Swim Class

Paul was promoted after two days of swim lessons. I signed him up for the preschool class and his teachers decided he should be in the level 1 class. Way to swim, Paul! Today, they worked on jumping into the deep water from the edge of the pool.

The teachers are another story. They’re very sweet, very tan, very attractive teenagers or maybe college-age kids. Isn’t amazing how attractive all young people seem to be? I don’t remember ever looking like these models. The oldest pictures I have of me on my computer are from 2003, um I mean just a year ago. I didn’t look as good as these kids when I was 28. Maybe I’ll look through an older photo album and find a better shot…

A Horse Named Cow

TJ loves stuffed animals. He carries them around and hugs and even feeds them. He is so nurturing, he fed Paul's Spiderman some toast for breakfast. I bet Spiderman was hungry; Paul has never fed him. TJ finds animals at friends' houses, at the store and just about everywhere we go.

His favorite lovie is Cow. Well, most of them he calls 'cow' because he doesn't know the names of all of the animals yet. However, his favorite is a horse that he's named Cow. Below, Cow goes upstairs for bedtime.
Here, Cow plays before bedtime. Cow likes to play all the same games TJ likes. If you look closely, you can see he likes all the same food TJ likes. He doesn't go everywhere, but when TJ sees him, he'll call out, "Cow, Cow!" TJ's a great sleeper, but he's especially happy to go to bed when Cow comes along. Love you, love you. Night, night.

*The only reason TJ is holding Cow so roughly in all of these pictures is because I kept asking him to "show me Cow" and then I couldn't get the shot before he was off and running again. I managed to get the top picture, but not in focus. This pair is too quick for my paparazzi skills.

A Grand Visit

Nanna and Poppy came to see us this weekend. Coker and Poppy challenged each other to a pull up contest of some sort. I'm not sure who won that one, but Paul won the hanging contest. He scored an official time of 20 seconds. I was able to hang for 20 seconds, but my time was not official.

Nanna was in good spirits and we enjoyed getting to play with her. I think she was a little disappointed that I didn't get the garage sale together. She rode all this way but didn't get to shop. At least TJ can say "Nanna." He and Paul made up for my laziness.

Paul and Poppy played and gave each other monkey bumps.

TJ got a case of "Poppy hair" after being sprayed with the water hose.

Back to "Why"

I love that Paul recognizes that God made the earth and everything in it. He proves this belief with his “why” questions. (Yes, we’re back on the why questions.)

Paul: “Why does God make us itch?”

Me: Why do we itch? Doesn't scratching just tear up the skin? Think, think! “Well, uh, I’m not sure. Maybe He makes us itch so we’ll know when there’s a bug on us and scratch it off. Why do you think…”

Paul: Cutting me off, “Why did God make bugs?”

Me: Easier. I can handle this one. “Well, bugs are helpful. They eat trash and dead things and bees make honey and butterflies are pretty.”

Paul: “And frogs eat bugs.”

Me: Alright, he's working with me now. “Yes. God probably made bugs so frogs would have something to eat.”

Paul: “Did you know bees have a thing on the tree where they eat honey?”

Me: “A beehive?”

Paul: Motioning with his hands, “A thing where they eat the honey.”

Me: I recognize that motion from a book. “Like in the Berenstain Bears Big Honey Hunt?”

We talked on and on. These conversations with Paul are so precious to me I wish I could record every one. Sometimes he’ll tell me about his day or about a cartoon he watched. I picked him up after work recently and he talked for at least 5 minutes straight with no input from me. It’s not that I didn’t want to comment. I had no opportunity. He is his father’s son, and I love him for it.

More New Words

TJ added two new words to his working vocabulary today: ight and keen. He pointed to the light switch and said "ight." When I carried him to the switch, he flipped the lights on and off, laughing each time. He repeated "on" after I'd said it about 20 times, but not "off." He got a little frustrated when I didn't know what he wanted as he said "keen" repeatedly after breakfast. He finally pointed to the paper towels, so I gave him one. He took it over to his chair, wiped it down, and pronounced it "keen." Later, he said, "I wan keen," as I got out the mop. I handed him a dust mop and he helped me with the floor. What an appropriate word for my helper baby.

Swimming

We went swimming at a local pool this week. Paul "swims" well in his life vest, kicking his legs and paddling with his arms, so I let him try the children's slides while I watched. A little girl helped him find his way and decided Paul should be her little buddy. Paul did not want to be a little buddy and shook her loose at every opportunity. She wanted to hold his hand and tried to introduce him to her friends, but he slipped away every time.

Luckily, TJ sticks with me in the water. At one point, I had Paul in one arm and TJ in the other. TJ gave me a big wet kiss on the cheek, so Paul did the same on the other cheek. I can't remember being happier!

New Toy

Just as much as Paul loves new toys, maybe even more, I love new toys. I don't love Transformers or Star Wars figures or the Batman sword Paul's been eyeing at Target. Incidentally, does Batman use a sword? Paul's excitement ends when he realizes that there's something more he's missing in the line. He found a Batman toy in his cereal box and is crushed because he didn't get the Joker. He can't understand why I refuse to buy more cereal before he finishes the box we have.

