There is Help...and there is Hope

For those of you who were at Boyce with me, you may remember that I had my differences with the Biblical Counseling program. My relationship with the faculty was probably what we could all call "strained" at best. We simply did not see eye to eye on so many things. However, you may also remember the phrase Dr. Scott repeated over and over again that we were to convey to anyone we counseled, "There is Help...and there is Hope." Despite my differences with that department, that is a phrase that has gotten me through the recent days.

The picture above is not a picture of a happy, healthy and thriving 3 month old baby. Many of you have commented on how tiny he is, you've heard me talk about how fussy he is and several of you have witnessed first hand the around the clock, constant feedings that have still left him discontent. Tuesday, we had a check up and discovered that despite constant feedings and doing everything possible to make him happy, Lil' Nick Nac is not growing like he should. He doesn't even register on a growth chart for weight and his height is about the 10th percentile, despite having arrived as a perfectly average sized baby. Of course, this sent me into a panic. Moms worry, it's what we do but when the doctors around you start to worry, it sends you into a whole other realm. I was not in a great place, as I struggled to feed him even more, researched all possible options and tried to keep from completely melting down. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I could hear that voice saying, "There is Help...and there is Hope."

Yesterday, we met with a lactation consultant who reviewed our case, looked at my screaming baby, my patient 4 year old, and my exhausted self and said that she so badly wished she could help but there wasn't anything more she could do. She sent me back to our wonderful pediatrician who calmly explained why formula was our best...and at this point, only option. As she held Drew in her lap to keep him busy, she reassured me that, "This is going to be ok." Of course, ever my high needs little guy, Nick is allergic to dairy and cannot tolerate soy so we're experimenting with some Alimentum to see if he can handle it. At this point, it seems to be going well. He is putting it away like crazy and although he isn't a lot happier yet (probably due to having caught a yucky cold), he is more relaxed and napping so much better today. I'm praying that our follow up appointment on Monday will show that he is thriving and gaining weight like he should.

I know there are some of you dear friends who are very much entrenched in the breastfeeding life style. You have a hard time with babies on formula and wish that everyone would nurse their babies. There was a time that I would have considered my self very pro-breastfeeding as well. However, both my boys (due to their own issues), have taught me that I am pro-FEEDING babies. I honestly could not care less how it happens, as long as the end result is a happy, healthy and thriving baby. I am so thankful that there is always Help and there is always Hope...even when it doesn't come in the way I'd originally planned. So what if things didn't happen the way I'd imagined them? I live in a place where I have doctors, lactation consultants, and formula readily available...and for that I am so thankful. 

Many of you who've followed everything going on have asked how my Monkey is doing in all of this. He has been such a trooper! Today he got a special reward for all of his patience. Living in Montana, where everyone hunts and fishes, he's long begged for a BB Gun to start practicing with. He and Jesse went and got one today...don't worry, it only comes out when Daddy gets it out :)

So, that's where we are these days. As always, we covet your prayers for our family. Nick still has a way to go before we can stop being concerned and we're praying that as he is finally getting enough calories to keep up with his little body, he'll be a lot less fussy and finally be a happy little boy. We love you all and cannot thank you enough for the prayers and support that you give!

Love His Heart!

I was driving this afternoon, on my way back from our latest little adventure (grocery shopping with both boys and no Daddy) when my sweet Monkey said the sweetest thing. I just had to share it but realized it was too long for a fb status and so, it was necessary to revive the blog...again. Someday, I'll write consistently but since showering on a regular basis is sometimes a challenge, I wouldn't recommend holding your breath for that!

Anyway, back to the story...well, with a little background. We realized earlier this year that Drew has a major heart for missions and also helping those in need. Operation Christmas Child was his own little campaign. The Salvation Army had nothing on this kid - who had to be reminded that it was slightly inappropriate to answer our door with a bucket in his hand and demand for people to empty their pockets for "poor kids". He even told a cashier at Target, "I have Jesus in my heart and care about poor kids...you should too!" He tells us fairly often that when he grows up, in addition to being a fire fighter, a Marine, a football player and a doctor, that he's going to rescue those poor kids and tell them about Jesus.

He took it to a new level today though...and shed some more light into that sweet mind and heart of his. From the back seat I heard him say, "Mommy? When I'm a grown-up I'm going to marry a poor girl and we'll help save those poor kids together. She'll be poor because she won't have a husband or a child...but then she'll marry me and I'll take care of that." Talk about melting my heart! I love my Monkey and his heart!

Oh, by the way, when talking about his future wife, he refers to her as "Honey".

For My Monkey

Recently, it's started to really hit me how little time we have left with it being just the three of us.  Already, there is tons of talk and planning about our "little Peanut" and a week from tomorrow, we should know what kind of peanut we're having.  I have a feeling that once we know whether we're adding a boy or a girl, things are going to take off even more.  It will be time to move the planning into full gear (as well as the decorating, registering, re-organizing...oh, and did I mention decorating?).  Anyway, as exciting as the future is, I keep reminding myself how important it is to enjoy now too.  I've been paying extra attention to everything going on with Drew and taking it all in.  So, the rest of this blog is for him.  You're more than welcome to read it but I just wanted some place to write down just a little bit of the cool stuff going on with him right now.

Dear Monkey, 

I love you so much!  Daddy and I are so proud of what a big boy you are becoming.  You are already such a good big brother and we can't wait until "our" baby is born so you can show everyone how awesome you are with him or her.  I know we talk about the baby a lot, so I just wanted to take a few minutes and talk about you!

Right now you are just two weeks away from your 4th Birthday! We're having a BBQ party in the back yard and you've asked for a "Sunshine" cake.  We've had so much fun letting you pick out your decorations and listening to you plan how you want your party to go.  You definitely have your Daddy's love of a party, Mommy's planning gene and both of our creativity.  

I can't believe how big you are getting! You are 42" tall and have already grown 2" this summer.  You weigh 42 lbs and wear a size 5 in clothes and a 12 in shoes...basically, all that means that you are growing like a weed!

Speaking of weeds, you have a huge fascination with planting and growing things...although sometimes I suspect that it's more about digging in the dirt.  We went to your first Pig Wrestling last weekend and you busied yourself with getting every bit as filthy as the wrestlers.  You pride yourself on getting so "grubby" that I have to scrub your bathtub after every bath.  Of course, after that bath, I have to figure out how wrangle you back into clothes.  It seems you're pretty opposed to them these days and even your younger friends have noticed.  Patrick said last week that you were "in your belly button."  We might have to work on that...

