Which Animal is next?

It's such a pleasure to see your child's sense of humor emerge. And Kyle's is really starting to come out.

Last week when we were at the family reunion in Sisters, Oregon, Mindy and I and the boys were eating sandwiches for lunch.

Kyle had taken maybe 2 bites out of the middle of his half sandwich and then he started walking it around on his plate like it was an animal. Then he looked up at us and went "Moo, Moo."

I looked at him and said, "You're being silly, that's not a cow!"

More walking around the plate and then, "Meow, meow."

OK, this ought to be fun I thought. "It's not a cat either!" I sing-songed.

"Baa, Baa"

"Nooo. It's not a lamb."

Then he had to stop and think for a few seconds. You could see the wheels turning as he tried to figure out what was going to be next . . .

"Moo, Moo."

This went on for probably 5 more minutes with a couple new animals and many repeats of the cow and the cat especially. We were all in stitches and Kyle was having a high old time being the life of the party.

I Beg You

It's so much fun and a little scary to start hearing grown-up phrases coming out of your 4 year-olds mouth.

Last weekend, Ben and Kyle were arguing about who was going to get to use the car out in the back yard. Eventually they both ended up in it with Kyle on Ben's lap. This didn't last for too long before Ben started complaining that he couldn't steer or move the car with Kyle in his lap.

"Kyle!! Get out, I can't move the car... Get out please! I beg you!"

No Rest for the Weary

Kyle and Ben have been watching the Cars movie every chance they get lately and it hasn't been nearly enough for them, but let me tell you, they are starting to quote the movie at random and amusing moments.

The other night at the dinner table, I was bemoaning the fact that I still had a lot to do after dinner like mowing the lawn and cleaning up the backyard. As I was getting up from the table to clear my place and get started I said, "No rest for the weary."

To which Ben promptly responded with the Lightning McQueen quote: "Not today old man!"

Not sure if he was directly responding to my statement or not, but he sure got quite a reaction from Mindy and I.

What's a Girl? Vertebrate or Invertebrate?

The other night at dinner, Ben posed the question: "What's a girl?"

Mindy and I looked at one another trying to decide how to answer such a broad question. Then Ben let us off the hook. He has been learning about classifications of animals at school recently and so the question was more specific.

"Is a girl a vertebrate or an invertebrate?"

Whew, we can answer that one.

"A girl is a vertebrate," I say with relief.

But then he follows up with this gem. "So are boys invertebrates?"

Naturally, I'm left to answer this one as Mindy is occupied with trying not to dissolve into gales of laughter.

So I explain that all humans are vertebrates and both boys and girls are humans. Then I start to quiz him on what animals he is learning about in school. He starts with some "I don't know"s but then clearly doesn't want to talk about it anymore because he says in his best commanding tone, "Less talking, more eating."

I guess he told me.

Mommy is Smarter than Daddy

This was the pronouncement of Ben to his younger brother this morning. Mindy heard it from the other room being told in all earnestness as if it were a life lesson he were passing on to Kyle.

To set the context, you have to know that Ben and I made cookies on Saturday morning to help Mindy out. When we got to the part where we spooned the cookies onto the cookie sheet, Ben looked at the two spoons that I had and asked where his were. I told him one was for me and the other was for him.

"But mommy uses 2 spoons," he said.

"Oh, well, I think one spoon apiece will be fine for us."

So we proceed to drop the cookies onto the sheet and it does seem to have its challenges. Then Ben is tired of it and puts his spoon down in the bowl to go do something else. After a couple minutes I decide that maybe 2 spoons would be better and it was so much easier. I know, that's kind of obvious if you think about it, but I don't bake much.

When Ben came back into the room, I told him that we should have used two spoons because it was much easier.

Hence, Ben's declaration to Kyle that "Mommy is smarter than Daddy. She knows that you should use two spoons for making cookies instead of one."

Being like Daddy

It's really fun to see how Ben perceives the adult world as he begins his interest in becoming an adult.

A couple weeks ago when most of our family was fighting one sort of sickness or the other, I had a really bad cough for a few days. One evening at dinner as I was getting over my cough, Ben coughed really hard. It sounded like it hurt, actually.

When he was finished Ben looked at me and said, "I thought I had your cough, Daddy, it was so loud."

I guess the idea of colds being contagious will have to wait...

Then last Saturday, Ben was looking at his arms and started talking about he was growing up because he had little fuzzes on his arm.

"Then when I'm grown up, my arm will be really hairy, like Daddy's."

It's such a joy and such a responsibility to realize how much my boys look up to me. I just hope I can be as good a role model as my dad was.

Wrestling

It's no surprise to anyone that wrestling has started in earnest around our house with our two boys. And boy is it cute.

I'm not sure either of them quite get it completely yet, because the current game of "wrestling" involves one person being "wrestled" or tackled to the ground and the other person is wrestling them.

For example, when Ben and I wrestle, I'll have him pinned down for a couple seconds and then he'll say, "Now it's my turn to wrestle you!" Which means, "Dad, you lay down and I'll climb on top of you now."

It's also so much fun to see Kyle joining in on the action. If he sees Ben and I wrestling, he'll wade right in and do a full body flop on whoever is getting "wrestled". Of course, turn about is fair play and when Ben and I pin Kyle down, he giggles like crazy.

I thank God every day for the joy that my boys bring me and just hope that they'll be kind to me when they get big enough to really gang up on me.

It could be trouble!

Holding Hands

We have been so blessed that our boys really seem to have a natural affinity for one another. Ben has just adored his little brother from the day he was born and Kyle looks up to his brother in the sweetest ways.

When Kyle was born, Ben was so sweet and very interested in this little person that had grown in his mama's belly. He often wants to help us do things for Kyle. Early on he sat by Kyle's bassinet sometimes and let Kyle suck his finger to help him calm down. More recently Kyle dropped a piece of fruit on the floor. Before we knew what was happening, Ben had hopped up off his chair, picked up the fruit, blew it off enthusiastically and gave it back to Kyle. It was so sweet that we couldn't bring ourselves to take the fruit away from Kyle.

Kyle for his part, watches his brother with such big eyes. Our method for discipline involves asking the boys to sit and get their body under control when they are not listening or doing something inappropriate. After they've gotten their body under control, they can get up and we give them a big hug and discuss what happened. We probably started that around 18 months with Ben because before that, he didn't really know how to sit there on hIs own. Of course Kyle has been watching this happen since he was born and so we decided to give it a try a few weeks ago. Kyle was just giddy to go sit in the designated place, just like big brother did. And when we told him he could get up, he came running for his hug. It was so cute.

Yesterday I got to see one of the sweetest things I've seen in a long time. Mindy was out and I was watching the boys for the afternoon. After they both got up from afternoon quiet time we all had a great big wrestling match. The boys just squealed with glee as they piled on each other and on me. Then we all got a snack and sat down on the couch to watch a DVD about firemen. Ben was sitting next to me ad Kyle was on my lap. Both were just riveted by what was happening. Ben asked what and why quite frequently and Kyle chimed in often with his own "Whazzis?" About halfway through the video I looked down to see Ben and Kyle holding hands.




It was just so heartwarming. I just thank the Lord for the love that I see growing between our sons.