The balloon man

We had to get Toby some new shoes at the weekend. The shoe shop had a man making animals out of balloons for all the children. And not just any old shapes, I think it might just be the best balloon animal I have ever seen.
A couple of weeks ago we went to a 3rd birthday party. There was a cowboy making balloon animals  for all the children. Toby asked for a monkey and I could see whilst he was pretty impressed that it was fashioned into some kind of shape, he knew it looked nothing like a monkey, and he wasn't quite happy about it.  He took it back to the cowboy about half an hour later and with a serious little face on, he complained that it didn't really look like a monkey. (Oh the innocent honesty of children).

Well yesterday, he asked the balloon man in the pink suit inside the shoe shop for a monkey. And a monkey he made. In a palm tree. And all of us were amazed.

Tattoo love

The parcel arrived as we were leaving to go to the supermarket. I said we would open it when we got back, and that there was something for Toby inside. He was beside himself the whole time we were out, wondering what could possibly be inside the parcel for him that was "all flat".
We got home and he ripped it open, and at first he seemed a bit disappointed with what was inside, he didn't really understand what they were.
Tattoos. From Grandma Danger. (I had forgotten that I gave you that name last time you were here!)

But once we starting putting them on, he absolutely loved them. He was even kissing them, he loved them so. And for most of the rest of the afternoon we had to play a game where he pretended to walk down the street, and I had to walk down the opposite way with an imaginary son (played by Gaw-Gaw), who had to stop and stare in awe at Toby and his tattoos.
Thankyou, Grandma Danger.

Clowning around

Toby had his 3 and a half year old check up today with the child health nurse. Just the usual stuff, checking weight, height etc. But my clown of a son had me in absolute stitches. Tears were running down my face. I was literally howling with laughter, made even worse by the fact that I was trying not to laugh for fear that the nurse would think I was an absolute lunatic.
He had to have an eye test. They put glasses on him with one eye covered up. As soon as they were put on his face, he changed, becoming all Charlie Chaplin on me. Making comedy faces, wiggling his eyebrows at me, pursing his lips, and doing his unique silent giggling (looks like giggling, but done silently) It was utterly hilarious. Even the nurse said afterwards that he was such a funny little boy, she was sure he is to become an actor. She was amazed that he could be so funny whilst being so absolutely silent.
He went to kinder afterwards. And when I went to pick him up later this afternoon, his teacher Paula told me that they had a little race with all the children around the garden. And then she said, It was quite strange, but Toby didn't want to run, he kept jumping onto the ground and rolling over and over. And the more the others laughed, the more he did it. I burst out laughing. It's not really strange at all for me, that Toby should be all theatrical and start stunt rolling about the place. It's normal around here. I asked him later why he didn't join in with the running, and he said, I didn't want to win. I just wanted to be silly.

My clown of a son.

Even having his photo taken at the swimming pool, his clown antics were in place. He didn't want to be photographed without goggles or with his own goggles, oh no. He insisted on wearing the photographers adult sized diving goggles. He looked so ridiculous he had me creased up laughing. But he just looked so him.