You've also recently developed a love for superheros.  Right now, Captain America is your favorite but you're fascinated with all the Avengers and you and Daddy spend hours wrestling, sword fighting and "blasting" each other all over the house.  As all of our friends say, you are ALL boy!

You are definitely all boy but you are a very sweet one.  You like to "take care of Mommy" while Daddy is working and you desperately want a little sister so that you can protect her from "bad guys, monsters and other kinds of stuff."  You refer to the baby as "your baby" or sometimes "our baby".  Sometimes people think that sounds funny but I know what a big part you've played in all of this.  You were our little prayer warrior from the time you were 20 months old until the day we told you that you were finally going to be a big brother...even now, you pray every night for the baby "to grow big and strong and healthy so that [you] can hold her."  

You do have your moments when you're playing with your friends or here at home (nobody is perfect!!) but you are always quick to give a big hug and say you're sorry when you're wrong.  Mommy and Daddy are just so proud of you.  We're proud of how smart, how creative and how sweet you are...and so much more!  

I love you Little Monkey, 

                     Mommy

Q & A with the Monkey

Recently, I read a blog where a friend of mine said that she never wanted to be "that mom" who always talks about her kid, as she lead into a story about him.  She is so not that mom.  Her blog is absolutely adorable; a perfect balance of home decorating, stories about family and seasonally relevant tidbits.  I am, however, "that mom".  I would apologize for it but I think you and I both know that it wouldn't really be heartfelt and that I would just continue to ramble on about the funny, slightly inappropriate, adorable, intelligent, etc. things that my little monkey says.  Oh, and here's a little heads up: once the Little Peanut gets here, I will probably not improve.  In fact, it's entirely likely that my incessant babble about my children will double (or worse).

So, now that we're past the non-apology, I'm going to move on to the real point of my post.  I came across (another) fellow mommy's blog the other day that had a questionnaire she'd done with her 3 year old on it.  It reminded me of the ones we used to do with the kids at Williams School around Mother's Day.  I was really looking forward to seeing Drew's but since we moved mid-year, it never happened.  So, I figured, why not?  I just asked him the questions myself and since he's Drew, he really couldn't care less who was asking because A) He is equally blunt with everyone and B) It gave him a reason to talk and play on Mommy's computer.

Here's our Q &A:


Q. What is something mom always says to you?
                        A. You say you love me all the time!
Q. What makes mom happy?
                        A. When I'm being good...that makes you happy!
Q. What makes mom sad?
                        A. When I hit and smack and kick!
Q. How does your mom make you laugh?
                        A. By telling jokes and tickling!
Q. What was your mom like as a child?
                        A. Like a doll
Q. How old is your mom?
                        A. 2
Q. How tall is your mom?
                        A. This big...a hundred feet pounds!
Q. What is her favorite thing to watch on TV?
                        A. Mommy and Dad shows
Q. What does your mom do when you're not around?
                        A. Go to Mommy Mops
Q. If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
                        A. Myself (As in, himself)
Q. What is your mom really good at?
                        A. Making Hot Chocolate and Being Good
Q. What is your mom not very good at?
                        A. You can't push couches
Q. What does your mom do for her job?
                        A. To stay here and take care of me
Q. What is your mom's favorite food?
                        A. Pizza
Q. What makes you proud of your mom?
                        A. Cooking food
Q. If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
                        A. Lightening McQueen.  I know you're a girl, like Sally but I still would want you to                          be Lightening.
Q. What do you and your mom do together?
                        A. Go to the park, drink hot chocolate, go to the library, sometimes you play too
Q. How are you and your mom the same?
                        A. Because we look just alike
Q. How are you and your mom different?
                        A. I'm a boy and you're a girl!
Q. How do you know your mom loves you?
                        A. By hugging
Q. What is Mommy's favorite thing about Daddy?
                        A. You two love each other
Q. Where is your mom's favorite place to go
                        A. Subway

So there it is.  Enjoy, laugh, roll your eyes...whatever suits you.  I have one adorable little monkey though and I just can't help but love to listen what he says and then pass it on to y'all!

"Can I See in Your Tummy?"

I have a few other friends that are also expecting and we're always saying how crazy it is that something so tiny has so much control.  This little peanut controls what I eat, how much I do around the house (read: very little), how I feel, how many times I cry during a day and has hours of conversation revolving around it.  In addition, it peaks Drew's interest like nothing else I've ever seen...which in turn leads to a whole host of questions, comments and concerns.

He's extremely interested in seeing pictures of babies in utero so we sit down at least once a week and look up on the computer what is happening each week and what the baby might look like.  (As a side note, this kid may have a future in the medical field...I've known adults with multiple children who couldn't read an ultrasound as well as this kid can!)  It occurred to me recently though that in attempting to help answer his questions, I might have caused some confusion.  Especially when he lifted my shirt and wanted to know, "Mommy? Where is your picture of the baby on your tummy like those mommies on the computer?"

He's also worried about how Lady Grey will respond to the new baby.  I told him that it would be ok and I would be keeping an extra close eye on her.  His response was, "NO! I am in charge of this sort of thing and I'm not gonna have THAT CAT do anything to my baby.  I'm not having it and I will handle it!"  Now it looks like I'll be keeping an extra close eye on the cat and Drew!

Recently we checked out "The Birds, The Bees and The Bernstein Bears" from the library.  It's about the arrival of a new baby bear in the family.  Drew loved the book, practically memorized it and can even quote parts of it.  Clearly, he understood the point of it.  I know this because he walked into preschool the other day, checked to be sure that almost everyone was there and then said loudly, "Excuse me, everyone!  My mom's lap is disappearing.  She is going to get bigger and bigger 'cause the baby is growing.  Eventually she won't even have a lap anymore but when the baby comes then she'll have her lap back...so don't worry!"  His teacher informed me that she is pretty sure he's on a mission to inform the entire county.  Nice...

Another idea that he picked up from that book is that he won't be going to see the baby being born.  We were laying in bed the other day and he rolled over, looked at me and said, "Mom, I'm not going to the hospital when the baby comes out.  I'll need to get a babysitter...I'll just call Hannah."  Good to know that he plans on taking care of that for me.

Overall, he is pretty awesome about this whole time in our lives.  He's wanted a baby for so long that he's willing to deal with almost anything to get one.  He understands that mommy is tired, nauseous, gets headaches and can't be jumped on anymore.  He even goes so far as to remind me sometimes.  I've been dealing with some morning sickness (and while he appreciates me keeping it in the bathroom, "Mom, please don't throw up on my stairs...that would just be rude!") he also know why it happens.  The other day he saw that I was feeling sick and asked me if I was nauseous.  I told him that I was and he calmly answered, "It's ok Momma.  It's just because the baby is growing big and strong."

