Month 47 - Recap

My sweet boy,
You, sir, are continuing to take the role as Resident Smith Family Picky Eater very seriously. You're now to the point where you ask me what we're having for dinner ... while you're eating breakfast. There are several possibilities why you ask this question.

1. You're naturally curious.
2. You want to spend all day in anticipation of the culinary magic I'll be serving.
3. You need to make sure you eat all your lunch and prepare for a dessert-less evening because I'm serving neither grilled cheese nor cheese pizza.

I'll give you zero guesses as to which one is correct.

You even go so far as to tell me "Well, Mommy, I've decided that I don't like ice cweam today. So it's no big deal if I don't get any dee-zuht." And miraculously, you suddenly start liking ice cream again when I serve pizza for dinner.

You're starting to draw people. And in three-year-old fashion, you specialize in the toothpicks-sticking-out-of-an-egg approach. It's a good thing my self-worth isn't wrapped up in how you draw me. Cuz ouch, man.

You like to talk about what you want to be when you grow up. First it was a superhero (like most little boys, I imagine). But Natalie the Realist burst your bubble and informed you that superheroes aren't real. You were seriously bummed but she redeemed herself by listing all the occupations that are like superheroes. None of those really appealed to you (probably because those occupations don't include a cape, a rad car, and/or the ability to fly). So now you've decided that you want to be the lead singer of the Newsboys. I hope Michael Tait is ready for a run for his money in 20-something years.

You always want me to put you to bed and Natalie always wants Daddy. And recently, the four of us have started racing to your respective bedrooms at night. It's a guaranteed way to get you two to temporarily forget that you're going to bed and instead focus on winning. At whatever cost. Oh yes, we sometimes play dirty. Sometimes Daddy tries to block the entrance to your bedroom. Or I'll sit (gently) on Natalie on the couch to give you a head start to your room. Or I'll scoop you up immediately after our family prayer and run to your bedroom before Daddy and Natalie know what hit them.

But recently, you fall apart if Daddy and Natalie get to her room before you and I get to your room. You burst into tears and start yelling how it's not fair that we lost. So now The Great Bedroom Race is on hiatus until we're able to teach you the right way to lose. Losing is inevitable but there are ways to lose that don't involve such high decibels. Hopefully you'll figure this out soon so that we can get back to playing. Because there's no better way to end my day then by sitting on your sister to win a game.

Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy

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Headlines for October 9, 2015:

• Next man up? House GOP pushes reluctant Ryan to seek speaker's chair
• One dead, three hurt in shooting at Northern Arizona University
• 'We are so relieved': Missing king cobra snake found under dryer near Orlando
• Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Tunisian democracy group
• Think Your Commute Is Bad? Try 50 Lanes of Beijing Traffic
• GM Fined $900M Over Faulty Ignition Switches

September 2015 - Recap

My darling girl,
You started gymnastics this month, and you couldn't be any more excited if I paid you in cupcakes to go. There are several classes offered throughout the week, and we can go to one or several of them. For now, we're sticking with once a week. And it's in the early afternoon, so your class is comprised of six cute little homeschooled girls. You knew two of the girls already from our homeschool group so that made you a little less nervous. The class is an hour long ("a super boh-wing [boring] hour," according to Charlie) and your teacher keeps you working the entire hour. You were drenched in sweat after your last class, partly because you were introduced to the heinous world of sit-ups. "What are those, Momma?? My friend was pushing on my feet and I had to sit up without using my arms. I mean, can you believe that?!" I immediately flashed back to elementary school PE and those fitness tests (that I consistently failed. Being inflexible with zero upper body strength and zero endurance doesn't equate to a successful fitness test.)

We've been having a lot (like, a LOT) of conversations about listening more and talking less. You know, the whole "God gave you two ears and one mouth for a reason. Listen twice as much as you talk" thing. It doesn't seem to have sunk in quite yet though. You seem very dissatisfied with simply sitting and listening and not being a part of every single conversation that goes on in our house. If Daddy and I are talking, you interrupt and want to know what we're talking about. If Charlie and I are doing something, you interrupt and want to know what we're doing. If I'm on the phone, you wave your hands wildly around to get my attention so I'll tell you who I'm talking to. It's as if it physically pains you to hear something but not be directly involved in in. So we'll continue to work on it. (And frankly I'm surprised I typed out this paragraph sans interruption.)

You're still really enjoying school (thank you, Jesus). I'm fascinated by watching you work out problems. Math seems to come fairly natural to you (your nerd DNA is clearly showing itself). Manipulatives (Cuisinaire rods, base 10 blocks, pattern blocks) have worked wonders for you. You still work too fast and make silly mistakes, and I have to often tell you "Listen, kid. You're the only student in this here school. If you take 10 minutes to solve a problem, you'll be the fastest. If you take 1 hour to solve a problem, you'll still be the fastest. So stop rushing through things to show me how fast (and often incorrect) you can do things."

You love having Girl Time while Charlie's at preschool, so after school on those days, your first question is always "So! What fun girly thing do you think we should do?" Sometimes we make something pink and princess-y out of your Legos, sometimes we go to Hobby Lobby and look at all the pretty fall decorations.

Funny note - you walked into Hobby Lobby and we're all "CHRISTMAS decorations? They have CHRISTMAS decorations out? It's only SEPTEMBER!" So I got to be all "Oh honey, Hobby Lobby puts out Christmas decorations in May. If not sooner." 

You're convinced we should decorate our entire house (inside and outside) for every holiday. I broke it to you gently that however fun decorating is, it's expensive and impractical to do it for every holiday. But since I'm a sucker for fall decorations, we came out of the store with bags of little pumpkins, vases, and fall flowers. We've also checked out some local boutiques ("Oooh, Mommy, Charlie would HATE this store! But I LOVE it!!") and admired their assortment of monogrammed dresses, monogrammed purses, monogrammed hats, monogrammed scarves, monogrammed cups, monogrammed napkins, and monogrammed monogram machines (just kidding on the last one. But maybe not.)

"Mommy, is everything monogrammed?"
"We're in south Alabama, love, so yes. Don't stay still for too long or your forehead might get plastered with NSJ."

Hugs and smooches,
Mommy & Daddy

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Headlines for October 1, 2015:

• Umpqua Community College Shooting Leaves at Least 10 Dead, Police Say
• Hurricane Joaquin at Category 4
• 14 Dead After US Military Plane Crashes in Afghanistan
• FBI Director Confirming Inquiry Into Clinton Email Setup
• College Student Writes Heartbreaking Note to Family After Failing to Save Son