My husband and ColtonColton aka: Moose, Duece, Colt, CJ
Age: 3
Favorite Word: Fart
Hobbies:  Playing in the dirt, setting off fire alarms at preschool and bossing people around.
Best Qualities:  The sweetest disposition this side of the Mississippi. name everything.  Every single stuffed animal that enters the front door, Colton’s blankets, the furniture, every damn object in my home has a name.  It drives me crazy.  I can barely remember my kids’ names, let alone the rest of the crap in this house. Yesterday I forget the name of Colt’s dresser and he reacted as if I told him that Disneyland had disappeared in a freak accident.  

Last summer J was sitting outside with Colton and a hummingbird appeared on the deck to peruse our lavender. After much consideration, they decided to name the hummingbird Charlie.  So it went that every time a hummingbird would appear on our porch Colton would run over to the window screaming, “Look mama, it’s Charlie.” 

About a month later, we were pulling into the grocery store and he spotted a hummingbird.  “Look mama, Charlie followed us.”  

It’s wasn’t an, “oh hey look the hummingbird followed us”.  It was an all out excited, screaming the way you would if you came home and your husband had cleaned the whole house, put the kids down and made you dinner.  His face was lit up and he was pointing and screaming and out of breath with excitement.  He was so moved that I found myself using his same high pitched voice.  “It is Charlie”, I screamed in my best preschool teacher voice.  

I live in a climate that allows us to see hummingbirds most days.  We see them everywhere and each time, all these months later, it is the same reaction.  It always changes my mood and that of any grouchy tweens or teens within earshot and you can’t buy that crap.  

Yesterday we were all outside hanging out and Charlie did a fly by that had each of us screaming, “It’s Charlie,” and giggling.  A little nature, a lot of laughter and a lack of electronics.  Ahhh, just like the good old days.