The "Devil Angel" :-)

"He's such a beautiful kid," a friend at the park observed recently, and it's not the first time someone has noted the striking good looks of our fourth child. And if I do say so myself, he is, in fact, just a gorgeous child, in all his blond-haired, blue eyed, golden-skinned, long-lashed glory. Positively angelic. In the metaphoric sense understood by popular thinking, of course, not in the actual sense of drop-to-ones-knee in-fear-and awe before a majestic heavenly being.

The latter sense may actually be more accurate in his case, however. My mother, in a very nice way, once remarked in amazement that he's like a "devil angel." So sweet to look at, and sometimes so absolutely charming...and other times just as devilish as you can imagine (and more!). The day I originally came up with this post, he had, among other things, emptied his drawers of all his clothes, thrown paper all over his room (and then cut much of it up into pieces), bit Scarlett for no apparent reason, put chocolate chips in our coin jar (after stealing the chocolate chips in the first place, and eating a fair number first), raided his older sister's room, and taken off on his bike around the corner to the neighbor's house without my knowledge (thankfully I generally know where to look for him when he can't be found, and this is one of the likely places). That was all in the morning. Other favorite activities are painting the walls (every once in awhile I come across a work of art previously undiscovered), locking all the bathroom doors (he thinks it's very funny when one of his siblings really has to go), and playing with the hose in the backyard - and just try to go get it from him! He also likes to wake Scarlett up from her naps, and when I go in to discover this, he looks at me with those huge blue eyes and insists it wasn't his fault. "Maybe she scratched herself," he'll offer, and plant an enormous and enthusiastic kiss on her cheek, which she accepts delightedly, because despite his wont for mayhem, he can also be most charming. To Scarlett he is (usually) exceptionally attentive and sweet. Even with his other siblings, he can be a terror, then suddenly turn around and do something thoughtful and kind. (Still, they've learned it's best to step lightly around Chase and not make him angry!) He likes to help, and in fact making sure he has meaningful jobs to do is one way of keeping him out of trouble, and when he wants to be, he can be incredibly loving. He likes to do things for other people, and in fact, recently, he put concerted effort and thought into drawing pictures for some relatives. For my grandmother, for example, he drew a very nice tiger - finished off with violent red scrawls to indicate that "he's being attacked. Make sure you write that, Mom."

He's wild and unpredictable. He's loud - so very, very loud. He's a daredevil. He pushes every last limit and boundary we set for him. Nothing about parenting Chase is easy. But yes, he's also just so awfully handsome, and one of his beaming smiles, especially with the way his eyes crinkle into those adorable half-moons, is worth it all.