Our hero...

I love watching Broden experience true boyhood. Surrounded by females all day, there's been a few things that have rubbed off... he doesn't mind playing dress up with Jacey (in fact, he gets upset if we try to distract him with something else while she's dressing up), he sometimes slips and asks for a "big girl cup" when he doesn't want to drink out of his sippy cup, and the other day he told me his sandals are beautiful. BUT... there are somethings that are ALL boy, and would be no matter how many girls he was surrounded by. One of the most handy is the fact that Broden has claimed the role of "spider killer" in our house. That works out pretty good, because when Dad's at work, it's a job that neither Jacey or I want. But, the one aspect of boyhood that I really enjoy watching is the sheer joy that a simple stick can bring him. It becomes his sword, or more accurately his "zapper". He knows that he will get in lots of trouble for hitting with it, but he has free reign with zapping. Anything will do- a stick, his foam baseball bat, in this particular case it was the pole that goes to his t-ball set. More recently, however, Grandma surprised him with his very own foam sword, which has become the "zapper" of choice. It's a good thing he has it, because he has taken it upon himself as his solemn responsibility to protect everyone in the house with it. If we're walking into a dark room, he'll hold me back with his arm and say, "I go first Mom. I zap the monsters for you." And then he becomes a fierce warrior turning left and right, pointing the zapper while yelling, ZAP! ZAP! You never know when you may need those special powers, which explains why he has his zapper, even in bed. But shhh.... don't let the secret out that our fierce protector has been known on occasion (especially on laundry day) to sleep on flowered sheets with a ballerina pillowcase!