He takes such good care of his Momma, I'm so excited to see him finally get to be a big brother!

Oh, one more thing.  I wanted to give an honorable mention to one of Drew's friends, Patrick.  Patrick is going to be a big brother soon too but since he is a little bit younger, his understanding of the whole thing is a little different.  His mom told him that she has a baby in her tummy.  His response? "Well get it out!"

Beyond Thankful!

I'm sitting on the couch right now, trying to compose the words to express just how thankful I am.  For those of you who know me pretty well, you know this has not come easily to us.  For almost 2 years, we've been praying for God to add to our family.  Even Drew has been praying almost nightly since he was 20 months old for a baby sister.  So, for what seems to have been an eternity, I've forced myself to focus on the amazing little monkey that we have and happily congratulated many pregnant friends and mommies with their newborns.  I've researched and agonized and wondered what was wrong with me.  Ironically, I had finally made an appointment to go see a doctor in Billings to begin what I assumed would be a long process of questions, testing and disappointment.  


A few weeks ago though, something really crazy happened.  I was sitting in Bible Study with my friends and we were reading in the first part of Mark 6.  Having a hard time focusing with the babies and pregnant mommies seeming to surround me, my eyes wandered over to the next page.  The last part of Mark 6:33 literally jumped off the page at me.  It reads, "Do not be afraid any longer, only believe."  I don't know about you but when God says, "Do not" I tend to think I should be listening.  This kicked off weeks of intense prayer, journaling, and singing worship songs in my head whenever I started to agonize over what I feared just had to be coming.  It turns out that pretty much the exact time  I was reading that verse, my mom was praying that I wouldn't lose hope...pretty incredible, isn't He?

I spent Saturday with some of those same friends I was in Bible Study with that day.  We were at Leadership Summit for our MOPs group.  They all laughed at me as I sprinted to the bathroom no less than 10 times in 5 hours.  There were even threats to force me to take a pregnancy test because (being the amazing friends that they are) they were just as excited for the possibility as I was.  Even this morning after I finally agreed to Jesse running to the store to buy a test, I was still apprehensive.  The disappointment has become so common and I was sure I wouldn't be happy with the answer.  I was distracting myself by sitting on the back steps with Jesse, watching Drew play (which is not all that much of a distraction when I was busy imagining spending next summer playing in the back yard with my big boy and a pudgy little baby).  Finally, my "oh so wise" hubby leaned down and asked, "Do you trust God or not?"

The picture says it all.  More, in fact, if you know why it was taken outside.  I was so excited that I literally ran out of the house and down the sidewalk, waving the stick as the boys walked up from the mailbox...ridiculous, I know.  I'm just so beyond thankful...I'm way into the neighborhood of giddy.  I guess I realize that as painful and disappointing it was to be let down over and over, I know so many people who have gone (and are going through) so much worse.  I have friends and family that I pray for so often, knowing that while my pain exists, theirs is so far beyond my comprehension.

For those who are curious, I'm very early on in this pregnancy.  I'm only about 5 weeks along and won't be due until early December.  You may wonder why we chose to go ahead and announce it now.  It's pretty simple, really.  So many of you have journeyed and prayed with and for us as we've been trying to add to our little family.  We wanted you to know that your prayers have been answered.  Also, as thankful as we are to you for having prayed for us, we want to ask you to continue to pray that everything goes well.   I know I wouldn't have made it this far without all your prayers and I'm not so deluded as to think that I can go it alone now.

So, we are beyond thankful for this little one on the way.  We are beyond thankful for a God who has so richly blessed us. We are beyond thankful for you and all the interceding you've done on our behalf.

So now, we are on our way to the next adventure!

Devotion

I've always heard that there is just something special about little boys and their mommas.  My little monkey is definitely a case in point.  Several months ago, he proposed for the first time.  I told him that Mommy couldn't marry him even though I loved him bunches and he let it go.  He informed me a couple of months back that he had decided that when Gracey (his best friend's baby sister) gets to be a grown up, he's going to marry her because, "I just love her too much!"  Gracey's mom and I have had some laughs over this and informed Gracey (at 9 months) that it's her job to remember how much trouble they'll be in if they run off and get married at 18.  I have a feeling that we'll have to bring this up with her again in the future.

Last week though, Drew had a temporary change of heart.  "Momma," he said one morning with his little hands cupped around my face, "I decided I can't marry Gracey.  I decided I can't marry her because I'm just going to marry you!"  I told him that I loved him very much and that he's the sweetest boy ever but that I can't marry him since I'm already married to Daddy (and mommas can't marry their little boys).  "But Momma," he continued, "if I marry Gracey then you will be all alone!"  I reminded him that he and Gracey couldn't get married for a very, very long time and that even then, I would still have Daddy.  "Oh Momma!" he cried as he threw his arms around me, "Won't you miss me?  I might be so far away!"  I explained that sometimes, when you grow up, you do have to move far away but that of course I would miss him so much and I reiterated that was still a long, long time away.  He sat there thoughtful for a minute and finally said, "Well, I guess I can still marry Gracey then...but do you think maybe she can get glasses like your's when we're big?" 

For my friends who don't have kids yet, the fact that sometimes my breath actually catches when I'm with my little man may seem odd.  For the rest of you, I think you'll agree that the love, admiration and devotion that is so often displayed is, literally, breath taking.  It stops me in my tracks and reminds me of just how blessed I am.  

Escape from Monotony

Look at that face...isn't it the most adorable ever?  Ok, I'm aware that my friends with kids of their own will beg to differ but for the rest of you, you're on my side, right?

Lately, recognizing that our hopes of adding to our family don't seem to be happening in what I consider a timely fashion, we've decided to take advantage of the things we get to do with only one monkey.  Drew (and Jesse, for that matter) gets bored pretty easily.  So, while I'm content at home reading a book or catching some sun in the back yard, they're longing for an escape from the monotony and some kind of adventure.  Our solution was to plan (that part is for me) that at least once a month, we would take off and do something completely spontaneous and fun...some sort of an adventure.  After all, if God choses to bless us with another one, it will never be this easy to be spontaneous again. 

