No Mom Allowed! and other Craziness

The bond that Chris and Tucker share has always amazed me. They have always "hung out" together, watching TV and rocking. Tucker was Chris's perfect companion for so long, because they could watch hunting shows or Spiderman movies...Tucker didn't care as long as his daddy was holding him! As Tucker got older, he craved movement (he still does!) and Chris loves tossing Tucker around, letting him ride on his back like a horse, and wrestling and tickling him. Tucker says "fight", then he lays on the ground! That is how he fights, he just surrenders and waits for Chris to "beat him up." It is terrible, I hope he never has to get in a real fight, he will be in trouble. Well this is all cute and good, but lately Tucker has decided Mommy is not allowed in on the fun! Maybe I talk too much (that is what Chris would say!!). Tucker takes Chris's hand, and they go to the toy room, outside to the truck, or into his comforter tents that Chris builds him, and tells me, clear as day "get out!". I thought he was kidding at first, but he says it over and over until I leave the room. Several times he has closed the door behind me, just to make his point clear! I thought after a few minutes he would miss me, but no, I was wrong. Maybe it's because I do all the boring Mommy stuff, like take him to therapy, feed him, and bathe him. Chris does a lot of this care, too, but even I have to admit he is more fun:) This new anti-Mom sentiment is just one of the ways Tucker is showing his independence lately. He does some funny things, but most of the time I think it's just at home. Lately I feel like I am telling Tucker constantly: "you are not the boss" or "stop being so bossy!". Today his teacher told me, "wow, he sure has become bossy lately!". He just has no problem telling us what he wants, and how he wants it! Even if that hurts your feelings:( So we are working on being nice, the poor kid really just started talking a few months ago, and now we are already making him use manners. We figure that if he screams "get out" or "light on" at someone, the least he can do is say "please" along with it. Right now he just says the same thing louder and louder until he gets it. He really likes Barney right now, so he says "Bonny" when he wants to watch it. If I tell him "no" or "not now" he just says "Bonny" louder and and louder! I have to take the tape out of the VCR (yes we have a VCR, haha, and tons of old VHS tapes, that has saved us a lot of money!) so that he knows I am serious. If I don't take the tape out, he pushes it in and presses the buttons, or plays with the remote, trying to make Barney come on the TV. Because how dare I get in the way of anything he sets his mind to?? Tucker has been doing some other funny things lately, like taking off his pants at random times. So apparently he is in the naked stage, which I guess most kids go through around age 2?? We noticed it about 2 weeks ago, when he took off his shorts at my mom's, and then the next day at our friends' house when we were over for dinner. Yesterday we came home, and I told him "we are home, you can take off your shoes." He started pulling off his shirt, had a hard time with that, then just pulled off his shorts! His teacher mentioned that last week, she asked "Mrs. Townsend, have you noticed Tucker just randomly takes off his shorts?" I laughed so hard! I understand walking around with no shorts at home, but at school that is a no-no! Maw Maw Rose sent Tucker some books, so I was looking at them today. Gina had read one about a pig, she said it was pretty scary. I looked at it, and each page had pop-ups, which I have to admit, were a little scary! The pig had a long nose, and it really didn't look like a pig at all. So I asked Tucker "what's that?" thinking he would have no idea...he says "gig," so I asked "what does a pig say?" to which he replied "onk, onk." Gina and I cracked up! Then I turned the page, and there was a Toucan bird. I said, "look it's a bird, what does the bird say?" He looked at the page, thought about it, and said "teet, teet." Gina and I were so excited, and I hugged him a little too hard! Geez, and I wonder why he has a "no mom allowed" policy, Chris doesn't ask him silly questions and then squeeze him too tight when he answers correctly:)