and will have to do a good work in both of us to bring Dustin to a positive place in life. I have little doubt that Dustin will do great things. Completely different things from Joshua, but great all the same. Just as honorable.

I love Dustin because he is never boring. He has always been quick to smile & laugh, but he is also quick to be silly to make others laugh, too. His favorite pre-nap game right now is to run around to the other side of his crib (we have a space between his crib and the wall lest he bangs the wall incessantly and wakes Joshua) and give us that urchin grin. Then when we move to get him, he squeals and runs to the other side again. It's either that, or he crawls under his crib, lays on his back, and then LIFTS the crib off the floor with his incredible leg power. Once he's accomplished this minor feat, he then will go to Joshua's room and move furniture - push it 20 feet down the hall to Mommy's & Daddy's room - furniture that is four times his size! Now you know why we call him The Dustinator.

I love Dustin because he is 100% pure BOY! He loves to go down the slide on his tummy and then stand up, clap, and say "Goo dob!" meaning, you guessed it, good job! When he gets outside to play, his first mission is to find the biggest pile of dirt and dive in with his whole body. He doesn't mind getting dirty. He loves it, in fact. Give the kid a pile of dirt and he'll be happy for hours. Who needs toys? DIRT!

I love Dustin because he is 100% pure BOY! I know I already said that, but it bears repeating... the boys love to go frog-hunting. Joshua is more sucessful at catching frogs than Dustin is, thankfully, and you'll find out why in a moment... One day after some frog-hunting exploits, Joshua caught 3 little frogs and put them in his little red sand pail, then put the pail on the deck. He turned around to play with something else, leaving poor little Kermie and his friends unattended. Next thing we know, Dustin has the red sandpail in his grubby little hands, and is - *shudder* - lifting the pail up to his face as if to drink! Yes, he was trying to eat the frogs. We caught him just in time. Literally. Could you imagine? Oh, I also learned the other day that Dustin likes cat food - we were checking on the Skrettings' cats and next thing I know, Dustin's chewing on something that smells suspiciously like catfood! Yup - I asked him how it was, and he goes "MMMMMMM!" - just like he does when he has ice cream or chocolate milk or some other delightful treat.

I love Dustin because he teaches us about life. About taking risks. About not being afraid to try something new, because there will always be Someone to watch out for us. About not being afraid to make mistakes. About exploring and not being afraid to get a little beat up along the way. He teaches me that my Heavenly Father delights in me when I'm passionate about life, the same way I delight in Dustin and his passion for life. He teaches me to laugh. Did you know God likes to sing over us? I love it when my children sing with me. How much moreso does our Heavenly Father delight when we sing to Him, our Creator?

Paige reminded me that my *sigh* at the end of my post about Joshua should have read *contented sigh*. How true, and it applies to Dustin as well. When I think of Dustin, my heart melts. He drives me batty sometimes, but I love him with my whole heart and he's my bestest little buddy. He's precious. Wonderful. Nutsy. Beautiful!!

*contented sigh*

I sure love Dustin. God gave us a pretty special little boy when He gave us Dustin!