Man of the house

Mac has recently taken an interest in "being a man." I don't know if the poor kid just got too much estrogen while Dan was away but suddenly everything is about "is that for a man?" and "would a man do that?" Do you like how we've completely bypassed "boy" and gone straight to full grown "man?" Yeah. Anyway, apparently being a man in our house consists of the following -

1. An insistence on using Gillette body wash (like Daddy) instead of bubble bath. This has dramatically changed our nightly routine. Usually Mac asks me to smell him when he gets out of the tub and I always say, "You smell like roses." Not any more. Now I have to say, "You smell like a man." And he does. And he's four.

2. Drinking protein shakes. Dan told Mac that one of the canisters in the pantry belonged to him. Mac took this to heart. So much so that he wrote his name on the canister because, after all, it's his. And we wouldn't want there to be any confusion.

3. Constantly telling us he "needs to work out." Yesterday, Mac came home from school and said, "Mom? I need a protein shake. I need to go workout so I need my protein shake first." This took every fiber of my being not to break into hysterical fits of laughter. The way he said it was so sweet and SO serious. He then proceeded to get on the treadmill and go for a run. I'm not kidding, this happened.

I'm happy my little boy, er, man, is at least focused on fitness. I suppose there are worse things.