ah.... those crazy kids
this morning I got to sleep in late
lisa is good to me that way
was able till roughly 8am
8am to a father of two small boys is like noon or one in the afternoon to a single male in his twenties

this morning Dean was at my side as he has been in a routine of migrating to our bed at roughly 6am....
bad dreams? sleepless nights? feels like he is missing out on what Grant is doing in the family bed?
6am is around the same time that Grant wakes up and needs to be retrieved from his crib upstairs
well... 6am is the hopeful... Grant does not need to wait for the rising sun to wake in the morning
our usual hopes are to get both boys to fall back asleep once in the "mommy bed"
things do not always go as we plan
Grant is usually trying to communicate some basic needs with his simple language of a 18 month old child
"donstares.... donstares...."
asking to go downstairs would be a common basic request
if he clearly wants to play lisa or I (usually lisa as she is more functional at this time of day) will ask him to get a toy from the
"toy room"
like a well faithful trained Yellow Labrador Grant moves fast on his mission
returning proudly with a toy only to rush off and grab another
this routine is good for at least a few extra winks

this morning as Dean slept at my side Lisa entertained Grant downstairs
when enough seemed like enough Grant came up the stairs
with one ear to the pillow and one ear to the sounds of the house I listened to the rhythm of Grant moving up the stairs
although he has been going up stairs since six months... at 18 months he still goes up the stairs with a crawl
guess it is a matter of proportions
how would I move up stairs that were one third my body height with the rise of each stair?

Grant rushed into the room and I begged for a hug
immediately he rushed off with a smile and a laugh in a "come and get me" sort of way
still waking slowly there was no lunge to get him
like a boomerang Grant was rushing back to my side
as he arrived closer his arm outstretched as if to hand me something
sure enough
it was a Lego... not under three year old size Lego (known as Duplo) but a diminutive choking hazard size lego piece
I accepted the piece and was proud of Grant's handing over a toy he knows he should not have
then just as soon as Grant left he was back with another small flat square lego piece
with the same hand I now had two pieces in my hand
two rapidly became four by which time I was out of bed and putting these pieces out of harm's way
as I stood up and walked to the dresser I stretched my long tired body and tried to recall the tail end of the movie the night before
thoughtlessly I caressed the small square Lego pieces in my hand
flat on one side by lacking that plug in puzzle piece form of a Lego on the other
as Grant came back with two more pieces I knew what they were before he made a U-turn for more
Grant was plucking the keys off my laptop keyboard

before Grant could get to the laptop I had him in my hands and was issuing a meaningless, "no... no.... no"
to which I got nothing but laughter

was able to replace all but the "T" key on my laptop
will pull out the tweezers and try for a repair

the only way to prevent such things from happening is to keep such things out of sight and out of view
a lesson all parents learn
to children... especially very very small children... nothing is sacred

weekend minutes?
roaming charges?
these little guys do not care.... to them it is all the same

deleting files?
shutting down the computer mid project?
it is just a slap of some keys and a push of a button

such is life with little people roaming free in my world
I love it
with all of its subtleties