boys

Lately I have been very intrigued by how 2 year old Jude is very different from the way 2 year old Sam was. Of course, most of this has to do with the vast differences in their personalities, but I am learning that some it has to with the fact that Jude has an older brother to watch and learn from. First of all, Jude talks non stop. His vocabulary amazes me daily, and I can’t believe how many words he knows. He usually speaks in complete sentences and more importantly knows how and when to be funny with his words. I’ve noticed he often observes the world around him as his audience, and I can see his brain thinking of what he can do in that moment to please the audience. He is the entertainer and we, of course, laugh.

Lately one of the things that I am pretty sure comes from having an older brother is Jude’s obsession with “bad guys”, guns, light sabers, and swords. Just as when Sam was 2, almost any object could be turned into a drum or drumstick, Jude can turn just about any object into a light saber. These are just a few of the things he has used to make a light saber depending on his mood:

Actual light saber
Sword
Stick
Broom handle
Pencil
Pen
Straw (one of his favorites)
Toothpick
Hairpin
Tiny piece of rubber (from a toy and is abut 3 cm long)
Paperclip
Penny

I laugh at him all the time at how his imagination is definitely not limited by his surroundings. He also does this little stance that I love. He gets his sword or gun or light saber and comes up to me and says, “bad guy” and then makes shooting, fighting noises. He wants anyone and everyone to engage him in battle and he doesn’t even mind if the battle is not fairly matched. Just this morning, he handed me a toy sword and got himself a straw and asked me to fight him. He was so serious and obviously confident in his abilities. And I think he won.