I Love My Rascal

Ian has been a rascal from day one. He had that little twinkle in his eye right from the start. At 4 months old he would purposely look everywhere except at me. I would even get right in his face and he was able to avoid my gaze just to be a stinker (come on, am I that hideous?). When we go on errands to the store I see his little hand fly out as he is using "the force" to open the automatic doors. He is constantly stealing things from me or the girls so that we will chase him around the house to get it back, all while running and laughing the whole chase. He upset the girls because we had just finished decorating a gingerbread house and while we were upstairs getting ready for bed, he snuck down and ate all the gumballs and gumdrops off the house.

The rascal traits I absolutely love in him are also going to be the ones that cause me to go prematurely grey. I was at the gas station and I meant to simply start the pump and sit in the car as the car was filling because it is FREEZING. I turned around to get back in the car, and lo and behold I see Ian sitting in my seat laughing hysterically at me with all the doors locked. Me being the genius that I am, had left the keys in the ignition and my coat on the seat. I knocked on the window and he simply laughed harder at me. It took me about 5 minutes of pleading and begging and bribing before he finally unlocked the door. I told him that it wasn't funny to which he replied "Yes it is." I didn't know if I should laugh or keep up the pretense that I was mad so I kept on my biggest poker face and drove away. Lesson learned. I will never leave the keys inside the car again.

He knows how to push everyones buttons and while he can get us all worked up, he can also be the sweetest little thing. Out of the blue he will tell me that I am his best friend. He loves to snuggle and cutely sticks his feet and arms out on my lap when we wants a massage. He understands so much of what is going on. I know I never give him enough credit for it. Last night he told me, "Heavenly Father and Jesus are helping me get all better." He is doing great. We only have to go to the hospital for treatment once a month now. He is on a low dose of oral chemo that he takes every night without complaint. He has a ton of energy and isn't nautious. His hair is growing back in and he no longer looks like the pale, frail, boy he was 6 months ago. We are still limiting how often we take him in public and are careful about where he goes to try to avoid infection or illness so many of you may still not have seen him around, but he is doing well. I feel so blessed.