would scuttle around in his crib like a little beetle. A
newborn baby shouldn't be able to move. You put them down and
that's where they stay. Not JD. He always wormed his way over
to the side of his crib and would drop an arm or leg between the
rails.
We have this adorable picture of JD sleeping in his crib as a
baby. I had put him down to sleep in a normal position. Later,
I found him at the head of the bed, sleeping horizontal along
the crib rails. One arm and a leg were dangling down between the
rails. He had his other thumb in his mouth. Oh, so cute......
As a toddler, JD did not like being called "Bug." I still
thought of him as my little "storm bug," though. That boy
always did love rain and storms.
It's only fitting. After all, he was born during a severe
thunder storm and tornado watch. I remember the news on TV
while I was in labor. The screen was covered with storm warnings
and radar pictures with angry red and orange spots. I wondered
what would happen if a tornado hit while I was delivering the
baby.
Maybe the heavens were celebrating the birth of a future king.
Or maybe it was a warning of what was to come.... "Watch out
world. Something major is about to be born!"
JD always liked to go outside in the rain. He was fascinated
by all that water falling from the sky. He loved to jump in
puddles. I so often had to change his clothes because of rain
and puddle jumping.
Finally, we took him to the mall and bought him a pair of rubber
rain boots. It happened to be raining that day and the parking
lot was full of puddles. We made JD wear his new little boots
as we left the mall. He didn't like them and fussed big time.
My husband picked up JD, dropped him in the middle of a giant
puddle, and said, "Jump."
JD jumped! He discovered he loved his new boots.
JD always wanted to go outside in his rain boots. We bought him
a tiny Scooby Doo umbrella with Scooby's head as the handle.
Every time it rained, JD would put on his boots and grab his
umbrella. We had to install dead bolts on the doors to keep him
indoors during bad storms.
One time, we had a hurricane that devastated the area. Schools
were closed for a week. Homes were without power. Trees were
down. Houses were damaged.
My two year old son was determined to go outside during that
hurricane. Finally my husband told him, "No. You can't go out.
You'll get your clothes wet."
So JD stripped off all his clothes, including his diaper. He
put on his rain boots and opened his umbrella. "Go out now!," he
said.
JD is older now, but he still likes weather. He has his own
computer and loves to check the local weather forecast. He
does this at least twice a day, every day. Then he gives me a
report on what our weather will be like for the next week.
He also enjoys exploring world-wide temperatures on Wii Weather
channel. He'll spend an hour telling me the temperature in
Moscow, Baghdad, Paris, Quebec and Mexico City. Did I really
need to know that info? JD thinks so.
He's learned that bad weather can mess up plans. So he's not as
excited about storms as he used to be. He enjoys them as long as
they don't interfere with his playtime schedule. And now-a-days,
he prefers to jump over puddles instead of jumping in them.
JD turned nine years old this weekend. It rained and stormed all
day long. Somehow, I thought that was appropriate. At least we
didn't have a tornado watch this time.
We took JD to Target on his birthday so he could pick out a new
skateboard. It was raining so hard we couldn't go into the store
at first. We had to sit out in the van until the rain let up
some.
As we shopped, JD remembered that he needed a new umbrella.
Apparently he's now too big for Scooby Doo. He needs a "grown
up" umbrella.
He was as serious as a heart attack as he picked out his
umbrella. He got one that is gray and tan. It's big but folds
up into a small package. You press a button to make it open.
JD is thrilled with his new umbrella.
He was disappointed when we left the store because it was no
longer raining. However, it was raining as we went out to dinner
to celebrate his birthday. He was very excited to use the
umbrella for the first time.
Believe it or not, I think the umbrella was his favorite present.
He won't admit it. But that's how he acts. He showed me how to
open and close that umbrella about a thousand times.
My son is nine years old now. He's still as special to me as the
day he was born. No matter how old he gets, he will always be my
little "storm bug."
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