The Man of the House

This little boy is currently the prince of our household. Doesn't he look handsome all dressed up? 

What a little man!

Now when it comes to family hierarchy, I do not demand that any one child get special treatment.  At least not intentionally. I can't help but demand my kids to be gentle with my baby.  You see, as the fourth child, and the third boy, this little prince puts up with a lot of rough treatment. 

But he seeks it out!!  At the park the other day, another mom commented that I had one tough baby, as Donovan insisted on going up and down the 'curvy' slide with four other kids, often sandwiched in the middle of the pack on the ride down.

He has to be involved in whatever the other kids are doing.  His favorite spot to join the pack is on the trampoline (I am thankful that our trampoline is close to the ground; it's only 2 1/2 feet tall. I fear that we have outgrown the 8 ft. size rather quickly, however).

When the Prince decides to join the pack in their rambunctious play, fortunately, the pack modifies their game to include him.  Or maybe they are just giving in to his demands to avoid the anticipated fervent chatter and screaming of the 18 month old tyrant. You see, he loves to play "Ring around the Rosy".

True to a dictator's nature, he has to be in control.  This little guy will end the game by plopping down on his butt whenever he pleases, even if only three words of the rhyme have been sung. 

He likes to keep them on their toes.

 "Oh, hi Mom! I'm loving ruling the roost over here."

"Every now and then, I let them order me around and tell me what to do, so they don't get too unhappy."

(I'd say he's a pretty smart man)

"I let them think I'm following their rules."

"But not for too long."

"Like I said, I gotta keep them on their toes."

 "And besides, somebody's gotta be Momma's boy. So when I've had enough of the pack, I don't stick around. Now if somebody could please help me over this snow?!"

And you know what? Without me saying a word, two of them rushed to help the Prince get off the tramp, over the snow, and over to his most loyal supporter - his Momma.

He knows where to get the most loving.

 I'd say that he knows exactly where to go to get the second best loving too.