Our first venture in adventure led to a drive to Red Lodge where we saw a group of local kids, with the help of Missoula Children's Theatre (see what they do here: http://www.mctinc.org/About_MCT/Mission_Statement ), perform "Pinocchio".  Afterwards, we headed over to the park where Drew had a blast "boot skating" (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gn6cPIBhMY&feature=youtube_gdata_player).  The day was totally unplanned and a complete blast.  

Last Saturday, we decided to drive to Billings which is not all that unusual for us.  While we wandered the mall though, on the hunt for a pair of Chuck Taylors for Drew, we all caught sight of the Build a Bear store.  Drew, of course, was fascinated...although he didn't really know what it was about.  Jesse and I shrugged our shoulders, grabbed his little hands and headed in for some fun.  An owl, named "Turner" now has a new home and it's purchase resulted in some money being donated to a public library (that seems like a "win-win" to me).  

Sometimes, it's as simple as going out and trying a new restaurant...or Drew's favorite, going to eat pizza.  The bottom line is though, we don't want to remember this as the time we sat around hoping for a new baby.  We don't want to just remember monotony.  We have an incredible and adorable little monkey already.  We want to remember this as a time where we had some great adventures with him.  So, we're on the hunt for some more fun.  What's your favorite fun thing to do with your kiddos?

Consequences

      So those of you who've noticed my facebook tonight are probably aware of the fact that we've been working on a little issue known as "consequences" around here.  Let's just say that, as of late, a particular little monkey's intellect and charm have led him to believe that if he is told to do something and he opts not to do it (for whatever reason) then there really aren't a lot of repercussions other than eventually he'll have to get around to doing it...and in the meantime, he gets to play this fun little game with Mom and/or Dad that leads to faces turning interesting shades and increasingly escalated levels of frustration. 

     Today has been particularly trying, so when I asked him nicely to clean up and he chose not to, I realized it was necessary to help him understand that when he cleans up his mess is not up to him.  I told him that we had to leave soon to take Daddy back to work and if he wanted to go play with some friends tonight then he needed to clean up quickly before we left.  Now this isn't a completely foreign concept to him.  Fairly often we'll have someplace to go in the evening and he knows that toys have to be cleaned up before we leave.  So, he looked at me and acknowledged what I said, tossed a couple of toys in the trunk and then started the debate about whether he was going to clean up or not.  Jesse reiterated that all the toys needed to be put away and that it needed to happen now and yet Drew continued to argue.  10 minutes passed, it was time for Jesse to had back to work and Drew had not cleaned up a thing.  So, Jesse calmly said good-bye and headed for the door. 
     
     It took all of about 2 minutes for Drew to realize Daddy was gone and he was still standing in a messy room....and then it hit the fan.  Screaming, spitting, kicking, name calling...this child was not happy and wanted the entire town to know.  Staying as calm as I could, I put him upstairs in his room and came back downstairs.  After about 20 minutes of toys being chucked at the door and violent screams, the storm started to calm.  You may be wondering why I've felt the need to share this.  It's because it leads into a hysterical (and yet educational) conversation about consequences that left me struggling to breath and maintain a straight face at the same time.  It went something like this:

"Drew, what happened? Why did you get so mad?"
"Well, I get so mad because you are not obeying me," he retorted.
"Am I supposed to obey you?  Or is it your job to obey me?"
"It's my job to obey you," he said with a grumble.  "I angry because I wanted to go play with my friends so I'm just going to go do that now," he said as he tried to push past and get down the stairs.
I informed him that he wasn't going anywhere and he sat back down to talk to me.  "Drew, do you understand what consequences are?"  Blank stare.  "Consequences are something that happens when you make a choice.  If you make a good choice, then there are good consequences.  If you make a bad choice, then there are bad consequences.  Did you make a good choice or a bad choice when you wouldn't clean up?"
"I make a bad choice," he grumbled again.
"And did something good or bad happen because of that?"
"I want to play with my friends!!!!"
"Ok, if I touch the stove and it's hot, what is going to happen?"
"You burn yourselfes...and you could go to the hospital and that's bad," he said with a serious nod.
"Yes, so that's a bad consequence.  What if you sleep all night in your bed?"
"I get smiley faces!!! Is that's a good consequences?" he asked with a gesture.
"Yes, it is!" I replied, happy to see he was catching on.
"And if Daddy doesn't get much sleep and then he's grouchy the next day, then that's a bad consequences too!" he shouted.
"Well, yes...that is an example too.  Ok, so when you didn't clean up, was that a good choice or bad choice?"
"Bad," he quickly answered.
"And was there a good consequence or a bad one?" I continued.
"A bad one."
"Ok, so now you can't go play with your friends..."
(Insert wailing and gnashing of teeth...)
"...What you can do is clean up the mess you've made up here and then clean up your toys downstairs.  If you do that, it's a good choice and you will have a good consequence like staying up a little while and watching Veggie Tales.  If you don't clean up, then that is another bad choice and the consequence is that you will go straight to bed, right now.  Which one are you going to choose?"
"Hey!  Consequences sounds like Quincey!!" he said excitedly.
"Yes but they're different.  Quincey is a little boy.  Consequences are something that happens after you've made a choice...remember?  Now, which one are you going to choose?" I insisted.
"Ummm, I'm going to make a good choice now and clean up!"
"Good choice!  And then we can watch a short movie while Mommy is baking."
"Yay!!!" he cheered.
(I headed downstairs.)
"Hey Mom??  Don't touch the oven...that'd have a bad consequence!"

     I thought my blog was done and was just about to post it.  I was pretty well convinced that he had a pretty good understanding of consequences until a few minutes ago.  I told him it was time for bed and that I wanted him to go pick out a book and get in bed that I would be there in a just a minute.  I reminded him that this was a way he could make a good choice and then there would be a consequence and happily waited to watch him scurry off to bed.  That didn't happen and now he's pitching another fit in his room. I know parenthood isn't always easy and as frustrating as this is, there will be something equally adorable that happens tomorrow.  So, I'm counting to 10, praying for wisdom and I'm headed upstairs to take another crack at it...it's got to sink in eventually, right?

An Interview with Batman Drew

Recently, Drew was given a toboggan hat that has Batman symbols on it. Donning said hat, transforms him into a snarly faced super hero known as "Batman Drew." He gets so into character that a couple of weeks ago, someone was praying for him and he kept interrupting with, "My name's Batman Drew...Batman Drew. Did you hear me? I said it's Batman Drew." Interesting how hard it is to keep a hand clamped over the mouth of a squirming child...

Anyway, recently he has agreed to a couple of interviews so that the world can have a better understanding of the magnitude of his powers. The latest one, I thought I'd record here so that you all could get a glimpse into the most fearsome 3 year old super hero that the world has ever seen.

