Thinking About Jesus

Today at church I looked over and Ben had a runny nose. I went to wipe it and he said, "You picking my nose doesn't help me think about Jesus."

The rules of video games

This morning I was using a piece of paper with some video game symbol on it as a book mark. Ben saw it and said, "that is Daddy's, not yours". I told him I was just using it as a bookmark. Then Ben said, "Girls don't like video games." I said, "Mommy doesn't, but some girls do." Ben replied, "only awesome girls like video games, not pretty ones." There you have it folks, the rules of video games given by a four year old...

Tis better to give than to receive

Last night I was watching one of my favorite shows, "Jon and Kate Plus Eight". In this episode they took their kids to Tennessee to buy gifts for the sick children at St. Jude's hospital. Their sextuplets (who are the same age as Ben) picked out toys for these kids and got nothing for themselves. I started thinking to myself that Ben was old enough to understand the spirit of giving too and that as his mother it was up to me to instill this in him.

While Ben was at school this morning I got out all the wrapping supplies and gifts for his teachers, brother and cousin. When he came home from school I was planning to teach him a bit about how it is better to give than to receive, remind him how the Wisemen brought gifts to baby Jesus and have him help me wrap the gifts.

He came home with a note on his bag from his teachers that said they had talked about giving to those less fortunate than them at the holiday season. They had read a book at school about a dog named Claude who gave all his Christmas gifts to a homeless dog because he had a family at home who loved him. They talked about the Utah Food Bank and how it gives children who don't have food at Christmas time something to eat. They asked the kids to bring some canned food to school tomorrow for the food bank.

I felt glad that his teachers had laid the groundwork for my "giving" speech. I sat Ben down and talked with him a bit and he helped me wrap the gifts. Then I got some food out of the cupboard and told him he could take it to school tomorrow. I felt like he was only sort of paying attention to me and had to remind myself that he is only four. After a few minutes he came up to me and said, "Can you give people money with the food?" I told him yes, you can give food, money or gifts to people who have less than us. He left the room and came back with his piggy bank and a baggy. He dumped out the bank into the baggy and said, "I don't need this money anymore, I want to give it to the kids."

I felt my eyes well up with tears and realized that my little four year old boy understood more than he led on. Somewhere along the way he has learned some empathy. I am so proud of the person he is becoming and it was a good reminder to me that he isn't just a selfish four year old, but a caring, understanding and sensitive little boy.

bunnies are cute

Ted says to Ben, "Isn't mommy cute?". Ben replies, "No, bunnies are cute...her face is just normal."

Delightful

Ben: Where are we going for Thanksgiving dinner?
Me: To Grandma M.E.'s house.
Ben: Oh...her loves little boys and her makes pancakes that are delightful.

a 4 year old joke

Last night Ben was using the bathroom and I could hear him in there talking to himself. When he came out he said, "I have a joke for you...what has four wheels, wings and four eyeballs?" I told him I didn't know and he said "poop" and then started laughing hysterically. Oh, the things four year old boys find funny is beyond me!

Dear Santa

This morning Ben wanted to write a letter to Santa. After he prattled on about all the things he wants for Christmas (most of which I have no idea what he is talking about), I said, "Do you want to tell Santa if you've been nice to your brother and Mom and Dad?". He looked at me and said, "Well, I've been nice to baby Rowan and Pa." Hmmm...

Friends at last?

Ben and I had this conversation on the way to school one day.

Ben: When Reed turns two will he be a baby anymore?
Me: Well, he will be a little boy.
Ben: Oh! Then he can be my friend!
Me: Yes!
Ben: Will you be sad when Reed grows up?
Me: No, I like all the different ages that my kids are.
Ben: Oh.

So now I'm wondering...after November 22 are my boys going to suddenly be best friends and get along marvelously? That's what I'm hoping for!

dancing mouth

Ben: "Mommy, try this," (hands me a Capn' Crunch Berry), "It makes your mouth dance."

Beauty Rest

Ben was laying on the sofa with a blanket over him yesterday. He called to me, "Would you make me some pasta, I can't move, I need to get my beauty rest." What! Where did he hear that?! He certainly didn't hear me saying it!

A memory...

The boys have been sick off and on for a couple weeks and it made me think of last winter when they were both sick with the stomach flu and throwing up all the time. One morning I went into Ben's room and he had thrown up in his bed during the night and then slept in it. It was matted in his hair and all over his face...he looked up at me and said in shock, "someone threw up in my bed!". We couldn't convince him that he did it and it kind of made us chuckle. I always feel bad for them when they are sick and don't understand why they feel the way they do.

He's a genius!

We were driving in the car today and Ben said that he wanted to go get pumpkins. I told him that we would go next week and that he could get two pumpkins, Reed could get two pumpkins and Daddy could get one pumpkin. Then I asked him how many pumpkins that was. He answered "five" right away! It is so fun to see your children grow and develop and to see how smart they are!

