10 Reasons I am in Love with Brock

In no particular order

Caution: This is long and contains a lot of bragging - read at your own discretion!

• His natural athleticism and love of balls. This is probably my favorite thing. Since the day Brock could pick up a ball he has just instinctively known what to do with it. He started by throwing it - and not just like a normal kid, he could aim and everything. He would stand on a step stool in the living room and Jason would sit at the other end of the room and Brock would "pitch" to him every night for hours. He would follow through on his throws and everything, and now he even stands sideways and gets low in the beginning - just like a real pitcher. He now likes to give us spoons and things to try and hit the ball that he is throwing, he can even throw the ball in the air and hit it with a bat. Then he started kicking the ball - this is an intense kick - he dribbles it, and runs with it, and gets it out of corners, and does a hard run-up kick. Our pediatrician saw him kicking one time and said that his current kicking coordination is that of a 4 or 5 year old. He is currently playing some sort of mix between golf, hockey, or lacrosse. He takes sticks and hits the balls around the house, and if he can't find a stick he gets my cooking spoons, puts the ball in the spoon and throws it around the house using the spoon. Absolutely NONE of this was taught to him, he just naturally does all of these things. He also has to take a ball with him every time we leave the house - sometimes he picks his huge blue ball that is almost bigger than him and he tries to carry it down the stairs - but he REFUSES to let go of it - it is almost an obsession.

This is a typical car ride - he just has to hold a ball - and it cracks me up when it is his big ball.

• He loves to eat vegetables. If it is green - he will eat it! He will always eat his vegetables first and ask for more when they are gone. I feel kind of like a fraud on this one because Jason and I don't really eat vegetables. At every meal Brock has some sort of wonderful vegetable and Jason and I just have the meat and starch. I know this will have to change once he notices - but for now we can continue in our deceptive ways. But I love that he loves them.
  
• The way he stands, runs, walks, and... looks. Brock has these cute little corkey stands and walks. He seems to have a "strut" at 18 months. When he is just standing he kind of pops his hip or something - I don't know what it is but it is cute! When he is leaving a room he often just slowly backs up instead of turning around. When he runs he puts his hands behind him like wings and bends his body foreword. He has the most expressive eyebrows and very intense serious looks - he has had these since the day he was born. He makes me laugh every time he looks at me. (I wish I had good pics of these - I need a faster shooting camera)
  



• The amount of TV he likes. I feel Brock likes "shows" the appropriate amount. For the most part he does not really like TV - if it is on he does not really watch it. (Which I love because TV is one of my weaknesses and I don't want to pass it onto my children.) However he will just sit and watch "Super Why" and "Sesame Street". Both these are educational - so there is a plus - and I can get stuff done (feed Noah, shower, clean, fold laundry) and I know Brock will be 100% occupied. But he never asks to watch them and when they are over he goes back to playing. I think it is perfect!
  
• He still loves to cuddle. Enough said.
  


• He loves music. Jason would say he loves "good" music, which means (to Jason) he loves music with a strong bass line. Ever since he was a baby we could calm him just by singing to him (still true), and if a good song comes on the radio or TV he stops whatever he is doing to listen to the song. He likes the fun preschool songs that you are supposed to sing to an 18 month old - but he prefers "real" music. His absolute favorite song is "Nearer My God to Thee" - this instantly calms and soothes him.
  
• His relationship with his dad. Since the moment Brock was born, him and Jason have had a special connection. He LOVES HIS DAD. As soon as Jason walks in the door Brock follows him around like the pied-piper. He does whatever Jason is doing - he loves to mimic him (which is natural for this age - but he does not mimic me). He also listens to whatever Jason says - for WEEKS I tried to teach Brock animal sounds and he never got it - one day Jason sat down with him and in 5 minutes Brock was doing all the animal sounds. Jason says it was because I set the "ground work" but I have dozens of examples just like that. I also can get him to do something (or not do something) if I refer to Dad. Brock likes to climb on things and I always will tell him to get down he will get hurt and he does not listen. So when Jason comes home that night I say, "will you talk with Brock and tell him to stop climbing on the ____ because he will get hurt." Then the next day I will ask him to get down, and if he does not I say, "remember dad told you not to climb on that?" and he will get down. Sometimes I feel bad because he should care about what I think - right? But for the most part I love that he loves his dad.
  



• He is so easy. Brock is, and never has been, the typical toddler. He has never opened up a drawer and cupboard and emptied everything in it - he does not take things off my shelves, he does not run away in public or outside. He likes to hold my hand when we go places. He rarely throws tantrums, and if he does it is just because he is so tired. He does not take toys away from other kids or push them down (on the flip side he just gets bullied by other kids - we wish he would stick up for himself a little). Life has just been so easy with him.
  


• His concentration. The best way to get Brock to sit still in church is to give him something to concentrate on. He has excellent fine motor skills - he likes to put screw drivers into screws and put puzzle pieces into puzzles. He gets a very intense look on his face when he is trying to make something fit. He loves to stack blocks and figure out how things work.
  


• He is such a good brother. He has gotten to be so cute with Noah. I love it especially because he is not annoying cute with him (always wanting to hold and give kisses), he just prefers Noah to be around. He is sad when Noah is down for his nap and gets so excited when he wakes up. He tells me he wants to go outside by going and getting Noah's car seat, and if Brock and I are going somewhere without Noah, he gets mad.