Kode-man

Oh my dear Kode. Where do I start with him? Kode is such a unique little person and I love watching everything he does. He is so doggone cute and just plain funny. He is such a boy and he loves trying to figure out how things work and always wants to "fix" stuff. One night he got all of his little plastic tools loaded up in his toolbox and he came to me and informed me that he was going to go over to Grandpa Crandell's house because he was sure that he was working on something and could use his help fixing whatever it was. I tried to explain that grandpa was going to be ok and that he probably wasn't working on anything at that moment, but Kode was so not ok with that answer. He had decided that he was doing some sort of work up on the roof and that his help was needed. Kode loves helping Grandpa Crandell with everything and he is so wonderful to always find a way to include Kode in a project. From cutting up branches that he's cut off of a tree to making lemonade. Making lemonade is Kode's newest obsession right now. Almost every day he asks if we can make lemonade. He just always wants to work on something. We recently put a new toilet in one of our bathrooms and Kode was fascinated when Steve hooked it up and filled the tank with water. I have caught him on more than one occasion lifting up the lid after he flushes so he can watch how the whole thing works. I love watching him learn. We had some new flooring put in our house and Kode loved watching the guy work. At first he kept his distance and just watched. But it didn't take long before he was this poor guy's shadow. He would constantly tell the guy, "Great job" or "The floor looks perfect". And everyday when the guy would leave, Kode would always ask when he was coming back or if maybe we should feed him dinner so he wouldn't have to go home. Speaking of the floor, Kode is a firm believer that tights work way better than socks for sliding around. I just know that they make for better blackmail pictures.


Kode is still obsessed with Avatar. He is still Avatar Aang, although he answers to his own name again. He loves to pretend. Him and his cousin Laureli take pretending pretty seriously. We often have a couple of dogs around here eating off of the ground or out of bowls. Kode loves to tell me that he is a lost puppy who doesn't have a name and that my job is to name him. I suggest name after name until we find a good boy dog name that he approves of. Kode still loves sticks of every kind. He almost always has some sort of stick on him at any given time just in case bad guys show up. He sticks them in his pockets, through belt loops and sometimes just straight down the sides of his pants. You can never be too prepared. He saves me on a regular basis from bad guys. He likes to dress up as Spiderman, The Hulk, a pirate, Yoda, Aang and a knight in shining armor. I found out the other day that he really thinks his knight's helmet will keep his head extra safe. I hope that's true because he still hits his head more often than any person should. Kode does so well when he goes to the doctor, the dentist and when he gets his haircut. It's pretty funny how seriously he takes these visits. I think he really likes that the whole appointment is centered on him. Maybe a middle child thing. He really is so good for these visits. We went to the dentist a couple of months ago and he was so awesome. So they sent him home with a little plastic bag with a toothbrush, dental floss, toothpaste and a chart to record when he brushes. He is still toting this bag around. It carries all of his toothbrushes now and some fluoride rinse also. It is a big decision each time he has to pick a toothbrush to brush with. He keeps it right next his bed and I have even found him sleeping with it. So funny. Last little story about Kode happened last week. The kids got some temporary tattoos from their grandparents for valentine's day. They decided to put them all over their bodies. I knew they were putting them on but wasn't paying close attention until I heard some talk about putting one on Kode's behind. This was Lyda's idea no doubt. So I said, "no tattoos on any private places". Lyda said, "oops". I walk over to where they are working to see what has been going on and sure enough Kode has a temporary tattoo on his, oh what shall we call it . . . undercarriage? Yeah, tattoo time pretty much ended there. And then we had a good discussion about private body parts. There is never a dull moment around here with Kode-man. He is such a fun kid who is sure becoming quite the chatterbox. He has so much to say and I love hearing the unfiltered thoughts as they fall out of his mouth. Love you Kode!