Missin' Me Some "Big Cat"

the two Broadway plays he's seen
- he painted both pictures!


good thing he looks like his mom, right?


we bought him a cookie cake last week...just because...


The Big Cat

Daniel left for church camp on Monday and he returns tomorrow. Most of you know that more than anything else in life, I love my kids. Well, I gotta tell ya, only getting to talk to Daniel for 10-15 minutes a day, usually around 10:30 or 11:00 at night, just doesn't cut it. I'm missin' me some "Big Cat!"

In case you've never heard the story about why I call him "Big Cat," here's the scoop. When Daniel was a toddler, he was a monster. He was always bigger than most kids his age. When he would sit and play with toys, he'd tower over them. Plus, he had a tendency of smashing anything and everything. He'd build a tower of blocks and then literally crush it under his feet.

Back then, we were always at the ballpark during the spring and summer. So Daniel grew up with a baseball bat in his hands. Did you get that mental picture? A kid that likes to smash things...holding an aluminum bat suitable for breaking virtually anything in its path! Because of his propensity to search and destroy, I started calling him "The Hammer." Also, in the back of my mind, I was subliminally painting a picture of him being a great baseball player. Do you remember "Hammerin' Hank?" {Hank Aaron was the first to break Babe Ruth's homerun record.}

Well one day, I was in my microscopic office working on the computer. Daniel, maybe three at the time, walked in and started pestering me about something. I told him something along the lines of "Move on, Hammer." Immediately, he shot back, "I'm not 'The Hammer', I'm the 'Big Cat.'" I laughed so hard I thought I'd fall out of my chair. And ever since, he's been the "Big Cat." We still don't have a clue how he came up with the name, but it stuck.

I can't wait for him to get home. Problem is, ten minutes after he's here, I'll probably be wondering when he can leave for another camp. I mean, c'mon, he's a teenager! =D