Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder

Aden (4 years, 7 months)

Last week we made "Happy Grandparent's Day!" cards for all the grandparents. We got out the paint (all 12 bright and colorful colors!), stickers, sequins, glitter, markers, and more and set to work at making beautiful cards for "Grandpa" and "Grandma who belongs to Uncle Lucas", "Grandpa Jesse" and "Grandma who belongs to Grandpa Jesse", and "Grandpoo" and "Grammy". This was Aden's painting for "Grandpa" (I think). When he said he was finished I said, "Aden honey, don't you want to add a little more color?" he said (with conviction), "No, I like it this way. It's perfect!" He wasn't being stubborn or a quitter or anything...he just genuinely liked the way his "masterpiece" looked. Yes, beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder!

His "Ice Cweam"

Jonathan (3 years)

This 97 cent Matchbox Ice Cream Truck is one of Jonathan's most favorite toys. He plays with it all the time, takes it with us wherever we go and gets quite concerned when its whereabouts are unknown. He calls it his "Ice Cweam" such as, "Mommy, I can't find my Ice Cweam." or "I'm going to pway wif my Ice Cweam." Who knew when we tossed this into our K-Mart cart last year that it would become such a prized possession?

He Notices

Aden (4 years, 7 months)

Tonight I put a new floral table cloth on the kitchen table and within 5 minutes my sweet boy noticed and said, "Mama the table looks pretty!"

Bless his heart, he notices. He notices things and has the thoughtfulness to comment on them. He'll notice a small vase of flowers on the windowsill, fresh towels on the towel rack, a new blouse that I have on, clean sheets on his bed, a nicely ironed shirt, a freshly swept porch, a carefully planned meal, etc. He notices and he lets me know...usually with a sweet smile or a giggle of excitement or an expression of gratitude. What a blessing and encouragement that is to me! There's nothing quite like hearing his sweet little voice say, "Wow Mama, you did a good job!" or "That looks nice!" after having worked hard on something! In such a good way this little boy encourages me to develop more and more discipline when it comes to housekeeping. What a dear child he is!

Thunder in Your Eyes

Jonathan (3 years)

This afternoon, while reading a story to the boys, Jonathan stopped me and said, "Mommy, you have thunder in your eyes!" When I asked for some clarification he drew lightning bolts in the air with his fingers. So I said, "Oh, you mean the streaks of blue and green?" and he said, "No Mommy, it's 'wed' (red) thunder...in the white part!"

HA! Yes, that observant little chap was noticing his mother's bloodshot eyes! I didn't sleep well last night and then the garbage man woke the whole house up at 5:30 so in case my little yawns at the end of each paragraph (or sentence!) didn't tip him off to the fact that I was pretty tired, it's good to know that the "thunder" in my eyes might have!

Seeing Baby Pictures

Jonathan (3 years)

Whenever Jonathan sees a picture of himself as a baby he says, "That was when I turned into Elizabeth." =)

Auto Seal

Jonathan (2 years, 11 months)

The boys have been obsessed with letters and letter sounds lately...thanks to Leap Frog's Letter Factory DVD and homeschool reading and phonics lessons. Whenever they see letters written on anything they say the letters and the sounds and if it is a word they try to sound it out. Anyway, the boys have some "Contigo" sippy cups (from Costco) and on the lid it says, "Auto Seal". Last night at dinner the boys were asking what the C-O-N-T-I-G-O spelled and what the A-U-T-O-S-E-A-L spelled. We told them and then moved on with conversation. A little while later I was giving Jonathan a quick bath in the kitchen sink when he saw the bottle of Dawn dish soap on the counter. He pointed to it and said, "Is this an Auto Seal?" I started laughing and told Daniel what he'd asked and the we both laughed some more. Meanwhile Jonathan just stared at me and then said, "Is it? Is it an Auto Seal, Mommy?"

So cute!

UPDATE: A few days ago (about a MONTH after I posted this) Jonathan was laying on his tummy and flopping around and he said, "Aden, look, I'm an auto seal!" HA! He STILL doesn't get it!

Tennis Shoes

Aden (4 years, 5 months)

I wear tennis shoes nearly everyday because of my plantar fasciitis. Otherwise I would probably wear sandals or flip flips (a.k.a slippahs) 365 days a year. The boys wear flip flops or Crocs (or go barefoot!) and neither of them even own a pair of tennis shoes much less worn a pair of tennis shoes since we moved here. Well, lately Aden has mentioned that he would like a pair of tennis shoes. This morning he mentioned it again so Daniel asked him why he wanted a pair and Aden (in seriouness) said, "To wear to my tennis games!"

Ha! WHAT tennis games? I don't think he's ever even seen a tennis match....unless, of course, the Wii counts!