Baby to boy

It was a sudden, surprising change.  One day I was caring for a baby, and the next I had a little boy on my hands.  I remember the precise moment he became a boy: he was playing in the sandbox, and he stood up to look at me.  He was so tall, with his striped pants and snug sweater that used to hang almost down to his knees.  A new hat knit by a neighbor on his giant head.  I don't know how to explain it, but I stopped seeing him as a baby in that very moment.  He is so much a toddler now, with "no" his favorite word and a will exerted at every opportunity.  That's been OK with me, though.  I get what he's going through.  I share his beef with the adult world: somebody (or often just your own Super-ego) always around telling you what you should do, when your id or spirit have other ambitions.  He's also a yes-man, I should mention.  Well, "uh-huh," to be precise.  Other words are more unpredictable.  We have discovered that he can actually identify and say several letters, thanks to the noisy alphabet toy on the fridge.  "P" seems to be his favorite--for obvious reasons.  He will do almost anything for a vitamin.  (Why don't adult vitamins taste that good?)  He can almost say his name, although I think it's the Z in the second syllable that makes him stop after the first.  He calls himself "Maaa."  He adores his big-boy friends, Micah and Lukas.  He will follow them anywhere and copy what they do.  He will even pull down his pants and try to pee on the grass like Micah.  When we go outside (daily now, thank god) his first order of business is to throw rocks into the water in the culvert.  It will be a sad day in Mazin's world when the spring runoff dries up.  Next he might stop by the chicken coop to collect some eggs, and chase a few chickens around.  He would really love to catch one, but I don't think it's ever going to happen.  He will say "ball" to get you to shoot a few hoops, and then it will be time for a swing break.  That could last a good hour if you let it.  He might even fall asleep that way!  It's only been spring for a couple of weeks, but I've already forgotten what it was like to play almost exclusively indoors.  There is so much to explore outside!  But the absolute best, most exciting thing of all is to climb in the truck, close the door (you have to close the door), and pretend to drive.  Why the vehicular fascination?  I suppose our lives do revolve around cars.  No wonder he wants to master them...