Dallin, Dallin, Dallin . . .

Oh boy, we are in for trouble. Dallin can be goofy, intense, mellow, sweet, and thoughtful all at once. Ever since we visited Florida, back in February, Dallin refused to wear long sleeves (which is a problem in the middle of an Idaho winter). Is it strange for a boy to be particular about clothes? This outfit was a favorite this spring:


Currently he prefers the "tiger shirt" and plaid shorts.He waits for me to do laundry, watching and clapping when I add clothes to his bin... which he then rushes to put away. Nearly every night I exercise all persuasive powers so I can wash the clothes he got dirty that day. Earlier this summer I couldn't figure out where the clothes were going until I caught him hiding his tiger shirt under his pillow. He told me with a satisfied smile, "I'm saving it." I've also pulled out old undies and shorts from under the bed. Once I promise that I'll wash his clothes, he's at my bedside in the morning asking me, "is it ready" (although in Dallin's talk it sounds like "ees it weady?") He's my only child to jump up and down for clean clothes!



Dallin offers the sweetest prayers, without any assistance. Last month he prayed for his "owies" and each of his grandparents and siblings by name, plus the prophet and mishunawies. The next night he prayed again the cutest prayer then said, "Oh, I forgot to tank my owies." So he prayed again to say "tank dee my owies are betta." All this without any prompting from me. I was so impressed.



I love watching his relationship change with his siblings, as Dallin contributes more. He takes the roll of a tease quite often, but the siblings definitely stoke that fire. He likes to emphasize how he is a big boy, and that fact comes up pretty often. Dallin will say with a self-satisfied smirk, "I'm eating breakfast, cuz I'm a big boy."

Lately he carries around this little black purse he found, which he fills with cars. I thought it would pass after a few days so I tried the non-chalant route, hoping he'd move on. But he still carries it around, even calling it his 'purse,' when I ask about the 'bag.' So he told me - while adjusting this bag on his shoulder -

Dallin: "I saw a Big Boy carrying a purse like mine. It had this deca-wations (he pointed to a silver chain accent) and it was big. A Big Boy carried it."

Mom: A big boy wore a purse like that? What did the big boy look like?

Dallin (totally self confident): Ummmmmm. He's like you. A Mom. A Big Boy Mom.

muah hahahahaha! Dallin may prefer a man-purse at this point, but he's rough and tumble all other times - constantly jumping off beds, couches, stairs, chairs. He loves giving full force "football hugs," which he revved up to give my parent's 80+ year old neighbor. Dallin knows the right time to say sorry and he always sounds incredibly sincere. He even follows up with a kiss and a hug on his own. We love our big boy Dallin!