Kids are weird, sometimes slightly embarrassing

First there was the months-long phase of Nico regarding anyone who deigned to greet him in public with a fierce expression of "You could easily be a child-murderer, madam" skepticism. I suppose most people who've had contact with kids know that they tend to be shy and even inadvertently rude at some ages. Now, though, we've swung completely the other way. Nico is going through a supremely chatty phase. Someone will walk by us in public and he'll chirp a bright little "Hi!" As soon as the person acknowledges him, he'll approach with whatever toy he's carrying held out and announce "This is my Bee / truck / ambulance!" Then he'll usually either actually hand the toy over or start telling her (or him) about it. Often the object of his greeting is a lady who seems happy to chat back a bit (and seriously…little old ladies really LOVE the chatty redheaded child). But sometimes, it's the poor checker at the grocery who obviously just wants to work, or (most hilariously) the brawny country kid who was charged with carrying our box of deer meat from the butcher shop to the car as my toddler waved a plastic pickup truck at him and said, "It's a red truck! With a trailer!" I do think it's really cute, but I also harbor no illusions that the whole world thinks my kid is the best thing since sliced bread. I try to gauge the person's reaction and hurry Nico along when needed. I definitely don't want to quash his newfound friendliness, but I'm also acutely aware that some people aren't into kids and just want to go about their business. (It was pretty awesome, though, when a woman sneezed at the grocery last week and Nico hollered "Bless you!" across the aisles at her.)

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Speaking of Nico, I've been acutely aware lately of how he's at once baby and little boy. I think it's a combination of where he's at right now, the impending start of preschool (preeeeschoooool), and the ever-more-present reality that before long there will be a teeny helpless baby joining us. I think my back-and-forth over what school to send him to and my tendency to exclaim over the fact that my first teeny baby is big enough for preschool has given people the impression that I'm angsty or woeful about sending him off to school. I'm a little wistful over how fast the time has gone, but I'm really okay with this. He's ready, and I'm not going to hold him back just because I can't believe he's leaving his baby days behind already. I could be wrong, but I don't even expect to cry on his first day. I worry that he might, though, poor duck. He might surprise me, though. He's getting pretty good at that.

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I finally got my hands on a library copy of Gone Girl, which everyone on Twitter was raving about a month or two ago. Late to every party! Holy crap, though, this book. I think I started it Saturday and I'm just about finished. It's a serious page-turner, though so far I find both characters pretty unlikeable. I don't think I'm really rooting for anyone, but I am crazy curious to see how it ends.