Do Not Address Me So Informal

For a long time we've been pointing at one another in the family and asking the kids, "Who's this?" Thomas was pretty quick with "Dad-DEE" and "Mom-MEE," and "Gwa-CEE" followed not long after. Now he can recognize and name almost anybody in our extended family, and even a few adopted "aunts" and "uncles." What took him a while to figure out was that he had a name too! It's a little tougher for him to get out, just because Thomas is a harder word to say than Mama. But get it out he does, and with obvious pride. "Tah-us!" he says, ducking his head and grinning.

So the other night Mommy went out to do some shopping, and I took care of the kids' evening routine. Sarah was in bed, Thomas and I had had our wrestle and our story, and it was Diaper Time. Of course, Diaper Time is the cue to engage in all sorts of silliness, possibly in order to distract from the reality that his "dirty deeds" are being exposed for all to see. I had barely begun the unveiling when Thomas happily began to chant, "Mommy. Mommy. Mommy, Mommy, Mommy, Mommy!" Not being Mommy, but being perfectly willing to join in the fun, I replied, "Tommy, Tommy, Tommy, Tommy!"

That was the wrong thing to say. Thomas's brow furrowed, his nose squinched up, and his lips pouted. "Noooooooo," he plaintively protested. "Tah-us."

It actually took me a couple of seconds to realize what had just happened. My barely-talking son knew what I had said, knew that it was a mangling of his name, and knew that he did not like it. "Thomas?" I apologetically queried.

The sun came back out, birds began to sing, and all was right with the world again. "Heehee," Thomas giggled. "Yaaaay."

I was thrilled. Not only because of Thomas's comprehension, but because Aubrey and I don't care much for "Tommy" either. It had just been a rhyming fit at the time, you know? Maybe he gets some of it from me. Apparently I refused to allow my name to be shortened to "Josh" until I got old enough to introduce myself and realized that two fewer syllables to spit out could be a good thing. If Thomas comes to the same conclusion, at least "Tom" won't be too bad. But don't call him Tommy!

Sweet Sentiments

This morning, Thomas and I were lounging in a chair, reading books, chatting with each other, and in general just being loving, cuddly, and sweet. A little silly, too...maybe. We had said prayers about 4 times, just because he likes to do so (and who can complain with that?) when suddenly he points to my slightly expanding middle and says 'Bay-bee'. So we talked about Baby for a minute or so, then he reaches down, kisses my belly and says, 'I wyub you, Bay-bee. Bwess Bay-bee.'

I worked hard not to cry at his wonderfully sweet spirit and sent up my own quick prayer that it remains as such throughout his life.

A Little Bit Shy

Thomas has had a camera in his face since day one. We have countless pictures of him drooling, sleeping, gazing off unfocused. We captured the milestones, the funny moments, the sweet faces. You name, we got it on camera. Like thousands, literally. Thank goodness for digital photos...otherwise I would have killed many trees printing all of these off...

Sarah Grace has had a camera in her face since day one. She doesn't like it. She manages to pull off half drunken looks, turn her head seconds before the flash, or just drop whatever it is that she is doing that we were trying to catch on film anyway. Then there is the fact that Thomas will run to get between the camera lens and the photo opp of Gracie. So, we have had dozens of blurred Thomas heads.

Don't get me wrong, we have some really adorable shots of our little girl. Just not as many as do her justice! (proud Mommy moment) This past week, she pulled out this book that both of them love. It has these big rolly eyes that wind up in different animal faces each time you turn the page. Sarah Grace brought it to me and we read through it, several times, in true Sarah-storylistening-style. This means she turned the page before you got to the second line of words. And laughed as she cut you off.

When my patience with this game were just about up (after all, you are supposed to READ books!), she grabbed the book, looked at me, said 'hank-goo' (thank you, in case you missed it) and took off. A few moments later she returned, peeking at me through the eye-holes of the book. I laughed at her and she started making some of the animal sounds we had been discussing as we 'read' the book earlier. She is such a ham.

Then, I brought out the camera. She dropped the book and walked off. Typical. I finally convinced her over to me and handed her the book again. She stuck it up to her face and laughed as she looked out at me. I aimed for the picture, and she waltzed off. Again. With the book.

Several moments later, I found the book discarded on the floor. I picked it up, found Gracie and held it open. She peeked through, and I took the shot. It somehow loses some of the innate cuteness when it has to be posed like this, but I loved that she was imaginative enough to do it in the first place. So sue me if I wanted to capture a bit of the essence of the moment.

