Holy Ghost

Jacob is very curious about the Holy Ghost lately. Tonight he told Rick with great conviction, “Dad, the Holy Ghost is telling me that monkeys aren’t real.”

Asher

Asher wanted to wear his pants with both of his legs in one pant leg. When I asked him to fix his pants, he sighed, “But, Mom, just let me be what I wanna be!”

Papa!

We were reading bedtime stories together when Drew spotted this picture. He instantly pointed and squealed, “It’s Papa!!”

I think he’s right!!

Fun Jake

Jacob was jumping and spinning snd somersaulting. He paused to explain, “The Holy Ghost gives me power to do this.”

Jake sternly told Rick, “I got my eye on you…” Then he softened his tone and added, “But, Dad, what does that even mean?”

Jake looked at me and sweetly sighed, “Jesus made all of us stuck together.”

I told Jake that he was cute and he proudly responded, “Yeah, I am lots of fun.”

And this is the outfit that he dressed himself in today, inside-out and backwards shirt and backwards pants with the button undone:

Yup, Jake, you ARE lots fun!

The Spirit of God

Today Jacob’s teacher asked him what his last name was. In a solemn voice Jacob reverently replied, “My last name is… The Spirit of God.”

He’s such a funny kid! He is creative, imaginative, and inventive. He’s very physical and totally hilarious. He’s still incredibly intense, but he also has such a sweet, loving, gentle, thoughtful side to him as well. I love watching a child’s personality emerge as they grow. They are each so unique.

~~~

Also noteworthy today: Joshua took the Sacrament for the first time in about three months and he did not throw it up. What a milestone! He’s doing well on soft foods (stuff that could be easily mashed with a fork). I am so thankful for his amazing progress!

The Right Attitude

Asher and Braden raced in the door, with Braden slightly ahead. Braden pumped his fist and triumphantly exclaimed, “Yes! I got first place!”

Not to be outdone, Asher exclaimed, “Yes! I got the first second place!”

Asher Quotes

Asher loved the Discovery Center. He happily exclaimed, “This is my best day ever in my whole wide life!”

***

I woke up Sunday morning to find that Asher was the only one awake and that Mom and Dad has already left for church. With wide eyes, Asher told me, “This was just like Home Alone!” Then he added, “I was all alone and I had to survive!”

***

Asher explained, “Mom, I’m so stinkin’ cute. That means I’m cute and a little bit stinky.”

***

Asher was very excited to show me something. He urged me to follow him to the bathroom where he shined his flashlight into the mirror above the sink. “I can see into another dimension. See? Its another dimension that looks just like here.”

Asher’s Balloon

“Do you know how much that balloon meant to me? It meant to me so much that when it’s broken it feels like my heart is breaking.”

~ Asher, sobbing after his big balloon broke

I wrote it down because the way he said it was so cute and sad. But the truth is, Asher has every right to cry over anything that makes him sad. So I just held that sweet, beautiful boy in my arms while he sobbed great big tears. Poor guy. He really was crushed. After he had a good cry and a long hug, he cheered up and went off to play again.

I think it’s important to let kids feel emotions without making them feel guilty or silly or unheard. It’s important to validate their feelings, and let them have ownership over their own emotions. It’s important to realize that popped balloons really are a big deal in a four-year-old’s world.

Jake’s Party

Jake loves to make “parties” for his toys. He spreads a blanket (usually with help) and then carefully lines up his favorite toys around the edges. His three pandas are always in attendance, along with Baby Iron Man, Mama Iron Man, a few more stuffed animals, a random assortment of cars and trucks, and his favorite story books. Everything is lined up so meticulously and Jake works hard to make these “parties” just right for his favorite little friends.

Yesterday Jake was upset that his party wasn’t coming together like he planned. He sat in my lap and tearfully told me about all the things that were going wrong. He couldn’t find the right spot for his party, his blanket wouldn’t spread right and then it wasn’t big enough, several of his friends kept falling over instead of sitting up. He was quite distraught.

After laying out all the terrible details, Jake put his hand over his face and sobbed dramatically, “Oh, I just can’t do this anymore!”

Don’t worry- with a little help from Mom, the party went off without a hitch.

Funnies

Jake asked me to help him and then sadly explained, “I need to set up a party, but I can’t. I’m just way too little to spread a blanket.”

He loves to make parties for his animals and babies. He spreads out a blanket, and lines up all his favorite friends and toys around the edges of the blanket. Then he sits with all of them. It’s super cute every time.

***

From the other room, I heard Jake shout, “Yes! It worked! I am awesome!” I have no idea what he did, but it sounds like it was pretty cool.

***

Asher has a favorite shirt. It’s a hand-me-down from his cousin, Jaxon, and he loves it. He wants to sleep in it every night. Last night as he was changing, he said, with great excitement, “Look, Mom! I’m finally growing into this shirt!”

***

And Drew! Drew cracks me up constantly with the things he says. He has such a funny, mostly unintelligible way of speaking! He uses so many different words, sounds, noises, and gestures, and he speaks with so much inflection and emotion in his voice. I don’t understand 3/4 of what he says (though I am getting better), but everything he says makes me laugh because of the way he says it.