Two and Three-Quarters

Today Dieter turned two and three-quarters years old. At two and three-quarters he . . .

• loves his Fisher Price doctor set. He pretends his monkey is sick and uses all the gear on him. The other day I asked him if he wants to be a doctor when he grows up; he said, "I'm a doctor now to my monkey."
• is protective of his little brother. Tonight Rainer climbed up on a two-step stool. Dieter told him to be careful and put his arm out to protect him from falling.
• can be nurturing too. Last night he was feeding Rainer little bits of his pear at the dinner table.
• can be jealous too. Much of the time he just wants me to whisk Rainer away.

• loves it when I sew. He likes to wear an extra wrist pincushion and put pins into it and pretend that he is the mommy and I am the little boy. Every time I use the machine he wants me to explain the threading procedure and show him the bobbin.
• loves to do real work: flower cutting, nut smashing, cooking of all sorts, cleaning the floor. Honestly, sometimes I think he is more helpful around the house than the teenagers.

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He has such a love of experiences and is so curious about his world. Meanwhile, I'm learning from him every day to take a big bite out of life and love the world around me.