M: What is the most important thing that everyone should know about you?

BD: Just that I AM Batman Drew. That's all.

M: What is it exactly that you do?

BD: I fight bad guys and save people. One time, I even had to save my Dad because some Jokers were trying to get to him.

M: Who made you Batman Drew?

BD: I made myself Batman Drew because that's my job. I have to do it.

M: Do you have a secret identity?

BD: No, I just tell people that I'm Batman; they need to know that.

M: Who is the worst bad guy that you have to fight?

BD: A joker.

M: Let's talk about some fun facts about Batman. What is Batman Drew's favorite color?

BD: Batman's is black...but Drew's is green.

M: What is your favorite car to drive?

BD: I don't have my wallet's license yet. When I get a little bit older maybe I'll do that...wait, dos Batman 'pposed to have a driver's license??

Hold on! I'll be back...I have to rescue some people!!!

(loud jumping, yelling and fight noises can be heard. then he is suddenly back in his seat.)

Sorry, some people needed rescuing so I had to save them.

M: So, do you have a sidekick that helps you when you go to rescue people?

BD: Yes. I have Carter. He is an imaginary dinosaur.

M: What are some of your super powers that help you in a fight?

BD: I'm an expert fighter. I'm good with lots of weapons. I'm super fast, I have strong powers and I can't get hurt.

M: If you could do anything, what would you do?

BD: Rescue people. That's my job to do.

Well folks, there you have it. It sounds like the world is a safer place tonight with such a dedicated super hero in our midst. I feel safer anyway, don't you?

Aardvarks, Large Words and Reckless Sledding

Jesse reminded me of a story that needed to be blogged and since it is rather short, I thought I would go ahead and write down several at once. After all...if I forget to write them down, how am I ever going to write a book about my amazing child? (Stage Mom Much??? Maybe....) So, I have a few more Drew funnies to add to the collection.

A couple of days ago after a nap, Drew was curled up in my lap and rather grumpy. Whether he was grumpy because he was still sleepy or because I had just informed him that we weren't watching TV right then, I'm not entirely certain (maybe both). His blank stare at the remote however, caused him to notice it was full of numbers and letters. We started talking about which numbers and letters they were, when he suddenly jumped up and shouted, "Mom!! I can't be talking about this right now! I can't be talking about this right now because I don't know what an AARDVARK is!!!" I can assure you that despite the fact I was shaking with laughter, the next several minutes were spent in joint research on the computer so that my 3 year old could adequately explain what an aardvark is...should anyone ever ask.

I love the fact that he is fascinated by large and unusual words. He always says them with such an exaggerated inflection too that I can't help but be amused. His newest is "marvelous". As in, "Mommy, this is a marvelous cake. It is the best one I had ever ate!"

Speaking of food, apparently the old saying, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach" becomes applicable at a very early age. Until recently, I have not made an effort to cook a full meal unless Jesse was going to be home and with his schedule at SYC, that doesn't happen very often. I was in the mood to cook last week though and so one night I just cooked for Drew and I. The child proceeded to shovel in an entire plate of homemade macaroni, vegetable medley and chicken (nuggets, that is, since he refuses to acknowledge anything else as "real" chicken) as if he had never seen a full plate of food. He then moved on to climbing all over my lap, hugging and kissing and saying, "You're such a sweet mommy. You're the best mommy ever. Did you know you were so nice??? You cooked a meal just for me and you. Just for me and you!! You're such a nice mommy....you're even the best mommy ever." Clearly, only cooking when Jesse is at home is a thing of the past.

Also a thing of the past is my ability to keep the little monkey's adrenaline seeking behavior at bay. We went sledding at his best friend's house a couple of weeks ago and made a trail with the 4 wheeler and snow plow. He and Jim managed to jump the trail in the sled and were headed straight for the water truck. Jim jumped out, we were all screaming at Drew to jump off and running to try and catch him in time. The boy waited until right before he hit the truck and then just laid down in the sled and slid right under the truck and out the other side! That was frightening enough but being the mommy of a preschooler (and not a much older child), I assumed it was all an accident and he was just as scared as I was. While not wanting him to be scared, I decided that it was probably a good thing it had happened so that he knew to be more cautious next time. Imagine my surprise a couple of days later when suddenly out of the blue he asked, "Mom, how come you guys were yelling at me to jump off? I was just going to go under the truck...that's what I wanted to do." Somehow I'm going to have to come to terms with the fact that this child is genetically predisposed to be reckless and rush seeking. GRrrrr....

At the moment, Drew is running around, armed with a Nerf sword and showing severe dissapointment that he can't seem to unearth any evil doers that need slaying. Not to worry though, his imagination is vivid and his vocabulary is great, I'm sure at any moment this situation will be rectified and more blog material will magically appear.

Dear Man Child

Dear Precious Little Man Child,

I've decided that there is something important you need to know. We focus a lot of time on the fact that you are precious, that you are my gift from God, that mommy always wanted a little boy and I could not be happier that God gave me you. We spend a lot of time on this because it is all very true and always will be. I think it is important that your rotten little self knows why we spoil you so rotten.

However, I seem to have missed an essential detail so far in all of our talks and it appears that it is time to remedy that. You see, just as I am so very blessed (beyond blessed even) to have you, you lucked out in the "mommy of a boy" department. Long before you were born, I was a die hard football fan...and speaking of Die Hard, I believe that it is one of the greatest movies ever. I love just about any action movie (the bigger the gun and explosion, the better). I eat guy food, watch super hero movies, and have no issue with jumping into a game of tackle football. I love boy noise and as you get older, I can easily foresee our house full of boys being fed chili, hot dogs and an abundance of baked goods. I will rough house, sword fight, or play the damsel in distress if needed. I will cheer you on as you run, jump, climb and tackle your Daddy all over the house and when he is working late nights or gone on youth retreats, I will stand in his place (at least until you're 8 and as big as I am).

I say all of this to say, as badly as I want a little girl, I'm pretty well cut out to be the mother of boys. I mean, I even listened to you talking about shooting Geeda's gun over Christmas break without having a panic attack. There is still that one little issue that we seemed to have forgotten though and I guess now is as good a time as any. So here it is, I will never and I do mean NEVER be ok with walking into the bathroom and dragging my pants leg and foot through a puddle of pee. Hit the toilet...or else.

