Isms

It has been a long time since I took the time to write out some of my favorite "isms" of Joshua and Grace.  As chief toddler translator I feel pretty satisfied with my fluency in their language, though I must admit, there are times I have to ask a couple times and still just have to say, "Oh really?!  Wow!" and shamefully shake my head thinking I have no clue what my child just said to me.  I love the development of language.  I love the little things they say and I miss them when they replace them with the "right" combination of words.  I love to see their little brains working as they communicate and I LOVE that crying is no longer our primary mode of communication (though it definitely is still secondary.....a very close second, I might add).  I find so much freedom when they come to me crying and I can kneel down and ask them to stop crying and tell me with words.  And oh the words they will say!

Joshua:
There is something so unique about the way Joshua speaks.  He has this lilt and rhythm to his speech that is so unlike any of our other children.  He is deliberate with his words and often pauses between them to find just the right word to say.  He is very expressive.

• Probably my current absolute favorite of his: Hold it back!  Hold it back means, pick it up with your hands.  When I feed him PB & J he will tell me, "hold it back, Mom!"
• Run ex-a-ater!  This means will you please drive by the excavators.
• Oshua!  This is how he says his name, Joshua.
• Hey Mom!  Pretty self explanatory there, but he loves to say it to get my attention and I MUST respond!
• Do this!=I can do it myself.
• Es.  Joshua adds "es" on to the end of anything he wants to make plural.  Right now some of my favorites include: blockses, eyeses, ballses.  So cute!

Gracie:
There is nothing unexpected about Grace's language development, though it is soooooooooooo different to me as compared to our boys!  Grace has LOTS to say, when the boys just say a few things about something, she'll carry on a long conversation about it.  She has a sweet, nurturing tone to her voice already and will speak sweetly to babies, baby dolls, toys, etc.  She also knows how to use her voice to tattle on her brothers when they may have poked her one too many times.  Yes, little girls definitely know how to express displeasure!

• Color paper=I'd like to color on paper with crayons, please!  (This is one of Grace's most favorite activities).
• Uhhhhhh...hansonbed! = What happens when you disobey?  Hands on bed!
• Oh my gosh, rejoice! =This is her version of one of the songs we sing during worship.  The real words are "Oh my soul, rejoice."
• Mommmmmmmmmyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy! This one is pretty self explanatory, too, but she will do this, loudly, until I respond.  When I ask her what she needs she will usually respond with, "Oh, I see cars (or whatever else she sees out the window--we usually play this game in the car)!
• Cupisome or Upisome=May I have a cup, please or will you pick me up, please?
• Right back a minute!= I'll be right back in just a minute!

As is always the case when I sit down to write these down, I forget all of them!  I know there are more....as I think of them, I will add!

By the way, when doing a post on toddler isms, spell check will hate you.

Five Years

Five years.  Wow.  It sounds like such a long amount of time and yet, it has gone by in an instant.  Jacob turned five this week and he was so sweetly excited for his big day!  He woke up and ran to give me a hug saying, "Mommy!  I am FIVE today!"

We've decided recently that we want birthdays to be more about memories and less about "stuff."  So we are skipping big parties and endless trains of presents and going for special moments with each one of our children.  This year we allowed Jacob to take one friend from church with us to spend a day up at the Cincinnati Children's Museum.  Chris took the day off work and oh, what a fun, special, and memorable day it was!  On his actual birthday we went to church where he received his much anticipated birthday sticker from his BFG teacher and then had lunch at Cici's.  We opened gifts from family (us, aunts, and grandparents) and then had a nice afternoon rest enjoying some new things.  He requested breakfast for dinner and had John Deere cake afterward.

It was truly a great day together as a family!  He seemed to love it, Chris and I loved it....everyone was happy celebrating the special gift Jacob is in our family!

Dear Jacob,
My little boy is getting SO grown up!  Happy fifth birthday, son!  I love you so much and I've had so much fun this week preparing for your birthday and reflecting on all God did in our lives to bring you here.  You don't know this now, but Mommy and Daddy waited and waited and prayed and prayed for the precious gift of a child.  Sometimes Mommy though I might never get to be a mommy!  God provided for us one of the deepest desires of our hearts when He gave us you!  We were so excited to become YOUR mommy and daddy.  We'd longed for you for so long and now, here you are, five years old!

It is hard for me to think about all that will happen during this year, the year you are five.  You will start kindergarten and become more interested in friends.  You'll play T-Ball and have more and more of an interest in "guy stuff" you do with your Dad.  I'm thankful you still have moments you are just a silly little boy who wants and needs to snuggle with his Mommy.

I love you, sweet Jacob.  We go through our ups and downs and can get pretty annoyed with each other, but I want you to know that through all of it, I still love you--more than you will ever understand.  I adore all God created you to be and I look forward with great anticipation to what He will guide you to become.

You are so bright, so thoughtful, so loving, encouraging, faithful....I hope you keep all of these character traits as you grow.  I beg the Lord to continue to pierce your heart to know more and more of Him and long for Jesus to be Lord in your life.

Happy Birthday, Jacob.  You are my son, who I prayed for!  I love you!

Mommy