Silly girl.

Boys

I grew up with two sisters, one 5 years younger than myself, the other 10 years younger. I can tell you lots of things about some of the stages little girls go through as they grow up. Some of it is firsthand experience, some of them I simply observed in my younger sisters.

I have a son. A two year old, all boy, loves to be the center of attention, slightly gross, little boy. Recently, he has regaled me with some of the funniest, although not at all mannerly, little episodes. Two stand out in a big way.

Since we are potty training (sort of), it is customary for me to ask Thomas if he is stinky. Sometimes he says "tinky' and other times he responds with a resounding 'nope'. Yesterday morning, as I was changing diapers, I asked Thomas if he was stinky. 'Nope.' We also habitually go over No ma'am, rather than nope. He will repeat anything. It's great. Anyway, as I pulled back the tabs and started to take the diaper away from his body, he calls out "TADA! Poopy!"

Indeed, he was. Tada.

Now, how can you help but laugh? Forget how gross the situation is. My little boy has made his announcement.

Tonight, we sat down for dinner and said prayers. I love to hear Thomas proclaim 'Ayman' at the end of each prayer. It is such a sweet Amen. Joshua and I were exchanging the 'how was your day' dialogue when Thomas holds out his napkin and yells 'Booger!'

Again, indeed. Booger. And he wants us to see it. Examine it, even.

In my head, I know that there will come a time when verbal assessments such as these will become embarrassing. It might have been, had we been in public. But you know there are some things that can be laughed at in the privacy of one's home that are not as entertaining outside of those cozy walls. I also know the day is coming when I will even have to figure out how to keep a straight face as I tell my son that this is simply not acceptable. That it is considered rude to announce the different things that come from his body as everyday conversation material. The time is not now. For now, I will sit back, laugh, wipe away the tears that come from such good laughter, and enjoy my son. Boogers and all.

Pint Size Picasso

My children are naturals. That is just all there is to it. Give them a paint brush and a plate of paints, and they know to paint everything in sight! (Praise God for washable paints!) We had a family craft time this past weekend. I had found these cute little wooden pumpkins at a local craft store, and it occurred to me that the kids had not painted in quite some time. Could this be due to the clean up procedure?

Sunday afternoon, after church, lunch, and naps, we were all kind of struggling to be content. The kids because, well, who really knows why? Joshua and I because our sweet offspring were causing us to climb the walls! In the midst of this, I thought 'PAINT!' And so began our adventure.

The kids loved it! Like I said, they are naturals. The finished pieces prove it. (left to right - Joshua, Thomas, Sarah Grace, Aubrey) They painted the pumpkins, the plates, the table, themselves, and Joshua and I if we got in the way of their flailing paint brushes! It was all great fun...until time to put it away. Then came the wailing and gnashing of teeth. Alas, this recreation could not last forever. We had to put food on the table rather than paints!

I am not deterred by the sad ending, though. I will be adding more crafts to our daily routines. Thanks to the preschool, I have a ton in my head to let the kids try out!

More Punkin' Pictures

Just a few more cute pictures of our fun day!

Cotton Pickin' Pumpkin Patch

Today, we went on our annual trek to the pumpkin patch. This was the first year that we had taken both kids (Gracie was only two months old last year!) and also the first time that the grandparents accompanied us. All four of them, plus Aunt Kim and her friend Tracey. We had a blast.

It was a perfect day for such an outing. Just cool enough to keep from getting too hot for enjoyment. The sun was bright and warming through the fall chill, the sky was clear and beautiful, and the crowds not too overwhelming. The kids played on the playground, romped in the hay, wound their way through a maze, pet the rabbits and goats at the petting zoo, jumped in the cotton trailers, swam in the corn cribs, relaxed for the hayride, picked their way through the actual pumpkin patch, swung in the swings, ate cotton candy, and were ready to go home. Who wouldn't be?

There were lots of smiles and lots of movement as we tried to keep pace with our little energizer bunny kids. I enjoyed having all the extra hands to help keep up with my kids, and all the extra hands seemed to be enjoying keeping my kids!

Toddlers, Socks, and Monsters

Growing up, we had the Sock Monster living in our laundry room. I know this, because we also had an Unloved Sock Drawer. To this day, there are still socks in that drawer that were there when I was like 10. If you know me, then you know about how long ago that was. If you don't know me, then I ain't sayin'! My point is, these socks disappeared. I have long since decided that the Sock Monster visited my parents home regularly.