Love,

Momma

When I Get Big

Drew is talking more and more about what he wants to do when he's a grown up or when he gets big. Yesterday was a particular funny day though because he was constantly changing his mind...either that or he is going to have quite a hectic life which will require acrobatic skills that are, as of yet, undiscovered by man.

He started off the morning by saying, "When I get big, I'm going to be a construction worker with Uncle Aaron." (A couple of questions revealed that he was not talking about Uncle Aaron but Uncle Jake. The boy has the frustrating task of keeping straight 3 uncles who happen to look a lot alike.) "Jake can drive the tractors but I'm going to take care of the big dump trucks," he added.

About an hour later, he had changed his mind. "When I get big, I'm going to be a firefighter! I'm not going to drive that firefighter truck that came to preschool though...I'm gonna get my own one!"

After church we were headed home when he started talking about swimming with sharks, and fish and boats in the water. I asked if he was talking about the ocean. "Yes," he answered, "and I'm going to need those flapper things on my feet to help me swim fast." He continued to list parts of scuba gear that he would need and then said, "When I get big, I'm going to swim under water and catch sharks like Uncle Aaron (which he happened to get right that time)."

Jesse was checking the scores of the Bears game while I was cooking lunch. Drew proceeded to say either the saddest, or most promising thing I've ever heard. "When I get big, I'm going to be a faughtball player. I'm going to have a Bears helmet and a Bears shirt and even Bears shoes!" I can't decide whether to be sad that he could have a life of disappointment as a Bears fan or ecstatic that he can be the answer to many earnest prayers from Bears fans...maybe we should groom him for quarterback...

Yesterday evening we were headed to Billings when suddenly he said, "Dad, when I'm a grown up you're going to teach me how to drive. I have to be big though. I'm going to be cuge (huge)! I'm going to be fumongous!" As the mom who feeds this little giant, I'd have to agree with his prediction.

This morning we were back to being a firefighter...the day is early yet though...and his imagination his "fumongous"!

"And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street"

To the average person, this picture would seem odd. There is nothing artistic about it and all it contains is a seemingly random collection of rocks. However, there is much more to it than what meets the eye. What if I told you that the flat, round rocks on the bottom were actually fossilized dinosaur poop? Or what if I told you that the odd shaped rock on the far left was, in reality, a fossilized dinosaur teething toy, belonging to a larger dinosaur species? And the green and white one in the middle? It was the favorite toy of a small, baby dinosaur a very long time ago and now it has become a fossil. You might say that I'm crazy or delusional at best but that would be if you heard it strictly from me. However, I have it on good authority, in fact from a particular 3 year old little scientist, that it is 100% undeniably true.

Want to hear some more? Because, as many of you can attest, I could go on for days with stories that my little monkey has told me. For instance, there was the time that he came home from preschool at the age of 2 years, 2 months and informed me that he and Tristan (his best friend in TX) were going to steal the school's pumpkin patch, load it on the Boy Scout bus, drive the bus to a helicopter, load the pumpkin patch onto the chopper and then fly off with it. Tell me, where would a child of that age come up with that and be able to clearly verbalize it?

There was also the time that Jesse, Drew and I were headed to Billings. All of the sudden, Drew started screaming from the back that we had to turn around and go home; we had forgotten Carter. After arguing for a few minutes that Carter would be fine at home for a while (and getting absolutely nowhere), Jesse had the brilliant idea to tell Drew to call him. Suddenly Drew was all smiles, "Oh good Carter! You caught up with us...its a good thing you're a dinosaur and you can run fast and you climbed in the window. I missed you!"

I was thinking about these things tonight as I was reading Drew a bedtime story. Before he was born and while he was still a baby, I had all of these preconceived notions about what our favorite stories would be. I was going to read him "I'll Love You Forever" and "Guess How Much I Love You" and "I Love You Through and Through" (which, incidentally I did read to him for a long time and have been quoting it for about 3 years now). Since he's been old enough to have an opinion though, he has always loved Dr. Seuss. The wild and outlandish tales about unidentifiable creatures and far fetched adventures just appeal to his zealous little imagination and best of all is "And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street".

This tale about Marko, a little boy with a wild imagination attempting to concoct "a tale that no one can beat" makes me smile. Every time I read it, I glance down at my sleepy eyed but enraptured little man and wonder what his next tale will be. The stories I thought I would be reading are sweet and certainly have their place but when it comes to the perfect bedtime story for Drew we have one that simply can't be beat..."And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street".

Amidst the Noise

Normally, I go about my days with my wild little monkey running around and leaving chaos as he goes. So, when we got our new kitty a couple of weeks ago, I thought that it couldn't possibly be much different. Besides, my heart that has been aching for a baby for so long was just thrilled at the idea of having a kitten to love and nurture. Fast forward a couple of weeks and I'm still thrilled at having gotten a kitten...I just thought there was never a dull moment before...

In the past couple of weeks, Drew has reached several big milestones. Milestone #1 is that he now sleeps through the night!!!! Of course, since he doesn't get up 3 times, he makes up for it by waking up at 6:00 am, proceeding to wake the kitty up and then the two of them unleash all kinds of terror on Mommy and Daddy's peacefully sleeping selves. Its not much like having a baby...more like a preschooler (Drew) teaching his toddler sister (Lady Grey) what fun it is to climb furniture, throw toys around, pounce on Mommy and Daddy repeatedly in bed and screech at the top of your lungs. Milestone #2 is that he is completely out of diapers!! There is really isn't much to say about the cat in regards to this except that she appears to have a freakish interest in watching him pee.

So, the noise level has reached an all time high in recent days. I fight the urge to stay on top of Drew about not chasing the kitty because it turns out that she quite enjoys it and takes it rather personally when I make him play on his own. They even played football the other night. It went something like this: Drew would stand in one end of the room, he would chuck the soft, mini football (hey, I'm not completely retarded) into the other and then he and Lady raced to see who got there first. It was quite amusing to watch but even more amusing was Drew's prayer that evening. "Dear Jesus" he said, "Thank you for my new kitty! And Jesus? Please teach Lady Grey to know how to play football the right way so that she knows to catch it with her paws...Amen!"

At the moment, Drew is at preschool and the roofers are tearing apart our damaged roof. What is normally a quiet time, is not. Judging from Lady's literal attempt to climb the walls, I'm anticipating that between the roofers, the 3 year old monkey and a wild child of a kitten, I'm in for a rambunctious, loud, and quite possibly FANTASTIC day!

