figuring out who he is

Tolliver is occasionally naughty.  He is naughty, and I am mostly struck by the reality of aliveness in him.
He is trying out words like stupid and hate and shut up.  I hate the dark.  I tell the thunder to shut up.  That show is stupid.
He is testing limits, doing things like spitting and hitting one more time after we've asked him to stop.
He is crying when he doesn't get his way, pulling back and letting go with a wail like a rubber band, stretching out the fake and letting it fling through the air.
He is figuring out who he is.
And he is occasionally naughty.  But naughty in the way that makes me, most of the time, feel fond rather than fussy.