Rubbing it in

This is my nephew David:

He's been the subject of many a blog post around these parts.  It's because he says the darndest things.

He's the type of kid that when you give him the consequence ahead of time, you can actually see him thinking about whether or not the punishment is worth committing the crime anyway.  Mischievous.  But he also has a huge heart.

Before Henry came around, during the infertility and cancer, David helped fulfill my desperate need to nurture.  He was also so sweet when it came to my neck scar.  I mean, this very restless, rambunctious little boy would very gently touch my neck and be very careful around me.  I never had to worry about him.

He was the youngest person in our family for quite a few years before Henry came around.  I was kind of nervous that he would resent Henry a little for taking his place as the "youngest" but I think the opposite has happened.

He likes the Henry looks up to him.  And boy... does he ever.  Plus I think he likes that his isn't the baby anymore.

David and Henry are buddies.

Henry and David went to the same daycare center last year.  And I would always ask David to "check" on Henry for him.  Their classrooms were right across a little lawn from each other.  David did a great job of checking in on Henry at least once a week.  When he graduated kindergarten, I was a little sad.  I miss having David there to keep tabs on Henry.

But I think it helped form a special bond between them.  Henry LOVES him.

Anyway, I have more stories about David on my blog than the other boys simply because I didn't have a way to document all the funny little stories about the older boys.  And I'm pretty glad I have this space because I can reread THIS STORY.  And THIS STORY.

So here's another sweet David story to add to the mix...

David and I have this routine.  I go up and give him a big kiss on the cheek.  He then takes his hand and wipes his face (for the nonexistent spit I leave behind I guess).

Then I say to him, "Are you wiping it off or rubbing it in?"

He always replies, "Rubbing it in."

It's our thing.

So a couple of months ago, before we said good-bye we went through our little routine.  At the end he said, "You ALWAYS do that!" which I took to mean that he was getting too old for me to kiss his cheek.

:(

But I don't want to be that super annoying relative that he dreads seeing, so I decided to give him some space in the future.  The next few times I saw him, I would just give him a hug and say good-bye.

While we were camping on the beach, we were getting ready to head home on our last day there.  After I gave him a hug, David turned to me and said, "You haven't given me a kiss in a long time!"

"Do you like it when I give you a kiss," I ask.

A cute little grin came across his face and he said, "Yes."

I quickly ran over and gave him a nice, big kiss on the cheek.  And you can bet money on it that I will every time from now on.  :)