Drew-isms

It strikes me as funny that some of my friends check my status on Facebook just to see if there is something new that Drew has said. I guess that shouldn't really surprise me...he tends to draw a crowd wherever he goes (by force, if necessary). So, for those of you who are waiting to hear what my incredibly verbose child has said recently, I thought I would do another round of Drew-isms.

Recently, he's taken a liking to a minivan that belongs to a friend of ours. He informed us the other night at dinner that he was planning on borrowing it the next day. I calmly responded that it probably wasn't a good idea since he wasn't really old enough to drive...especially other people's cars. To which he responded, "Fine...I'll just buy it then." Jesse decided to humor him and ask him how much he was offering. Drew, quick as always, said, "26,500." After that we were able to dissuade him by explaining that was a little pricey for a used van.

We've had some concerns recently about his faith in God. A while back, he was laying in bed with me at naptime. "Mommy," he asked, "Does Jesus live in the sunshine?" I told him that Jesus was everywhere. "Well Mommy, what is He doing? Is he making me a baby sister yet?" I told him that when it was the right time, He would bless us with a baby sister. "Well, is He making me a puppy?" I explained that someday we might get a dog but it had to be the right dog at the right time. Clearly exasperated, he let out a big sigh and exclaimed, "Well is He at least making me a kitty!?!?" Once again, I told him that if it was the right kitty, at the right time then we would get one.

This conversation led to some serious discussion between Jesse and I, which eventually led to us deciding that next week, we are getting that child a kitten. When we told him this, he was super excited and started squealing, "Yay!!! Jesus finally made me a kitten!" Last night he prayed, "Thank you Jesus for Amy and Alan (our landlords) saying yes and thank you for my kitty and thank you and please let me bring her home soon!" Unfortunately, it appears that he has fallen in love with a kitten that won't be ready for a few weeks (give or take, in the words of the lady at the shelter)...something they neglected to make clear initially. So, at this point I'm praying that the kitten grows at an enormous speed in the next week so that she's big enough to be adopted. My little monkey is in a fragile place right now.

His preschool teacher told me a story about him last week. Apparently, each child has a job to do for the week. Last week it was one of the little girl's turn to be the greeter but she didn't want to do it. Mrs. Sandy asked Drew if he would like to be the greeter for her. Of course, he jumped up and announced, "I would LOVE to be the greeter!" and then proceeded to run up and down and give every one high fives. They gave him greeter duty again this week.

I guess his enthusiasm, as well as some other attributes definitely come from his Daddy. Before he even started preschool he told me that I was going to need to pack his Bible for him so that he could preach to all the other kids and at church on Sunday, he walked up to the preacher and said, "I'm going to preach the children in the nursery this morning...maybe soon I'll preach for you."

He apparently is determined to continue to act older than he is. Today at the library, a lady with a little girl with her asked Drew how old he was. He glanced over at the little girl who appeared to be around 3 or 4 and calmly said, "6."

That little monkey is funny, charming, quick on his feet and by some amazing miracle, mine.

10 Things I Never Imagined Saying

As amazed as I am at the things that my little monkey says, I'm always equally amazed at what I find myself saying. So here it is, my very own top 10. The top 10 things that I never imagined myself saying:

10. No, Baby, Jesus doesn't really live IN the sunshine.

9. Yes, I kissed your imaginary dinosaur goodnight too.

8. Yes, that is a very cute baby but it has its own family so no, you cannot take it home.

7. Whats that squishing sound? Oh, wait...its the 2 year old boy pee that soaked into my flip flop.

6. Uh, that's a mommy thing. Please put it back in my purse and STOP BENDING IT THAT WAY!

5. Do not eat the dirt out of the windowsill!

4. Its not nice to just go around licking people. Why? Because its just gross.

3. Its kind of important to be sure you have pants on before you run out of the house.

2. Daddy only cries more than Mommy because he thinks its funny.

1. Fine! Pick your nose so you can fall asleep...just don't let me see it!

Excusable Neglect

So, my deepest apologies for the long neglected blog. I really did not realize it had been so long but it has been a very busy month, so I'm excusing myself...this time.

I thought that instead of regaling you with entertaining tales of the little monkey, I might share a little bit of what I've been up to. The last few months, I've discovered some new interests and I have to tell you, I'm so excited about the possibilities. In between planning and hosting parties, refinishing furniture, making invitations and baking cakes (not to mention an awesome visit from my parents), I've been having a blast! So, I have a few pictures of what I've been up to...let me know what you think. Oh, and I should probably warm you that I'm really only interested in positive opinions...if you absolutely hate it then go about your merry way and let me continue in my delusions...I'm more content that way...haha!!!

As most of you know, Drew turned 3 on the 9th. It is so hard for me to even believe that we're already here but I'm forcing myself to accept it. Anyway, I thought it was probably about time for him to have his first "real" party so we celebrated with 4 of his friends (and a couple of little sisters). He wanted a pool cake...so, of course that's what he got!


When I haven't been throwing parties (I've done three so far this summer), I've been decorating our little house. After discovering an old coffee can in the basement, I whipped up some whimsical decor for Drew's bathroom. He loves it (and so do I)!

So, back to Drew's birthday. These were the favors for his little bash. We went with an overall pool/beach theme so each boy got a personalized bucket and shovel, sunglasses to wear (never mind that a huge storm blew in and we ended up with an indoor party), a personalized cup to drink their slushes out of and they were supposed to each make an ocean in a bottle. It turns out though, that getting little boys ages 2-4 that have never been to preschool to do certain things together greatly resembles herding cats so I let that part go. Anyway, they all fit in together for an easy transport home.

And, since my computer is nuts and won't let me organize the pictures the way I want on here, we're bouncing back to home decorations. I recently experimented with making a garden sign for the front of our house. I mixed the paint to match our siding, front door and trim...the end result was pretty cute, I think.

One of the biggest projects this summer was refinishing our dining room table and chairs (that are older than I am). After 3 years of struggling to keep furniture clean and unscathed, I've decided that I'm really into the distressed style...it turns out that there is a lot of satisfaction in banging up the furniture yourself and the dated look suits our arts and crafts style home.

I've also discovered that I absolutely LOVE making custom invitations. It is a complete escape and for some odd reason, one of the only things I can do without Drew constantly needing my attention. Somehow he gets that its just Mommy's thing.

I made these for our Open House party that we had a few weeks ago. It was super fun! I also made a Almond Berry 3 Layer Cake for this party that was a huge hit...somehow, I forgot to get a picture of it though....grrrrr.

This was the invitation to the previously mentioned 3 year old birthday bash:

I even had matching envelopes!