Trapped

The other morning the boys woke up around 7:00 am. For some reason Ben couldn't get the door opened. They were both crying and we heard Ben say to Reed, "Reed, we're trapped!"

So Reed

I love this picture. I have it on my fridge. It is SO Reed!

"Honey"

Instead of calling me "Mom", Ben now calls me "Honey". He doesn't really understand that it is a term of endearment so he says it in all contexts. It is pretty funny. People always get a chuckle out of it. I don't know if he got it from Ted calling me "Honey" or if he got it from me saying it to him. I think it is cute, it always makes me smile.

"No way...nice"

Ben has recently developed "surfer talk". His favorite phrase when he likes something is, "no way" and then when he realizes it is true, "nice". Another phrase commonly used is, "are you kidding me?!" I don't know where he has picked it up, but I sure get a kick out of it!

So gross!

Last night Reed was playing with some marbles on the floor while I was making dinner. I was watching him pretty closely because I didn't want him to put the marbles in his mouth. (Side note: Reed loves putting things in his pockets. If he doesn't have a pocket he thinks putting stuff up his shorts is like a pocket.) He was putting the marbles up his shorts trying to get them to stay. I looked over and saw that he had something on his hands...oh yes is was...he was putting the marbles right into his diarrhea diaper! I went over and grabbed him and ran to the changing table. When I took his diaper off diarrhea marbles were all over the place! Needless to say, the marbles went in the trash and Reed went in the bath. Not the most pleasant part of having curious children!

A good watcher?

This is a conversation Ben and I had last night:

Ben: What are we going to do when I wake up in the morning?

Me: You have your first day of school!

Ben: I don't know my teachers and I don't want to go by myself.

Me: Daddy and I are both going with you.

Ben: (Big smile) Oh! But what about Reed.

Me: Lizzy is coming to watch him.

Ben: Her is not a good watcher. Well, her is a good watcher...just not when Reed blows things up.

(Last time Liz was watching the boys Reed bit into a plastic ball filled with red liquid that splashed all over and stained my newly cleaned carpet. I guess Ben isn't going to let her live it down!)

"Come to papa"

Today Ben was trying to get a blanket off the bed and he kept repeating, "Come to papa, come to papa, come to papa" until he got the blanket. Then he turned to me and said, "Let's go amigos!". I don't know where he gets this stuff!

What a memory

Recently Ben has been remembering things in great detail that happened a long time ago. Two examples:

I was looking through an IKEA catalog and Ben casually looked over my shoulder and said, "I've been there before. They have ice cream and I had chocolate milk and french fries. They have a place to eat inside. They have a spaceship chair with a cover and Pa spinned me around and around in it. We went there at night." First of all, I don't know how he knew the catalog and the store were the same! Second of all, we were there last winter, and he remembered all of this.

I told Ben we were going to be going to a baseball game and he said, "I've been to a baseball game before. It's far away." I told him it wasn't too far away and he said, "Yes it is, I saw Bryce play baseball and it was far away." Then I remembered, we did watch Bryce play baseball last summer and it was kind of far away! I can't believe he can remember all of that from a year ago!

When Daddy was a Girl!

Recently we found some photos of when Ted was young. There was one picture, Ted was about three, and he was wearing a cream colored sweater and had longish, curly hair. Ben saw it and said, "Is that a picture of when Daddy was a girl?".

"It's stuck"

Reed has a favorite saying of the moment as well. "It's stuck" is used all the time around our house. You would be surprised how useful this phrase is and in how many contexts it works for. For example:

If Reed can't get a toy out of the toy box..."it's stuck".

If he wants juice and can't open the fridge..."it's stuck".

If he gets stranded on the bed and can't get down..."it's stuck".

If his hands are sticky from a Popsicle..."it's stuck".

If both his legs get through the same hole in the high chair..."it's stuck".

There are many more ways in which this is used as well (I just can't think of them all right now). It is fun to have him talking and be able to understand what he needs and means!

"Actually..."

Ben's favorite and most used word of the moment is "actually". He uses it all the time. Everyone gets a kick out of it. It is cute to hear such a big word coming out of a little guys mouth. The funny thing is, he uses it correctly too.

New Grandpa

A few days ago I told Ben that Grandpa was coming to visit (my Father-in-law). Ben started thinking and I could see the little wheels turning in his head. He then said, "Grandma got a new Grandpa!?", (my Mother-in-law remarried just over a year ago, apparently this just dawned on Ben). He finished with, "I guess she didn't need the old one anymore!".

Treasure

The other day I was remembering when my oldest son was about two and my brother would tease him by saying, "You're such a treasure". It would make Ben mad and he would reply in his cute baby voice, "I not treasure, I Benton".

I was reminding my sister about it and she said I should write it down so I would always remember it. This spurred me to start this blog. Now I can record all the cute and funny things my kids do to tell them about when they are older. Now I'll have a treasure of my own!