Tommyisms

Tom.my.ism [Tom-me-iz-uh m]
noun
1.  The qualities or attributes of Tomm: that is an absolute Tommyism!
2.  Tommy-like attributes, gestures, sayings, amusements
3.  The things that make Tommy Tommy at age three
4.  Things we especially adore about our dear Tom

• "Can I have some lips?" (when he wants to use some chapstick)
• "So...." (picked up from Zac, Tom starts a lot of the things he wants to tell me with this phrase)
• "What's for munch?"  "We are having sandwiches for munch."  "No!  I said Munch!"  "Oh, you mean Lllunch?"  "Yeah, mmmunch." 
• "ICE!" said with force and menace, including full arm extension pointed toward the brother who he is "battling."  Apparently "ice" is his secret ninja power.
• Singing or humming softly throughout his day.  I love hearing him humming his way through the house or while building with Legos or playing with playdough.  He does it all the time, all day long.  He's doing it right now!  LOVE!!!!  Humming is a sure sign of contentment and happiness.
• Cracking up at anything he finds funny--we're talking full-on, head tipped back, mouth open, eyes closed, belly bouncing laughter.  One of my favorite sounds to hear is his belly laugh coming from another room, either because of something funny a brother did, something he saw on TV, or something he finds incredibly amusing that he has just done.
• Eating.  Eating more.  Eating all. day. long.  And then not eating dinner.  But then he still asks "Can I have a treat bag from my treat bag?" (meaning, can I have one piece of candy from the bag that all the Halloween/Christmas/etc. candy that I received is stored away in?)
• The best, most convincing, sweetest, endearing, heart-meltingest pout face/sad voice. 
• "Why, Mommy?"  "Why, Mommy?"  "Why, Mommy?"  "Why?"  "Why, Mommy?"  "Why?"  "Why, Mommy?"  "Why?"  "Why?"  "Why, Mommy?"  "Why, Mommy?"  "Why?"  "Why?"  "Why?"  "Why?"  "Why, Mommy?"  Most curious child in existence.  Ever.
• Grouping toys into bunches, carrying them all over the house, finding new toys to add to those bunches, and leaving some of the original ones behind, finding various carrying devices to store and transport grouped toys so that the pretend cookies of the Matching Middles Oreos game are in the Matchbox car box (in the bathroom); the Matchbox cars and two Matching Middles Oreos are in the empty wipes box (next to the TV); the Squinkies, four Matchbox cars, and one half of a Matching Middles Oreo are in the McDonald's Halloween Scooby Doo bucket (in my bed); his favorite Imaginext guys and weapons, another half of a Matching Middles Oreo (not the matching half of the one in the Scooby Doo bucket), a couple of Matchbox car tires, and all the super hero Squinkies are in the Matching Middles Oreo box (on the kitchen counter) and there are abandoned pieces of all these groups strewn between each storage location.  Sigh...you can imagine this particular Tommyism stresses my OCD side considerably.
• "I non't need a nap today.  No, I non't."  And usually these days he doesn't.  Especially if I want him to have a smooth bedtime without keeping Luke up trying to play "secretly" in their room after lights-out.  Even if he doesn't need it anymore, I sure do miss nap time!
• "Sing me a song, Mommy!"  Tommy loves to be sung to before bed.  His favorite song is still Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam.  "It's my favmit. It's a good one, right?"
• Complete and total Luke adoration.  Tommy has "the brothers" and "my Lukey."  Of course, he loves them all, but there is something special about his Luke.
• He still loves him some good ol' PBS.  He will tell you his favorite shows are Daniel Tiger and Word World, but the first thing he wants to do when he wakes up is watch an episode of Wild Kratts.  And many afternoons I will let him watch a Daniel Tiger or an episode of Dragon Tales on Netflix for quiet time.  I don't know if he EVER picks Word World, but Luke likes it, so I think that is why it's Tommy's "favorite." 
• Imaginative play is really starting to bloom.  As he plays with his toys I hear him making them talk to each other and inventing his little stories that make no sense but are so darling!  I love to sneak up behind him and just listen to the sweet stories he is playing out with his toys.  He is so into it that he doesn't notice me there watching for a long time!  It makes playing together a lot more fun too!  He especially likes me to build houses for his toys out of the Legos or Magna-Tiles, even if he is perfectly capable of building them on his own.  He just likes mine best!
• VELCRO: this is the best way to describe my relationship to my sweet Tommy right now.  He loves to be where I am, he has a hard time letting me leave where he is.  It can be frustrating at times, but mostly I am always reminding myself of how fast he is growing and how soon he will be walking away from me without a look back.  Honestly, there are a lot of times I have a hard time letting him go, too!
• Joie de vivre!  Tommy's zest for life is so fantastic!  He is always exclaiming excitement over something he's learned or something he wants to show you.  Pat-pat-pat-pat...that's his feet running because everything is so thrilling he has to run from one thing to another.  "WOO!" he shouts in joy over the simplest things.  Or "woo hoo!" when something is particularly fun.  He cheers you on, "Good job, Mom!" when you do something well or new or difficult (when Zac finished his first sacrament talk, even though Zac couldn't hear him, Tommy said, "Good job, Zac!").  He is happy to be alive and to share his joy with everyone.  That is the best thing about Tommy.  He's our petit joie!