Fall festivities

Even though we’ve been sick for almost two weeks with what I now refer to as the Eternal Virus, the boys have still been managing to entertain me. Last week, I’d been doing children’s catechism questions with Christopher and trying in vain to teach Will the first question. (Q: Who made you? A: God.) But Will still answers about 9 out of 10 questions by shaking his head and saying “no”. The next day, we were driving somewhere and all of a sudden, Christopher smiled and asked Will a question from his catechism: “Will, can you see God?” Right on cue, Will answered correctly: “No!” Christopher was so proud.

Today I took Christopher to the pediatrician, and the doctor was asking Christopher several questions about his symptoms. The doctor asked him if he’d been kissing any girls, and after giving it some thought, Christopher answered “yes.” When we got in the car, I asked Christopher what girls he’d been kissing. He said, “Well, you, Momma!” Let’s hope it stays that way for a long, long time!

Back before the start of the Eternal Virus, when the boys used to go to school, I was proud of two great reports I got from their teachers. Will brought home a note from mother’s day out that said, “Will was a great listener today. He also helped pick up a lot of toys.” I’m not sure what he did to be a great listener, but he does love to clean up. Christopher’s teacher told me that she was working on teaching the kids to recognize their names, and she was holding up each child’s name in front of the class. Christopher not only knew his name, but he recognized every other kid’s name as well. Way to go, Christopher!

The boys have been having a great time enjoying fall in Arkansas–and we haven’t even gotten to the trick-or-treating yet! A couple of weeks ago, Christopher’s preschool class went on a field trip to a pumpkin farm. And this past Saturday, we went with Nana and Granddad Henley to the opening of a children’s garden at the Ozark Botanical Gardens. The kids had a blast decorating pumpkins, planting daffodils, exploring the gardens, and the highlight of the morning–sharing multiple bags of popcorn. (Also, Mommy was interviewed by a reporter while we were there, and you can read her brilliant comments by clicking here.) Here’s some photos–and, yes, clearly we need to work with Will on how to color with markers.  (Click on the photos to see them full-size.)

Singing new songs

It has been a crazy few weeks. Mommy and Daddy went to Seattle for five days, while Christopher and Will stayed with their grandparents. We all had a great time! (Especially Mommy!!) Then, sadly, Mommy and the kids made an unexpected trip to Kansas to celebrate the life and mourn the death of Mommy’s Grandpa B. It was hectic and difficult and sad, but at least it gave us some time with Aunt Amanda, Uncle Jamie and other relatives that we don’t get to see very often. I’m so thankful for the time that my kids had with their wonderful Great-Grandpa before he died. They loved playing with him!

I sometimes worry that Christopher is too quiet and cautious and sensitive, and that he needs to toughen up and be a little more rowdy. So I was glad to hear a report from Daddy last week when he went to get Christopher from Awanas . . . He was early, so he spent a few minutes spying through the window, unnoticed by Christopher. It was storytime, and Christopher and the boy next to him were rough-housing. The teacher called them out and asked them to stop. A few moments later, Christopher reached over and got the kid in a headlock and started an all-out wrestling match. The teacher had to move them to separate them. When we got home, we had a talk with Christopher about being respectful when the teacher is talking, but deep down inside, we were proud of our little troublemaker!

Will continues to make us laugh with his new vocabulary. His latest thing is to walk around the house singing “Twinkle, Twinkle.” He mostly just says those two words, but the tune is almost recognizable! His new word today was “fishies”–there is a fish tank at the gym we go to, and as soon as I opened the front door of the building, he started yelling, “Fishies! Fishies!” When it was time to leave, it was “Bye-bye, fishies!” A new sentence!

I think every mom has those moments when she hears her child say something and knows he got it from her. I had that experience the other day when we were driving home from school, and I asked Christopher what he did that day. He replied, “Mommy, I don’t want to talk about it right now. I’m just really tired.” Yeah, right, preschool is SO exhausting!

Today Christopher was singing, making up a song as he went along, and for some reason it made me laugh. It went like this:

I love God,

I love God,

He is Lord of me,

And I praise God,

Because I understand.

Will doesn’t understand,

he likes to say “no”

when he is a bigger one,

maybe he’ll say “yes” sometimes.