Seventeen Already?!?! - Part 2

June, as a single mother, had to work long hours so I was responsible for caring for Scotty for a lot of the day. Mom used it as part of my homeschooling. She was training me to care for my own family one day. I loved watching him! I did have my other schoolwork to complete as well, so I did not get to be with him in the mornings. Usually after I fed him lunch, I rocked him to sleep and then went back to finish the remainder of school. After nap time I got to play with him or take him outside. After dinner I would bathe him and then massage him with baby lotion. He LOVED to have his back rubbed and would laugh hysterically when rubbed his feet and toes! In the spring, summer and sometimes fall, I would be allowed to take him for an evening walk in the stroller. Those were some of the best times! "Wass dat?" was his favorite phrase!... One evening when he was 2, we saw a birdie get hit by a car and roll to the curb dead. It was very sad to see and I had no idea how to answer the question that followed. "Birdie seepin'?"...wow, 15 years later and that still makes me say "awwwww!"

Scotty's Favorite Things:

1.His pacifier, lovingly called "NUK-ie" was ever present in his toddler years. He loved that thing more than anything! He had an array of NUK-ies around, all different colors and sizes. My favorite, most entertaining thing to do was to stick it in his mouth upside down and watch him flip it with his tongue. I have no idea why this was so hysterical to me but it made me laugh every time! haha! Even now just thinking about it!

2. His "ca-co-mok cup-ies"...chocolate milk in his blue sippie cup. If I had a dollar for every cup of chocolate milk I made him, I'd be writing this blog from my beach house in Ocean City! haha!

3.Walking around with a blanket on his head. I still have no idea why he did this! He would take the twin size comforter from his mother's bed and put it over his head and walk around. One day (3-ish) when he did this he walked into the kitchen where Donna had been struggling to get a closet door open. The door was prone to sticking and she was pulling with all her might. He waddled up, still covered in the comforter, and I think was attempting to grab her when the door released and came flying open and right into him! We gasped and Donna grabbed the door and we stared at his still figure. What he did next is for the comical books of history. He fell straight forward to the floor!! He didn't put his hands up or bend his knees to break the fall, he just fell straight forward, flat on his face! Donna and I heard him mumble from inside the blanket "tweet, tweet, tweet" simulating little birdies flying in a circle above his head!! I believe I fell to the floor from laughing so hard and I'm pretty sure Donna was sprawled across the kitchen table gasping for breath from the hysteria of what he'd done! He was definitely our comic relief!

4. He loved to be a cowboy. He was obsessed with John Wayne movies and Toy Story. Nearly every day he wore hi sheriff's vest with silver star, his 2 gun holster (he wasn't allowed to take the guns outside), his cowboy hat, and his cowboy boots. He would march around with movie reels running through his head and ride his little toy rolling horsie. The imagination of Andy, from the movie Toy Story, had nothing on Scotty. He had a unique, unparalleled way of playing and did all his own stunts! This included being shot off of his high jumpy horse which stood 3 feet off the floor as well as squeezing between the bathtub and toilet to "hide out"! He took his job as sheriff very seriously. One of the best places to take him was Gettysburg, because he could wear his get-up, including guns and not be out of place. At 3 1/2 we vacationed there and I was walking down the main street with him in his outfit. While we were pssing one of the restaurants there was an elderly couple sitting on a bench in front. As we past by the elderly gentleman hollered out, "Howdy, Sheriff!" Scotty stopped dead in his tracks, staring straight ahead and reached with his right hand to grasp his gun. As he slowly withdrew it he turned to his right to stare the man down. Gun raised, he cocked pistol and the elderly man said, "It wasn't me, Sheriff, I'm just a-passin' through!" Scotty lowered the gun, holstered it, nodded to the couple, swung back around and continued his path! I thought the couple was gonna die! They were laughing so hard! I was to busy doing the silent laughter and clutching my sides in pain! Ya don't mess with Sheriff Scotty in Gettysburg!

5.He loved to sing in church. It was always very interesting to hear how he translated the words. "What a mighty GOD, reach erve" (What a Mighty God We Serve").."Jesus made me glad, Jesus made me glad" (He Has Made Me Glad) "So-ler-ent night, Hole-ery Night (Silent Night, Holy Night)..and there was NO correcting him! haha! If I told him the correct words he would shake his head and correct ME! haha!

Oh my Smooch! You were such a cute little boy! haha! I had so many nicknames for you up until you were 3. Your first nickname was Poonie-Woonie (aren't you glad I changed that?) Then came Foonie-baby, then Cheek-o and finally one day when I had to leave you I said, "Come here and give me a little smooch" and thus was born your final nickname. My Smooch!! haha! I love you!