Max's sock fetish is still developing, but it goes something like this: the only acceptable time for socks to not be touching his feet are while he's bathing. Socks to bed are one of my biggest pet peeves, so I've never put socks on my kids to sleep. Now that he's old enough to choose for himself, socks are the first thing he puts on at night. And if you help him get undressed to use the toilet, be careful not to touch his sock because if they move in the slightest or get off kilter on his foot he throws a holy tantrum.
Onto Gage
I'm not sure when his sock obsession started. To be perfectly honest, I hardly ever put socks on him. Until I figured out the kind of socks that actually stay on a baby (as opposed to flying off at the first kick) he just sort of existed without them. I remember little old ladies at church scolding me and telling me he needed socks on all the time. I just smiled. I remember seeing other babies wear socks underneath their footed sleepers, thinking their parents had lost their mind. Somewhere between 24 and 30 months, when his language centers exploded and his free play time increased exponentially, the kid started doing things with socks.
He'd wad them up and stuff them in the most unusual places (under his pillow, behind the doors). He played with them. Taking all the socks out of his drawer, unfolding them, wadding them up and stashing them away became one of his favorite games.
Sometimes he'd put 3 or 4 socks on each foot before he declared himself ready for the day. When I picked him up from daycare in the evening, still wearing 8 socks, the sitter would tell me he did fine with the socks all day. (but probably didn't eat his lunch and most likely went to time out for intentionally somersaulting off the couch.)
Here are a few other sock stories of Gage's, pulled from my Facebook archive:
February 3, 2010 at 4:12 pm
Me: Go sit down and find something quiet to play with.
Gage: Ok, I will go and play with my socks. (hello weirdness)
February 9, 2010 at 8:47 pm
Tonight, his socks will "sleep" in the window. We're not yet certain where Gage will sleep...he's nomadic when the sun goes down.
(Please excuse the "in progress" construction picture)
June 11, 2010 at 7:40 am
Me: What would you like to use to make a project for Grandpa Chuck's birthday?
Gage: Ummmm, I think I'll use my socks.
September 16, 2010 at 5:35 pm
Last week Gage was afraid to touch an earthworm and didn't want to get too close to butterflies. Last night he said "Dammit" and this morning he put a screwdriver in his sock and told me he was "taking a knife to daycare". Time to call a therapist?
As you can see, the sock fetish runs deep in the boys' blood. It makes me giggle and is (hopefully) a harmless obsession.
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