Clearly my son is the light of my life. He’s the reason this blog exists and a big reason why I get up in the morning. HOWEVER, the kid is a little nutty. I think that four years old is an age for nuttiness and he does not disappoint. Here are some “Devinisms” that add to the love:

Dev hides every time one of us comes into the house. Whether it’s me coming home from work every night, or his mother coming in from the store, Devin thinks it’s hide and seek time. The problem is that he will not come out until he is found. Luckily, he sucks at hiding. He will throw a blanket over his head in the center of his bedroom, or at desperate moments cover his eyes as he stands in plain sight. Once he was in the shower when I came home, and when I went into the bathroom to say hi he asked “how did you find me so quickly?”

He thinks we share a computer. I guess we kind of do. I let him use the computer when I’m not using it, as does his mother. He loves to go to pbskids.org and play the games. To give the process a little structure I like to set the timer for about 50 minutes and let him do his thing. When I’m online he has been known to grab the timer and set it for me, all in the name of sharing. Standing behind me he’ll announce that he is setting the timer and that “when the timer hits 60 it’s my turn.”

He talks non-stop. I’ve never known a boy who talks as much as he does. I used to be able to capture conversations and then post them on this blog, but now it’s all a blur. The kid yaps like nothing I could have imagined. Plus he thinks that everything he says is important and deserves his undivided attention. Yes Gordon pulls the express, but that is hardly breaking news. The last thing I remember him saying today is “if you aren’t going to pay attention to me then I’m going to my room.” Sorry kid, I thought I was.

Sometimes he thinks he’s the parent. Now I know there are other parents out there who are familiar with this one. Our kids are so used to us talking to them in a certain way that they think that’s how they are supposed to talk. They forget that there is a distinct hierarchy. The other day I told Dev to hurry up and get out of the car because it was cold and we needed to get indoors. He responded “Is that how you talk to me?” I answered “Yes, because I am your father.” He said “Whatever, let’s race!” Kids.

Dev has no filters. He will talk about you like you aren’t there even when you are. We were out and about in the city yesterday and a homeless man was trying to get my wife to give him some money. Dev started cracking up and asked “Why is that man talking in a voice like that? That voice sounds really strange. I think he’s calling you, mommy.” What made it so bad was that the guy was standing only a few feet away and he was basically laughing in his face. We could barely keep our composure as we whisked the boy away.

Sometimes parenting is the simplest kind of fun.