Now that he’s 4 1/3 years old, Toby desperately wants to act grown-up, but of course he’s still so little. He says such nutty, sweet things as he tries to navigate it all. (If only I could freeze him at this age! My nostalgia levels are sky high these days.) For example…

Me: “When Anton gets bigger, you can talk and read together.”
Toby: “When he gets bigger, we can be twins!

Me: “Sorry I was on my computer this morning. I had a work emergency.”
Toby: “Did the firemen come?”

Toby: “Mama, how old are you?”
Me: “Thirty five.”
Toby: “But that is so many years!!! How can you be that many years?!!”

He has always had an imaginary friend named Dun Dun, but now Toby also has an imaginary wife named Bo and two children—Matt, 6, and Janna, 2. They drive a silver minivan and live in Montclair, New Jersey. They go to dinner with their married friends, Brad and Mary, who have three kids: George, Stella and Paul. The whole thing is hilarious and totally bizarre, and I have no idea where it all came from. We spend a lot of time talking about his family. And he’s a really nice dad! Toby often prefers to push Matt and Janna in the swings than swing himself, so he’ll stand there talking to himself while pushing two empty swings. :)

“Can I sleep in my belly today?” (meaning taking a nap without a shirt)

Anton: “Doggee!”
Us: “Anton, that’s not a dog, that’s a llama.”
Toby: “Like North Carollama?”

He’s also trying to figure out how to make jokes. For example, the other day he came up to me at the playground and said, “Hi, Mama, I’m Dr. Person! Dr. Person…Is that funny?”

Toby: “Did I come to your wedding?”
Me: “No, you weren’t born yet. You were almost in my belly, but not quite.”
Toby: “So I wasn’t anymore?”

Me, at bedtime: “Would you like a story or a song?”
Toby: “No, Mama. Let’s just talk.”

Toby, I love you times a million. You’ll always be my baby.

What have your kids been talking about recently? What are they into? How old are they? I’d love to hear…

P.S. Conversations with Toby when he was two, three, three-and-a-half and almost four. Plus, dates with your child. (And I cannot wait until little Anton starts talking!!!)

(Top photo from our trip to England)