Thankfully, he seems to have stayed at my parents for the most part. It is rare to have a sock go for long without a mate around here. And that can even usually be chalked up to me. I despise folding socks. My sweet husband generally pulls sock folding duties. Bless him.

Today, I learned that maybe the Sock Monster is of my imagination. In fact, I now believe the culprit must be human. I have Sarah Grace to thank for this bit of illumination. She came toddling up to me this afternoon with one sock. A sock that I know for a fact had a match just yesterday. Because, for once, I folded the socks. Here is half a fruit of my effort, on little legs, waltzing all over the place. It's partner nowhere to be seen.

Gracie strode over to me with a self satisfied grin on her little elfin face and held up the lonesome sock. "nnn-dah?" Which really means, 'Tell me more about this, Mommy.' So, with more happiness than my sad soul actually possessed, I announced "Sock, Gracie. It is a sock. Where is the other one?"

"Dock" "Dock" "Dock"

This would be the sweet phrase I heard throughout the next hour or better. She held tight to her treasured sock and romped all over the house, announcing to all who would (and wouldn't) listen the arrival of her 'dock'. I assure you, the couch was overjoyed at the presence of the 'dock'. You could just tell.

I still have not found the mate, a few hours after the appearance of the forlorn only a few hours ago. I feel certain that I can reassure us all that the Sock Monster is not up to his old tricks at my house, though.

Not so long as I have toddlers.

The 'In' Thing

When I was a kid, I loved to play hide and go seek. Heck, I still love to play hide and go seek. Only there aren't' as many hiding places now that I am an adult...hmmm. I also loved to just get in stuff. You know, laundry baskets, boxes, suitcases, drawers, closets, you name it. If I could fold up into it, I was there!

So, it should come as no surprise that my children like to get in to all sorts of nooks and crannies, too. It's a right of passage. Recently, I have lost my children a couple times. IN the house. Ours is not a large house. In fact, Joshua and I can be heard being quite thankful for the smallness of it as we try for the umpteenth time to track down someone's shoe. Yet, I have managed to lose the kiddos a couple of times.

Sarah scared me one morning with a disappearing act. I searched our home over, and was getting a bit panicky when I finally 'found' her. She was super tired and had climbed up on her big girl bed, snuggled down under the covers, and fallen asleep. All that showed was a tuft of Gracie hair.

Thomas has eluded me upon occasion, as well. The other morning, I was doing laundry. He loves to help pull things out of the dryer and hand them to me to fold. It is a great little system we have worked out. On this particular day, I zipped off to the potty for a moment after we emptied the drier. It was not surprising to see that Thomas had abandoned his post in my absence. I started tossing stuff from the washer into the dryer when I heard him giggling as a shirt came catapulting from the dryer! The stinker had learned he could get in the dryer! And was quite proud of himself.

I made a mental note to check where my kids were before starting the dryer. I have also taken pictures of some of their favorite hide outs. The excitement never ends around here. I thank the Lord for the smiles that my children give to me. And I work hard to remember those smiles on days when they aren't being quite so enchanting!

Jumping Beans

We have recently added yet another bed to Sarah's room. The plan is to get her transitioned to a Big Girl Bed before Baby Freeman 3 gets here. We have a toddler bed, but through some innovative destruction, the kids managed to tear it up a little bit. So, anyway, the new twin bed sits in the corner of the room, shoved up against a wall until I can get in there and do some 'redecorating'. And there is your mental picture of this oddly set up room.

Now, you need to know that we have a trampoline in the back yard. The kids love it, but they don't play on it much these days. It takes at least two adults circling the trampoline while the kids run crazed circles on it, stumbling precariously close to the edge, just threatening to fall off. It is a work out that I don't care for much just now, as Baby 3 is being pretty hard on my physical well being. Armed with that knowledge, can you guess what the new bed in Gracie's room is used for?

That is right! A trampoline. I let them. Why not? Do you have any idea how much energy they burn, bouncing and laughing and chasing each other? And really, how long can you chase someone on the top of a twin size bed? What, three feet across and maybe six feet long? Let the kids have their fun. Besides, as unorthodox as it sounds, I don't deter my kids from jumping on the furniture. In fact, I am often known to join them! They don't bother at other folks' homes, so I am uber-grateful for that small blessing.

There you have it. This morning at our house. Ya'll come back now, ya hear?