Quirks, Winter Ed.

This is the best picture I have of Hippo's favorite person on the planet, his cousin Buddy.  Hippo was enamored by Buddy anytime he was near.

Hippo and his cousin Sambo.  Hippo loved Sambo but Sambo was somewhat indifferent to Hippo.  Even though Sambo is three months older than Hippo, they weigh the same.  On the other hand, even though Sambo is only three months older, he is light years ahead on physical development since he can crawl at the speed of light, stand up, walk a few steps, etc. while Hippo is just now learning to roll to get places.

Hippo with Grandma Debi and Sambo.  

L:

-He would rather ski than do anything else in the world (other than eat free food)

-He talks about skiing, in the winter time, more than he talks about anything else

-He won't stop talking about skiing

-Last Christmas when I bought him new skis he retrieved them from the UPS man and went skiing with them before I even knew they had come.  Weeks later when I thought they had not yet been delivered I asked him slyly if he had seen anything delivered in long boxes.  He said, "Oh, you mean my skis?  They're in my car, I used them last week."

-All he got for Christmas this year was a ski helmet

-Even though he has to get up at 5:00 am to make it work on time he fiddles with his IPhone for hours in bed at night

-He loves it when it snows

-He has special "vacation rules" which are basically he can eat whatever he wants and however much he wants without regard to money, calories, fat grams, or convenience.  If I act annoyed he says, "Hey, I'm on vacation."

-He considers shoveling the driveway (of snow) a workout and justification for not working out

Hippo:

-He gets more excited to see his five year-old cousin than he has ever gotten to see me

-He can move his legs in a walking motion but he cannot move them in a crawling motion

-He does not know how to crawl but he knows how to turn on the music of his mobile

-He will cry for two hours straight if he is not in the mood to sleep, even if he is extremely tired

-He refuses to feed himself a bottle, he would rather go hungry

-He loves the doctor and is a really good boy when being examined

-His smile resembles Elvis's

-He will Johnny Jump Up for hours and hours

-He gets annoyed when people, including his parents, snuggle him

-He has never liked laying in bed with us

-He dances to hymns at church

-He loves it when we read to him.  He recognizes a book after one reading

-He will stop crying if taken outside

-He loves cars--watching them drive by, playing with toy cars, riding in the car, etc.

-He likes to be out and about, despite the cold

Me:

-I hate the winter

-I hate the cold

-I hate being cold

-I hate the snow

-I hate being wet (due to snow getting on me)

-I hate skiing/snowboarding, even the mention of it

-I hate driving in snow or on ice, or even if it is cold and there might be ice

-I hate brushing snow off my car (I've tried driving without brushing the snow off and I regretted it because driving in snow or on ice is much worse without visibility)

-I hate being woken up to the sound of a snow plow on my street--it is loud

-I hate trying to get the mail in the snow

-I hate trying to get the garbage to the street in the snow, or back to the house

-I love snow boots, however