Damien

When I found out I was pregnant with Caliana, I had a shirt made for Damien that read "MIDDLE CHILD".
I had him wear it over to my mom's house and I schooled him ahead of time not to say anything, just to let Grandma notice his shirt. Well, in true middle child style, he ran right up to her and enthusiastically pointed at his shirt. He just had to be the one to get the first reaction, be the center of attention for however brief a moment. That's how it is with middle children. I would know.
It could also be that he was not quite 4 years old yet, and we all know preschoolers can't keep a secret.

That was over 3 years ago, and he has now settled comfortably into his middle child-only boy role in the family. He's become somewhat of a clown, always trying to illicit a laugh, a response, someone please pay me some FREAKIN ATTENTION! And oh my god, that was SO me at that age. I remember this one time, putting on my roller skates, and doing a slapstick routine of falling down over and over and over, for at least 20 minutes because it was making my sister bust a gut. That kind of dedication to entertainment, it's a wonderful gift. Either that, or a sign of extreme insecurity. I prefer the former.

Damien just turned 7, so we went and got his pictures taken. This one is my favorite.



It is just SO HIM! And I know that's a weird thing to say, of course it's him, it's a picture OF HIM, but you know. Or if you don't, just go with it, ok?

This is the one we bought for the living room. It was his favorite. Also him, but not as much as the first.




Don't worry, I got his hair cut shortly after these were taken. It's been a power struggle between us for at least a month. It took extreme measures to get him to agree. Once we got his ear pierced, he wanted a haircut so his earring would show. Tada, brilliant parenting, no?



We live in California, where piercings are far from uncommon, and in fact he wanted both ears done, and his lobes stretched, but I have to draw the line somewhere now don't I.

So here he is, all pierced and trimmed up.







He and I went to the park the other night and I got these pics:

First one, normal enough, little boy playing basketball....




But then these....








They're not the kind of pictures you see in magazines of children playing at the park. Probably because they look more like crime scene photos...but this is the reality of children. They are weird, and you will never completely figure them out.

And just to end this post on a good note, rather than a weird one. Here's an award Damien got last week.




I just love that his teacher didn't write some crap like "greatly improved in reading skills", but instead wrote that he's an AWESOME READER!! Hooked on Phonics worked for me!