Oh, The Things He Is Saying Now

I have heard the second child often does not talk as much as the first child. This is usually because the first one talks for him/her. I thought this might happen with Caleb, especially since his sister never stops talking-ever.

But, no, I am blessed with two children who feel the need to express every thought, hurt, and exciting moment in their lives. Here are a few phrases I had the joy of hearing from Caleb this week...

Me: "Caleb, are you a big boy?"

Caleb: "No, Ba Ba, I'm a baby!"

Me (after hearing a little sound from his diaper): "Caleb, did you fart?"

Caleb: "No."

(Insert fluff sound from his diaper here)

Caleb (laughing): "I pooped, Ba Ba."

Anytime he is hugged, tickled, or has his diaper changed, I hear, "That tickles!"

Thankfully, instead of crossing his arms and yelling, "Nope!" to anything he does not want to do, he now gives a polite, "No thank you" and continues on his way. (Of course, once he is made to do something he does not want to do, then he yells-true testament to human nature.)

And finally, my favorite phrase of the week..."I love you." When you hear those words from your child for the first time, all is right in the world. It does not matter that he most likely doesn't understand the meaning-it still melts my heart.

Who Named This Cat?

This morning Abby was coloring in her Cinderella coloring book. She asked Caleb if he wanted to join her and said he could color the cat. What caught my attention was this question from Abby:

"Caleb, can you say 'Lucifer?'"

After I nearly dropped the high chair tray I was carrying to the sink, it finally dawned on me she was referring to the cat in the story.

Who names these characters?

Friendship According to Abby

The other day, Abby looked out our backdoor window and saw her friend, Trinity, playing in her backyard with two other neighborhood girls. Of course, she immediately begged to go play (this happen almost daily) and I let her go over. I kept checking on her every few minutes while I made dinner and after about 15 minutes I saw her standing at the fence in tears.

Now, if you know my daughter, she does get a bit emotional at the drop of a hat (no idea where she gets it-it's not like her parents are sensitive or anything). I just assumed she was upset over a minor thing.

I ran over and heard the scoop. Abby's version (while sobbing) was, "Trinity said I have to go home!" The two friends spoke up and said that Trinity was being mean and saying Abby had to leave just because they decided they were going home. Trinity's version was, "I'm just done playing outside now."

Seriously? I thought I would have to deal with this girl drama when Abby became a teenager.

I took Abby home, we played in the front yard with Caleb (who was thrilled with this arrangement, seeing as he cried for her when she left him an entire 20 minutes earlier), and she calmed down. Eventually the kids moved toward the backyard and guess who was playing in her yard? Yes-Trinity. I thought I was in for more tears from Abby, but her reaction? She smiled and said, "Look! It's Trinity! Can I go play with her?"

What? Doesn't this girl understand that when a friend hurts you, you stay mad for awhile? Give her the cold shoulder, maybe talk about her to other friends? What is this about moving on and forgiving so quickly?

I walked Abby over (much to Caleb's dismay) and she played with Trinity again. At one point I heard her asking Trinity, "Are you sorry?" and Trinity replied, "Yes." Then they moved on and it was never brought up again.

At what point during our growing up do we decide to take longer on our forgiveness? My guess is after so many years of getting hurt, we become guarded and almost expect the hurt to come. Instead of running to a friend who has hurt us and not even waiting on the apology to come first, it becomes easier to stay mad and ignore the person.

Ironically, as I am typing this, Caleb is playing with the toy ipod that is currently playing "Make New Friends." The lyrics are: Make new friends, but keep the old. One is silver and the other gold. A circle is round-it has no end. That's how long I'll be your friend.

Okay, okay. I'm starting to get the point, kids.

Conversations This Past Week

Me (casually speaking to Caleb): "What's up, bud?"
Caleb: "I pooped."

Me: "Abby, why did you lie to me and say you ate your chicken, but you really did not eat it?"
Abby: "Because I wanted a marshmallow."

Abby (looking at the Disney on Ice ad in the mail pile): "Is that the Lion King?"
Me: "Yes, when he was a baby lion."
Abby: "Is he smiling?"
Me: "Yes."
Abby: "Does he still smile when he becomes a big lion?"
Me: "Yes."
Abby: "Does he talk like he smiles?"
Me: "What?"
Abby: "You know-he is nice when he is older?"

