Dogs Can't Climb!

Ryan's obsession to behave like a dog has gone a little too far. I can't really classify it as an obsession, since it only comes up maybe once a day to once every other day. However, yesterday morning it came up in a big way. And my friend Anne, poor girl, was here to witness it. What did Ryan do that was so bad? He peed on the floor! . . .actually peed ON THE FLOOR!! After all, that's what Dixie has done before. I had to remind him that I didn't like it when Dixie did it, and I certainly don't like it when little boys do it. Let's review: where do dogs pee? Outside. Where do little boys pee? Inside. But not just anywhere inside--in the toilet! If you must pee like a dog, go OUTSIDE and pee on a bush. I don't love that idea, but it's a whole lot better than on my bedroom rug. I did make Ryan help clean up the mess, and Daddy gave him a stern lecture that evening. Thank goodness we haven't scheduled the carpets to be cleaned yet. Two more weeks.
If Ryan's act-like-a-dog obsession were complete, we would have avoided today's incident which involved climbing. Dogs can't climb. So, why did I find my little puppy on the very top shelf of the closet?? Here he is on his way down. He was actually sitting on that top shelf in the corner, getting the special racecars out of the box with the tracks.
This boy has a sense of humor! Let me tell you, he was oh-so-proud of himself. (This photo was taken before he and the racecars were sent to timeout--separately.)

Anne, boys really aren't as bad as they may seem. I am sure that little girls have the ability to drive one crazy, just in different ways.

Fortunately, Ryan makes up for his antics by being so cuddly. It's hard not to make comparisons between your children. I love both of my boys, but they are so different. Ryan loves to make people laugh, and will often break some rules to do it. He can't sit still at the dinner table, but if you need a snuggle he's your boy.

Todd has a healthy respect for rules. Some of his favorite songs to sing before bed are the ones he makes up to the tune of "Book of Mormon Stories". The lyrics go along something like this: "We can always do the things that God tells us to do." However, Todd also loves a good laugh and thinks that little boys who break the rules are especially funny. See where I'm going? Although Todd would never think of climbing to the top shelf of the closet himself (that's not allowed, after all), he sure encourages Ryan in this behavior with his laughter. Only every once in while when he thinks things are getting out of hand or too dangerous does Todd tattle. And occasionally, when it looks like too much fun, Todd will join in regardless of the rules. Though Todd has the attention span of an older grade-schooler, he can't sit still for a snuggle-on-demand. He still asks for a snuggle once in a while, but I can see that I will be chasing him around the kitchen trying to get a hug from him when he becomes a teenager--just like I remember my mom chasing my brother David.

So we're left with: snuggly rule-breaker, or prickly rule-keeper?