Dinner Breakfast and Compensating

This morning I promised we could have dinner breakfast for dinner. I'm thinking I can't possibly be the only one who enjoys preparing dinner breakfast. I'm not even a huge breakfast food plan, but whipping up some pancakes, frying bacon, slicing up fruit, and scrambling eggs just seems so easy. And delicious. Casey gobbled down more pancakes than I could count. And didn't even drown them in excessive amounts of syrup. And, even better, Casey actually made the pancakes. He poured in the mix, helped measure the milk and pour it in the bowl, and cracked the eggs. And he whipped it up, and flipped the pancakes off the stove and onto our pancake plate (with a very vigilant mother breathing down his neck). De-licious.



He's been having a rough patch lately. I think it might be because he's transitioning out of naps. When he naps, he naps hard. And when he doesn't nap, he becomes a weepy mess. For multiple days. He didn't nap yesterday. And today when we went to a birthday party, he was a bit weepy. The kids at the party were all strangers to Casey, who friendily asked kids their names, said hello when they arrived, and tried to keep up with the birthday boy. But when they all began playing soccer and football together, Casey returned to me multiple time, head hung in dejected form. He complained that the kids weren't playing with him. And he was right. They weren't. But each time, I made a suggestion (ask if you can have a turn, chase after the ball, etc.) and he returned to play. And when he finally chased down the ball, he showed off his stellar spiral football throw. At least one other adult at the party was impressed.



But Casey could sense that he was on the outside of the circle during play. And so he befriended a seven-year-old girl. He chatted at her. When other kids clamored to sit next to the birthday boy, Casey quietly commented that he wanted to sit next to this little girl. And not only did he look for another sort-of-outsider, but he also turned his attention in making sure Marcie was taken care of. For example, Marcie and I missed out on the pinata because Marcie was going to the bathroom. But Casey collected some candy and gave it to Marcie. Sometimes I am so impressed with Casey. Often he impresses me. I wonder how he got to be so thoughtful. It's no wonder Casey is so popular at school. He likes everyone and plays with anyone. And at five, that's exactly how kids should be.