Sunday, October 26, 2008

He's a bit of me and a bit of him.

Today we took Mateo to the Gymboree Halloween party thing I mentioned a few days ago. My husband and I hardly ever see Mateo in his "element," which to us means how he is with other kids while at daycare. We both try to be sly and watch from the windows, but you can only do that so long without looking weird and freaking out other parents who have arrived to pick up their kid. With this whole party thing, where there would be kids aging from 6 months to 5 years, I was definitely interested in how his social skills are now that he's 20 months old.

Well. The simple fact of it is this: Mateo is a bit of me and a bit of my husband.

I'm an introvert most of the times, and while I do like having fun and acting silly and entertaining others with stories and whatnot, I'd much rather be alone when it comes right down to it. My husband is quite the opposite, although when most people meet him, they think he's shyer than I am. He's more friendly than I am, more outgoing when it comes to social situations, and definitely a better friend than I'll ever be. He likes to keep in touch with people he's known for years and years even though he hardly ever talks to them. He's a really nice guy.

(I'm nice too, but just in a different way. I've been told that the real me can be too much for most people, so I'm just happy that those people who do like me have put up with the "me" that makes me "me.")

Watching Mateo today was a real eye-opener for us. As I put it when we were leaving, Mateo is social without being social. What does that mean, you're probably asking. Well, he likes people and isn't afraid of people and he often inadvertently charms people with his silliness and his big eyes. He likes to play with people verses playing silently by himself. He'd much rather laugh with someone than not. And he exudes confidence unless he's acting coy.

So being in a party situation like he was, he was fine. So fine, in fact, that he didn't want to do any of the activities that didn't involve slapping stickers on a pumpkin or eating snacks.
Nope. Not my kid. While all the other parents and kids were participating in the planned activities, we were being dragged around by the hand, helping Mateo climb up the structures and slide down the slides. He was one of the few kids doing what he wanted to do. Partially because my husband and I didn't want to force him to do anything he didn't want to do, knowing full well that Mateo would have a conniption fit if we tried (he's a tad, um, bossy). Most of the parents were forcing their kids to participate, even though most of the kids were totally scared.

We both figured we paid our $25 bucks, so who cares what he's doing as long as he's having a good time.



I think the face says it all. This is a boy who enjoyed himself. And I for one hope he stays this way for as long as he can.

And, in case you couldn't tell, he was a ninja. Today he bit my ear in true ninja style - I was carrying him and he reached over and bit my ear and then laughed at me. Silent. Deadly. That's my kid.

1 comment:

Kmommy said...

:) It looks like he had sooo much fun! :) And why the heck is biting so much fun?? He might be a good mate for my little B ;)