Mr.Medium

I am pretty sure David John has a severe case of middle-child syndrome. He has taken to referring to himself as "the mediumest brother". This is entirely appropriate seeing as he is the 3rd of 5 boys and he is our only child who lands exactly in the 50th percentile for both height and weight. I suppose if there were a superlative for being in the middle, it would fit him. However, he is by no means average. Here are a few of his recent non-average quotes:

One day we were talking about names and the difference between a title like Mommy or Daddy and a given name. We then talked about first names versus full names. Marc asked the boys if they knew their grandparents' full names. David John said he knew his Oma's full name. So, we asked him to tell us what it was. He confidently replied, "It's Oma Oma Ricks."

David John often gets a bad case of what we call "the crazies". This condition is characterized by poor impulse control and lots of running around accompanied by general naughtiness. Thanks to a suggestion from a friend, David John and I made a "crazy box" together complete with crazy faces and mustache tape. Now, he had a place to put his crazies so that he could calm down when it was time to go to bed. I was very grateful for this crazy box a few weeks ago when he informed me, "Mom, I put my idea to flood the basement bathroom in my crazy box instead of actually doing it." Yeah, the crazy box can be a very good thing.

Despite being the middle child, David John does not seem to be lacking in self-esteem. He often asks me if Tobias cried while he was gone to Joy School because, clearly, Tobias cannot be happy without David John around. It's true that Tobias seems to have a special affection for David John. At dinner one evening, David John made Tobias smile and giggle. David John then sighed heavily and exclaimed, "You're in love with me, Tobias!"

I took the boys to a small circus that stopped in Dickinson last weekend. David John was captivated by everything but especially by the acrobatic and balancing acts. After watching a very impressive feat in which a man balanced on three different layers of rolling cylinders on a high platform and then preceded to pass hulahoops over his body David John turned to me and said, "I am never going to try that Mom, " I was relieved to hear that but then he added, "until I'm a grownup." One of the acts involved balancing on chair frames stacked in various ways. These chairs had no seats, which David John noticed right away. Before the act even started he whispered in a loud voice. "I know what his trick is going to be. He is going to sit on a chair with no bottom!" Yes, that would have been impressive. I think David John was actually a little disappointed when the guy just stacked up the chairs and did handstands on them.