Boy Updates

It's been a while since I did a boy update, and lots of things have happened, so here goes! As always, I must warn you that this is pretty much going to be me just gushing about how great my kids are.

Josh has been in kindergarten for more than a month now, and he is doing very well. The first couple of days were a little scary for him and he was very hesitant when I dropped him off in the morning. It was hard for me too, but at least I didn't go sit in the car and cry for a few minutes like I did on the first day of preschool. Handing off your child to a comparative stranger sucks. Really, it does. You have to leave the the most precious, most fragile part of your life with another person and trust that after the 7 hours is up you will get them back safely. It's scary. But now I'm comfortable with both his teacher and the school, and he loves both. Sometimes he even heads for his class without even saying goodbye. That said, today he told me he was happy that he didn't have school tomorrow because he likes to stay home with us.

The cursive thing is also progressing -- he can write his whole name and is learning the other letters and blending combos. He's also learning to add and to tell time.

But the biggest advance is his reading. As long as something is "sound-out-able," he can read it. He knows all his sounds and phonics blends well enough now that he doesn't have to sit there and try to remember, they just come to him and he can just read on. Well, most of the time. =) And he's gotten much better at his sight words too. Reading with him is so much fun now!

The other day we asked him to pray at dinner, and he included this: "Please forgive us for the sins we did today, and please forgive us for the sins we are going to do after this." A few minutes later I asked him what sins he thought we were going to do later on, and he said, "I don't know, just in case."

He's really such a great little boy. I don't just love him because he's mine, I also love him because he's amazingly sweet and so fun to be around. He's mischievous, he likes to tell jokes (usually of his own creation), and he likes to make up stories. He also draws some great pictures!

He's very affectionate and so sweet. Sometimes he'll come over to me and just give me a big hug, and won't let go for a while. Heaven. Usually I ask him what's up, and he'll reply, "I just love you." Awwwwww. Put simply, I adore this child. By the time 2:30 rolls around and it's time to pick him up from school I am already missing him. But I'm so proud of him and glad to see he's growing a little away from his Mommy and into being the little man God wants him to be.

Daniel is a funny, sweet little 18 month old punky child. He loves trucks, trains, and pretty much any other mode of transportation. He points out every truck he sees, and yells "Mama" at me until I acknowledge it and tell him what color it is. Every day he will do something so adorable that I'm forced to snatch him up and give him kisses and cuddles. Today he stood in front of the TV with a (not working) Wii remote, waving it in the air, jumping up and down, and yelling at the TV -- evidently imitating his Dad and brother, who are currently obsessed with MarioKart. Seriously cute.

He loves bananas. We went to dinner one night last week and he got tired of sitting at the table, so Mom took him for a walk. They ended up at the grocery store next door, where he apparently began insisting "Nana nana nana" until Mom bought him one. I wish I'd had my camera...the image of him walking across to us, cuddling his banana with one hand and clutching my Mom's hand with the other was great. And now I know how to buy myself extra time at the store...all I have to do is let him hold a banana while I shop and he's perfectly happy.

He actually loves all fruits, but I guess bananas are the best. He calls any fruit "banana" now, which I find a little strange. I wonder how he distinguishes the fruits from the veggies, but he seems to know. Papaya, apples, peaches, and nectarines are all "nana." Vegetables of any sort are pointed at with silence. I guess he'll get to them later.

Lately he's been pretty clingy, always wanting me. You'd think I might get tired of it, but I don't. He does get heavy after a while but there are worse fates than having a baby who loves you insist on going with you everywhere. It does get pretty funny, though. If he sees that I'm going to the bathroom, he will gather up some toys, march ahead of me importantly, and close the door behind me. Then he plops down on the floor and continues playing with his toys.

He likes Barney now, which is great because if I sing him the "I love you" song he always comes over to hug me. Josh used to do the same thing. Too cute. He is also obsessed with Signing Times Zoo Train. He signs zebra, tiger, dolphin, elephant, etc.

All in all, mommyhood is great. I adore my boys; oh they're so amazing! I still have to marvel at them and how fortunate I am to have them. I'll just go with the song Josh likes to sing to us now. It's a modernized Doxology, but he just remembers "Praise God from who all blessings flow." Yep, that's what I'll do, particularly my two boy blessings.