Figured It Out

I've been away from Pretty Boy for days now.  I walk into the house and he practically runs towards me, shirtless, his face dirty from feeding himself and a recent fall on the sidewalk.  In fact the only spotless thing about him is that smile of his, a big toothy grin.  "Hi!"  He says excitedly.

I beam at him.  "Hi!"

Without missing a beat, he continues. "Ball?"

For weeks now, "Ball?" has been his usual greeting for me.  I could never figure it out.  His mother insisted that he knew that my name wasn't 'ball'.  He uses the phrase though in places like church or daycare or outside where no ball is readily available or in sight.  Always, the moment he fixes his eyes on me, he asks earnestly, "Ball?"

I'm sure it's taken Pretty Boy a while to figure me out.  I'm not his mother or his father but I see him on a daily basis.  I'm not an aunt or a Lovey (grandmother) but I find everything he does is adorable.  (Well, almost everything, the crying at 2 am is still not a favorite)  At some point, this little 14 month old decided that I was his friend, his playmate.  And so, of course, every time he sees me he asks about a ball.  It's the only way he knows how to ask, "Want to play with me?"

I'm always happy to oblige.


Today, while reading through his books, Pretty Boy's mom was going through the pictures of the animals and repeating them in French.

"Renard" (fox)

"Kangourou" (kangaroo) 

Then she got to the next picture and paused as she tried to remember the correct word.

Pretty Boy looked at the picture and then at her, before clearly stating the animal for her  "Owl..."  

His mother and I both laughed.