In the car while being stuck behind someone who was going too slow, then decided to speed through a yellow light while I was forced to stop...
Me: "What is wrong with you?"
Caleb: "What's wrong, Ba Ba?"
Me: "Nothing, Caleb. Just a crazy person in front of me who cannot drive."
Caleb: "It's okay, Ba Ba."
Me: "You're right, Caleb, you are very right."

Guilty

I made a chocolate cake for Nick's birthday the other day. Abby helped me and kept checking on it throughout the day, just to make sure it was still on the kitchen counter. Shortly after waking from her afternoon nap, she checked on it again. Nick and I were in the living room, not really paying attention. I just happened to look over at her and she was just standing in the kitchen, staring straight ahead and looked like she was in pain. The following is our dialogue:

Me: "Abby, do you need to go to the potty?"
Abby: "No."
Me: "Does your belly hurt?"
Abby: "No."
Me: "Is that a little piece of chocolate on your face?"
Abby (nodding in tears): "Yes."

Once I figured out that she had stuck her finger in the cake to sneak a taste, I was about to discipline her, but she took care of that herself. She started crying, hard, and looked like her entire body hurt. She came to me and said, "I'm so sorry I sneaked, Mommy." At this point, I was almost laughing and trying to make her feel better, but she just kept sobbing.

She went over to Nick and said, "I hurt my own feelings." (How does one not laugh at this point?)

Where does this strong feeling of guilt come from? Sometimes she says she is sorry out of fear of punishment or even out of habit. But, in this case, she actually felt pain over her guilt.

I cannot remember the last time I actually felt this convicted of my sin. When was the last time I cried over my impatience, my attitude or my laziness? When have I wept over how I have treated others? How long has it been since I have fell on my knees in awe of the forgiveness that God has granted me?

29 Reasons

Today my husband turned 29 years old. Not a milestone or anything, but just one step closer to the big 3-0. He keeps worrying about it, but I just laugh since I'm approaching 31 next month. It's only a number and life goes on (quickly).

I thought I would use this post to describe 29 reasons why I love Nick. Totally cheesy, I know, but even if it's only for Nick to read, so be it.

(These are in no particular order of importance)
29. He loves Jesus Christ.
28. He understands the importance of changing the radio station to good music and not just
listening to whatever is on.
27. He is an excellent teacher (not just in the classroom).
26. He loves his children.
25. He makes me laugh.
24. From the first time we met, we could immediately talk for hours.
23. He is well rounded-loves music, sports, reading, art...and really appreciates each thing for what it is.
22. He is who he is and will not change for anyone else.
21. He pretends to be the prince for his daughter while acting out the Cinderella story.
20. He has a passion for people.
19. We never played the dating game with each other-we were always ourselves from the beginning.
18. He is honest.
17. He really knows me and still chooses to be around me.
16. He challenges me to think past my first reaction to things.
15. He works hard to provide for our family.
14. Money is not the most important thing to him.
13. He loves spending time with friends.
12. He is a city boy who loves to attend Camp Lambec.
11. He is good to his family.
10. He thinks about things and does not just follow what everyone else says.
9. He can still be like a little kid on Christmas day when opening things like his Bengals tickets and the new tv.
8. He plays guitar (may sound random, but I always hoped for a husband who played guitar).
7. He happily drives whatever car we have paid off that is falling apart while I get the good vehicle.
6. He will spend time, money or whatever is needed to help a friend.
5. He is so knowledgeable about so many things.
4. He knows how to admit when he is wrong and apologizes quickly.
3. He makes me feel like a good wife and mom.
2. He knows he is a sinner and needs God's grace.
1. He is the one God blessed me with.

Happy Birthday, Nicholas Paul-my life was blessed when I met you ten years ago.

Pretty Abby

Caleb has heard everyone say, "You look so pretty, Abby" every time she wears a dress. He even said it to her yesterday, while getting ready for church. He smiled at her and said, "Petty Abby!"

So, I should not be surprised at what he just said to me while reading a book together. It was a picture book, where he points to various items and tells me what they are. He looked at a ball and called it a ball. He pointed to a ladybug and called it an "adybug." Then, he pointed to a dress and called it a "petty Abby."

I cannot wait to share this with him when he is older.