Back to me. I love new electronics, and kitchen gizmos, but today it's electronics. I didn't get anything fancy like the new IPhone. I got new cordless phones with a new answering machine! I know you're excited for me. I squealed when I saw the box on the front porch, though I restrained myself enough to let Paul bring it inside for me. I charged them and programmed them and tried to wake Coker with the intercom feature. He's too sleepy to feign interest, and just complained, "what is that noise?" That's OK. I'll still be excited tomorrow, because I can call him from upstairs and ask him to bring me something. Finally, we are even. Now my voice also can be heard throughout the house!

TJ Loves Mama

TJ loves mama. (And mama loves TJ.) When I’m out of his sight, he’ll call out “mama, mama” long and loud. Coker started carrying him to the car, but TJ didn’t see me ahead. Not wanting to leave without me, he loudly called “MAAMAA.” Based the volume he achieved, he’s going to have Coker’s booming voice.

Vinegar to the Teeth

Reading in Proverbs made me think of Paul. Proverbs 10:26 reads "As vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes, so is a sluggard to those who send him." Sending Paul to do some simple chore, like getting dressed, can be like smoke in my eyes. I think I'll start using both of those expressions with him.

He's not really a sluggard. You can tell by looking at his muscles. He's a strong kid. He's got muscles from playing hard, which is what he really needs to be doing. Just with clothes on.

Helper Baby

TJ is my helper baby. He brings his shoes if I mention that we’re going somewhere. He loves to sweep anytime I sweep or mop or vacuum. He even tries to help load and unload the dishwasher. (I have to be quick to keep the knives out of his reach.)

A quick way to get him out of a tantrum is to ask him to bring something. Coker asked him to bring a book this evening as I tried to make dinner with a crying baby underfoot. He stopped crying immediately and went to the cabinet to choose a book.

This does not mean TJ is a neat freak. After our spaghetti dinner, we ate popsicles outside with the sprinkler running to rinse our sticky boys as they ate. Of course, TJ helped me pick up the popsicle sticks after he and Paul finished playing with them.

Paul Has a Crush

Paul has a crush on a little girl from church. On Sunday, we ate lunch at restaurant with several families and Paul ate at the kids’ table. After lunch, all he could talk about was Maddie. He wrote her a “letter” which had a flower drawn on it and “PauL TJ” written with a capital L and a backwards J. Coker helped Paul address an envelope and we could not do anything else before we mailed the letter.

Everyday, Paul asks if we can see Maddie. At lunch, he asks if we can eat with Maddie. Thank goodness she was at church tonight and Paul got to talk to her at the snow cone social. Did I mention she’s 8? Paul, like his grandfather and great-grandfather, likes the older ladies. Maddie’s dad called her a cougar. I think she’s a pretty little girl who is very sweet to my little boy.

July 4 Fireworkers

For the fourth of July, we watched fireworks at the FW Botanic Gardens while listening to the Symphony Orchestra.

Paul turned his and TJ's flags first into swords, then into drumsticks. He may not be the most patriotic boy, but at least he drummed along with the orchestra to a patriotic song.

TJ loved the "fireworkers," as Paul called them. TJ oohed and ahhed and I'm sure I heard "wow." Paul danced around and looked for more juice.

A good time was had by all, until we had to get all of our stuff out to the parking lot.

Look, I'm wearing Power Ranger Underwear

Paul is the subject of much of my conversation, but today his Sunday school teacher had a story to tell about him. She keeps a mental list of things she's said that she never would have imagined having cause to say. On this list are things like, "you have to finish your french fries before you get any ice cream" and "don't lick your sister." Today Paul helped her add to this list.

One little boy in class went to the bathroom and came out with his pants down to show off his Batman underwear. Paul, not wanting to be outdone, tried to pull his pants down just in back to show the Red Power Ranger on his undies. As Paul unsnapped and began to unzip, his teacher imagined a class of pantless 3-year-olds. She found herself declaring, "we don't take our pants off in Bible class."

So, Paul adds richness to the life of everyone he meets.

TJ Talks

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VBS 2008

Craft time in the 4th grade

Paul walks through the wilderness toward the Red Sea with good friend, Colby

The 4th grade waits for Passover

VBS has been fun. Coker and I taught in the 4th grade class, which is to say we worked crowd control. We were not responsible for much, but really enjoyed getting to spend time with the kids. We helped Todd Robinson and Betty Autry, who are both pros. I love Gram Betty; she’s been teaching 4th grade long enough that she taught Todd and several of the parents of the present class. We helped with crafts and learned along with the kids. I feel like I was in VBS.

TJ did alright. He’s so clingy that staying in the nursery was a battle for him. It was late and he wanted mama. He watched part of the show tonight and really enjoyed it (for a while). He stood in my lap clapping, pointing, waving and talking.

Paul loved VBS. He woke up each morning since the first night asking if we would go today. He sat with friends to watch the show and seemed to know all the kids his age. It made my heart swell to see him waving and talking to so many of his friends.

New Shoes

TJ loves his new shoes. He brought them to me to put on before we even had breakfast. Maybe it's because size 7 feels so good after having his 6.5-sized feet shoved into 5.5-sized shoes for too long.