"My name is Deston Dunn Lang"

Thus Deston likes to introduce himself to other children that he meets. He's proving to be quite an outgoing child, never eschewing an opportunity to say hello to the bus driver and inquire about the goings on of everyone around him.

I realized that I haven't written much about Deston lately, so I sit down now to relate some of the more notable points of his recent development. Taking a cue from Heather, I'll begin by listing my favorite of his words and sayings. Drew still outpaces him when it comes to speaking jibberish (Drew does love made up words), to the point that Deston often admonishes Drew saying, "Stop saying silly words Papa." And we sigh.

The List
"Their chother" (each other) i.e., "Why they fightin' their chother?"
"Our chother" (ourselves)
"rainbrella"
"cupcape" (cupcake)
"lasterday" (denotes any time in the past. Yesterday, two days ago, 1/2 an hour ago)
"purprise" (surprise)
"Ruh Roh Raggy" (I like to say this famous Scooby Doo line and he LOVES it)
"Take me to your leader" (in the cutest robot voice you've ever heard)
"Hanh, hanh, hanh, croissant" (spoken in a French accent. Drew taught him this one)
"yust" (just)
"I'll bam you" (bam is his term for hit, which he made up b/c he was told he wasn't allowed to hit)
"Right we live on the Earth? Right the Earth is in the sky?" (He often begins sentences with 'right')

He's developing a Brooklyn accent, making Drew and I all the more eager to find a new place to live. Not that we're moving anytime soon, but still. I guess Jersey carries its own questionable accent. The way he says ball, you'd think he'd lived here all his life. Oh wait, that's almost true. I still can't believe that one day he'll say, "I grew up in Brooklyn." It's so far from my own childhood and the experiences therein.

Interestingly, the other day when we were playing pretend (I was jungle Batman and he was regular Batman) he started a conversation about himself. Heather, now I'm going to steal your formatting too.

Batman: "What's da name of dat little boy who lives wis his Mama?"
Jungle Batman: "Deston."
Batman: "Yeah, dat right. He likes to play at the park."
Jungle Batman: "Yeah, I've seen him there."
Batman: "He likes to run around. He's pretty cute."
Jungle Batman: "Yes, he is cute."



It happened again tonight during his bath, when he was the dolphin and I was the dinosaur. The dolphin noted that Deston likes to play with his Batman toys and get the bad guys. It amazes me that he's imagining his toys and imaginary characters having conversations about himself. And that he would mention his own cuteness. Though undeniable, this nod to his looks is typical of three-year-old vanity.

Topping his list of important things is being the strongest and the fastest--"yeah, but, I'm faster dan dat car". Drew's strategy to get him to do anything is to say, "I'll race you." Then he's off like a flash. I'm still plugging away at the old "work hard, keep trying" mantra. It sinks in sometimes. Generally, he's convinced of his innate strength and speed.

I've been encouraged by his recent turn away from extremely bad sportsmanship. Now when we're playing a game, he'll clap for me when I get a piece I need or find a match. If I'm feeling really good, I'll surreptitiously pat myself on the back.

Um, what else? He just learned how to hop on one foot. He knows the sounds for the letters 'P', 'D', 'M', 'T' and 'K.' We definitely have many meltdowns and battles. He'd eat yogurt all day if we let him. We finally got him off of Pediasure--it was easier than we thought it would be. All we had to do was stop buying it! Oh, the ear fetish. I nearly forgot. Deston is absolutely obsessed with touching ears. Now when we get hugs and kisses, added on to the end is a little ear rub. This has been going on for months now; I can't pinpoint exactly when it started. He mostly touches our ears, though he did once touch a little baby's ear. He only says, "because I like to" when we ask why he likes to touch ears. I fear it will never be more articulated than that. We find it strange. I wonder how long it will persist . . .