Such a boy

Riley has always been very boyish in his ways; he's physically adept, on the move 100% of the time and tends to climb everything in sight, but recently it's shifted to another level.

For one thing there's the gun issue. Just by nature of our personal tastes and preferences, the media in our household tends to be pretty much gun free. We don't watch violent stuff on TV and when the subject of guns has come up we've talked about how they can be very dangerous and that they're usually something that police and other safety and law enforcement folks use. But then we watched an old Mickey Mouse movie. You'd think Mickey Mouse would be pretty tame viewing, right? Well, in this episode Mickey Mouse went hunting, and suddenly Riley began turning *everything* into a gun. (And also began asking why someone would shoot at an animal. He asked "But wouldn't it hurt the animal?!?" My heart broke a little bit. There's so much sadness he'll know soon enough.)

So despite everything, he's suddenly gravitating towards guns, bows and arrows, knives and other assorted weapons. After feeling some ambivilence we've finally decided that it's just him being a boy and not an indication of some deeper, darker thing. A visiting friend actually stated it well when we were talking to him recently. He said that when his boys were going through this phase and gravitating towards aggressive toys he always thought of it as the boys using the toys to amplify their power. That made sense, given that kids basically have zero power over the big stuff in their lives and when they wave that weapon and yell they get a little bit of the power they lack, for at least as long as the game lasts.

Riley and I got a gift for a friends birthday party today and at the store they had an elaborate array of pirate accessories and toys. (Why pirates? It seems endemic.) And there, right at his eye level, was a set including a gun (squirt, rather than bang, thank goodness) an eye patch and a hook. He was immediately besotted and actually clasped it to his chest. What can a momma do but haul out the ol' pocket book and hand over the goods.

Argh! I'm Captain Riley!

And speaking of the boys-will-be-boys thing and the difference between boys and girls, the book Raising Cain: Protecting the Emotional Life of Boys by Dan Kindlon and Michael Thompson is fabulous at explaining what boys are about. I especially liked the way they described what normal boy behavior is about and how it's often misinterpreted as them being 'bad'. All that wild tumbling about and hollering doesn't mean they need medication or time out. They just need to blow off that boy energy! :-)

Despite the gun and pirate infatuation, Riley is still the sweetest and most tender little boy we know, and he is free with the cuddles and the kisses. We cherish every single one.

Riley's baby.

In house news, Robbie's removed all the brick from the damaged area of the garage and today he's started pouring a new cement bed on which to begin laying the brick back. The project is well thought out, neat and tidy, as is his way.

Nearly ready to begin laying bricks!