Why does that man have a beard?

When your baby is little you take the time to read all the books, listen to what the experts say, and do your best to adhere to what they say. We got on board with the "kids need routine" routine.  We had Preston eating, sleeping, playing, pooping at the same time everyday.  The kid still poops after lunch everyday. 

I had forgotten about how much we were into routine with him when he was little until recently.  Every night during bath time, right after we finish rinsing off, he looks up, smiles, sticks up a finger, and says, "I need one minute."  He gages our response, then tries to bargain for more depending on how easily we give up one.  Once the minute is up, he climbs up on the side of the tub, and tries to break his neck while jumping down (I never come away from bath time dry.) Then he and Daddy brush teeth, but before they can start, he and I have a talk about the tooth paste.  Same one, every night.  Preston: Mommy, I don't like this kind. Me: Do you want the gray? Preston: No, then opens wide so Dad can brush. 

He is now on a big kid version of toothpaste that he can't drink by the gallons because it does have some fluoride in it. When we first got this new "big boy" toothpaste, he was excited because it has Buzz Lightbeer on it.  We talked about the fact that he can no longer swallow his toothpaste, and that threw him for a loop.  He was terrified that he would accidentally swallow it.  So one night after an especially dramatic plea for help, I offered to let him try my toothpaste.  He thought this was a great idea. Little did he know it wasn't going to have any bubble gum disguise to it.  My tooth paste is in a gray tube.  It didn't go well, so now we have our chat about which toothpaste is better every night. 

Last night Brandon was telling me that every night after he reads the number of bargained books, that he says, "night, night, love you." before leaving the room, and every night he asks "Daddy, why do you say night, night?" Brandon replies with "because it is night time."  Yes, the "why's" are in full swing.

My point is though, this kid still is attached to his routines, and has created new ones without us even realizing it. We had him so structured and routine as an infant, that even now he looks for the sameness in everyday. One night I was at dinner with friends, and Brandon said he started looking for me when they went to brush teeth. I will miss when he is too old to play little games with us over toothpaste (as exhausting as they are some days.) I will miss the questions over, "Why is milk cold, why is it white, why do we drink milk, why isn't it all chocolate?" Most of which I have created a standard response of "I guess that's the way God made it."  So in case you were wondering, last night at the grocery store, "Why does that man have a beard? Oh, never mind, (giggle) that's just the way God made him!"