I have a cousin named Noah who is about three years old. He has many personalities, some are annoying, and others are cute. On the outside, he is an innocent, playful child. He is a little puppy that is begging to be played with. Yet on the inside, he is a mischievous and stubborn toddler, intent on getting everything he wants. He can be similar to a teenager at times, using electronics with ease. He learns thing so fast, and you can constantly hear adult’s word from his month. Most of the time, he doesn’t know what the word means at all! We have to be careful about what we say around him!

Noah is a very sophisticated toddler. He can expertly use a computer to show me his endless array of Justice League heroes. He can put in his Justice League DVDs into the DVD player and work it like a professional. It makes me wonder what he will grow up to be.

Noah is also an extremely smart boy that learns things almost immediately. On the computer when my cousin, brother, and I play something on a website, he wants to explore it and play games on it. For example, we went on cartoonnetwork.com and he saw it and wanted to play, too! He explored the website and found Ben10, which he pestered us to "help" him play it, which literally means, "play it so I can watch". When I get out my Gameboy, he immediately says, “Let’s play Spiderman!” and takes it right out of the game bag. It’s like he’s psychic! He doesn’t even have to look! Then when I turn on the Gameboy and allow him to play, he can jump and punch. It’s almost like he was born playing it! He can learn things quickly!

Noah loves games. His favorite one is hide and seek. He will bother us to play with him, yelling, “Come on, let’s play hide and seek!” in a high, cute voice. We are forced to play with him or else he’ll run to his parents to get help. When we finally give in and play, Noah comes to one of us, usually the seeker, and asks him or her to help him hide. His favorite hiding place is right under a glass tea table. Then he covers up the entrance with a pillow. Everyone can see him. He also yells, “BOO!” when someone comes by. Because his hiding place is so obvious, we pretend to not know where he is and look for everyone else. When Noah is the one counting, he goes up to someone, usually me, pulls on my arm, and says, “Hide here, okay?” I hide there to please him, yet when he counts, which is a quick, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, I sprint to another hiding place. He can be so frustrating some times.

Noah believes in Santa. He wants to be a good boy, so he can get all the presents he wants. At night, when it is time to go to sleep, my cousin, brother, and I talk a little to anticipate what will happen tomorrow. Then, suddenly, Noah firmly says, “Be quiet! Go to sleep!” He gives a “lecture” about what he wants Santa to give him, and then why we should go to sleep. “I am a good boy, so Santa will give me a Batman clock, a Batman chair, Batman stuff...” The list is endless and varies each night. What’s worse is that he repeats this “lecture” every night to his mom and to us. After a while, his mother patiently and gently ends his talking. She had relieved us of Noah’s intense discussion for that night, though unfortunately, she will have to quiet him down every night. He may think he is doing the right thing, but he is actually defeating the purpose of sleeping.

Noah has many talents. One talent that he is gifted with is storytelling. He told my brother and I Goldilocks and the Three Bears. He had a gruff voice for the Papa bear, his normal voice for the Mama bear, and a very high voice for the little bear. He even named it after himself. Noah Bear is the little bear’s name. He sometimes has sound effects! He is spectacular at storytelling. Another talent that Noah has is singing or making songs. He learned an annoying song from my brother. He also changed “Frosty the Snowman” to “An-An the Snowman”. An-An [On-On] is my brother’s name at home. Noah is one talented toddler!

Because Noah is a toddler, he still has tantrums. He may sit quietly in his favorite hiding place or run around crying, “Mommy, MOMMY!” Sometimes he did this because we ignored him or didn’t want to do anything with him. Other times, he cries when he doesn’t know where his mom is. He cries at many things.

Noah is a sweet little boy that has a dark side. He can change the perspective of how you look at him in a few days. If he knows you, he will want to play endless amounts of games or tell you what he wants Santa to give him. Yet he cries at the slightest of things. He can be happy at this moment and then become sad instantly. Noah is a great cousin that can bring laughs into your life.