These are a couple of shower invitations from my friend Ashlee's baby shower in May. It was my first experience in planning and throwing a shower and was so incredibly fun! Once again though, I failed to get pictures of everything, like my super cute cupcake tower and bunny topped diaper cake. Oh well, live and learn.

Some of you are probably wondering where I'm going with all of this. Do I find it necessary to have everyone affirm that I'm doing a good job? Did I find it necessary to toot my own horn? Do I want everyone to know that I don't just sit around my house in pjs all day playing tonka trucks? No, not really. It seems though that my wonderful husband (and a few other well meaning friends) think that I should shift some of these interests into a little home based business. While I'm not entirely opposed to the idea, I'm just not sure what it would look like exactly. So, I thought that maybe if I got everything down that I had been working on, something might stand out to me or click in my head and I would realize, "Oh that's what I'm supposed to do!" We'll see. If nothing else, this is proof that I'm not always in my pajamas racing trucks, putting on rock concerts and finger painting...although if I'm completely honest, that's where you'll find me about 90% of the time!

The World's Cutest Boy!

Today, the world is a cuter place. Drew got to fulfill one of his dreams. For weeks now, he's talked about riding to the IGA, his pockets stashed full of change and buying an ice cream treat, all by himself. We attempted it a couple of weeks ago but a call from Daddy waylaid us, something that Drew was careful to take into account today.

He came bounding down the stairs after naptime, reminding me that he pooped in the potty today AND he had taken a nap. "I could ride my bicycle to the IGA and get some ice cream but sometimes I try that and Daddy calls us and we have to go back home and see him but I want to go to the store today so I should call Daddy and then I could tell him not to come home and see me right now because I'm busy!!!!" After this mouthful, I willingly handed over the phone for him to make the very important call.

After Jesse and I both got done laughing at the amount of animation in that one little face and voice, Drew and I set out for our trip. (I have to throw this in there, he is getting soooo good at his bike...he's even learned how to stand up on the pedals to push himself over a bump! ) The ride to the store was without incident, except for a near collision with a brick wall when he saw another little boy on a bike...it was, however, thankfully averted.

He carefully parked his bike and took his helmet off and then very business like headed into the store, "Thank you" he said as he nodded to the automatically opening doors. Once inside he drug me to the ice cream cooler and informed me that as a special treat, he was going to let me pick out something too. After deciding that we should get fudge bars, he carried them up to the counter to pay for them.

This is where things went slightly awry. You see, in order for a little boy to get the full pleasure out of an experience like this, you have to have a cashier who will play along. Our mistake was in choosing one who was too busy talking to the checker across from her. Her loss, because apparently she failed to realize that the world's cutest boy was standing in front of her, digging in his pockets for the right amount of change (carefully counted out by Mommy ahead of time) and chatting to her about how her day was going. I'm pretty sure she also missed his parting call as we walked past her counter, "Thanks so much for youwr help! Have a good day!"

Fortunately, he didn't seem to be too concerned by the cashier's lack of involvement because he quickly got back on his bike and we started our trip back. We took a break at the park, where, as my monkey would say, we "enjoyed" our "tasty treats" enormously! It was there though that I realized I didn't have my camera with me to document this new level of cuteness...something that I'm still kicking myself for. Self satisfaction was painted all over that adorable face (along with quite a bit of melted fudge bar) and to top it off we had to pull off his shirt and use it to wipe him down with. It was a very content little man that rode the rest of the way home, sticking his bare little chest out and waving happily to the neighbors as we passed.

Yes, my friends, I'm a very blessed woman...I have the world's cutest boy for a son!

What Did You Say?!?!

Its time to write down a few more Drew funnies...the boy never ceases to amaze me with his intelligence, sense of humor and verbal antics.

As you may be able to see from the picture, he recently had a haircut. The conversation that followed was certainly something for the books. The entire time I was cutting it, I kept having to dodge small hands that suddenly shot up and grabbed it. This was inevitably followed by, "Mommy! What are you doing?? Where is it going? Are you going to cut it ALL off!?!?" When I finished, he sat there with a sad look on his face, "Oh Mommy!" he cried, "am I still handsome?" Of course, I told him he was very handsome but when he still seemed upset, I told him if he wanted to he could grow it back out again when the weather cooled off. To which he replied, "Oh good! I like it better longer." Is this a normal conversation to have with someone who isn't even 3 yet? I'm thinking its probably not...

Speaking of his age, he told me a couple of weeks ago that he is going to be 3 in August (which is true) and then proceeded to tell me who I was to invite and what exactly he wanted to have happen at his party. I thought I still had a couple more years before he dictated birthday parties?

He is very focused on his approaching birthday; at the park this morning, he started playing with some 5-6 year old girls. Finally, they asked him, "How old are you anyway?" To which he responded (in a very condescending manner, I might add), "I'm going to be 3 in August." As if this fact makes him quite a man.

Bedtime prayers continue to be an exercise in restraining from hysterical laughter on my part. After overhearing my friend Ashlee and I discussing that Baby Gracey probably needed a change of clothes since hers were wet, Drew began to pray every night, "Deawr God, thank you for Baby Gracey but please get hewr a new outfit." Trust me, the girl has plenty of outfits!

He still prays for a baby sister of his own every night too. A few nights ago, we were talking after he prayed and he said, "If I have a baby sister then when she gets scared at night, I can go to her crib and sing 'I'll take care of you, don't be sad, don't be blue!'" Talk about adorable...by the way, he's learned the whole song and now he sings it with me when I tuck him in.

I have to constantly remind myself that he picks up on everything. A couple of weeks ago, he heard a cricket and wanted to know what it was. I explained that it was a bug and that it made that sound by scratching its legs together. Earlier this week, he heard some again. "What's that Mom?" he asked. "What is that?" I responded (a game I plan with him often to teach him to answer things for himself). "Its a cricket," he answered. "And its rubbing it's legs together to make music," I continued. "Oh no," he said, "its SCRATCHING it's legs together." Of course, what was I thinking...

As we walked by a truck with some sort of machine in the back, he wanted to know what it was, I responded that I wasn't really sure. To which he answered, "Oh that is a pulley. You can use it to lift heavy objects." ?!?!?!?!?! Suddenly, I remembered that there had been an episode of Sid, the Science Kid a couple of months ago that was on pulleys. Is there anything he doesn't remember?

I think I'll stop here for now...the truth is, I could probably go on all day. Besides, this afternoon we're going to play on the slip n slide and tomorrow is the Freedom Festival in town so I'm certain there will be much, much more tell by the end of the weekend!