Happy New Year!

The boys have finally calmed down from the excitement of Christmas. Carter is being particularly sweet to me, wanting to climb in my lap and "snuggle buggle" with me several times a day. At this very moment, he's placing my crown (wedding tiara) on my head. He told me, "Don't worry, I'll be very careful." So, here I sit with my crown on my head. Unfortunately, I don't feel too empowered by it.
Yesterday, we had 10 extra family with us at church. It was fun trying to keep all 5 kids, ages 6 and under, in one pew and quiet. Then we all went to Ramsey's for lunch. It was fun to catch up with Nathan's cousins. The amazing thing was that my old friend Lora and her whole family came in while we were there. She is visiting from Indianapolis for the holiday. Just as Carter's Mickey Mouse pancakes were delivered, she leaned down and asked "Hey Carter, do you remember me?" He reluctantly took his eyes off his pancakes and looked her square in the eyes, and seriously requested, "Can we talk about this later?" She burst out into loud cackles and proceeded to tell her whole party what Carter had just said. I just closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. I told her I was sorry but she really didn't hear me. She was too busy laughing. Later, I walked back to her table to talk about visiting with them before they leave Lexington and her husband asked Carter, "Hey Carter, you're getting so big! Did you have a big Christmas?" Carter looked at him, sized him up and asked, "who are you?" He responded he was Peyton Manning the quarterback for the Colts. Carter, unaffected and obviously unimpressed, asked, "Who are you?" Lora and her whole family howled with laughter. Then, as they they focused on Will, Carter disappeared. I looked and saw him at the other end of the restaurant talking to each table. I quickly, and politely as possible, excused myself and found out that he was asking each patrons at every single table "Did you have good Christmas?" Each table seemed charmed by this blond 4 year old spreading holiday cheer. Heaving a sigh of relief, I was happy he wasn't asking each one of them for money or candy.
Right now, I'm sitting on the couch, in my tiara, between my two boys. Carter on my right, looking through a stack of toy catalogues left over from Christmas and Will on my left trying to press any button he can on the computer. Carter is still in his pajamas, and Will has removed his pants and socks. Will is whining because he was hitting himself in the head with a small jewelry box. Carter, without even looking up from his catalogue responded matter-of-factly, "You did it yourself, Will." And that seemed to make sense to Will. Made sense to me.
Now it's time to get everyone in the car and head to the grocery. Time to spread some more cheer in the neighborhood.

I'll Love You Forever

Tonight, before Carter fell asleep next to me, he told me that he would love me even if I were dead or frozen. That is good to hear. He asked me about 30 minutes earlier if I would love him if he was frozen so I told him about the story of the mother who would crawl into her son's room and say "I'll love you forever, I'll like you for always, As long as I'm alive, my baby you'll be." He also asked me if being dead hurts. But then added, "you get to go to heaven and then get your glorified body, and come back with Jesus." He knows his stuff.
This sweet moment was actually uncharacteristic from the last few days. Christmas takes a toll on four year old boys who get to go toy shopping with Papa. When he left on this excursion, we were assured that he would be picking out one toy. Of course, this is my father we are talking about and he's, well, a soft touch, too. His intention was to get Carter a big firetruck he could ride on and that actually squirted water. Carter told him that he really just wanted a fire truck he could push around inside. Somewhere in this shopping spree, Carter said that he really had all he wanted for Christmas - "I love God and I have God in my heart." I'm sure that didn't hurt his prospects.
But these are the sweet, good things you want to remember. I don't want to remember his back-talking and stubborness that resulted in no less than 3 disciplinary actions before Christmas Dinner. As the day wore on, he seemed to calm down and be less overwhelmed. He was definitely more charming. Unfortunately, the bad attitude returned the next morning and has reappeared every day since. It gets so tiring to continually correct inappropriate behavior.
But tonight he was sweet and cuddly. Giggling and beautiful.
In stark contrast was his delightful little brother. Will was cute the whole time. He got irritable around bed time but every other minute, he was smiling and entertaining. He learned from his Papa about muscles. If you ask him to see his muscle, he will rub his belly. His Papa's corresponding muscle is much bigger. All in good time, grasshopper. He said new words like horse. And showed off how smart he is. He understands so much of what we are saying. You can tell him to do things and he does them! Of course, Carter can understand these words of direction but refuses to follow them. So I'm not sure if we are amazed that he understands or that he actually does what we ask. He toddles around the house, with his blond hair sticking up in the back and a happy, innocent smile illuminating his face. He's like his mama, though. He doesn't like to share his food. He, Carter, and I were all sharing an orange and he would get angry when Carter would take his part. It's hard to encourage him to share with happiness when you know how he's feeling. It was a good orange, dripping sweet.
We are bird sitting for some of our friends, and Will is fascinated by these tiny creatures. He points at them and smiles like they are preternatural beings. They chirp and get excited every so often and he is drawn to their cage. He utters raspy giggles and is delighted by them head to toe. We'll be sad to see them go home on Sunday. Of course, these are the best kind of pets - they get to go back home once their novelty has worn off.
Finally, as Carter's and Will's presents formed a Mount Everest in our living room, Carter said Christmas was his favorite day. I said "because you get all these fun toys?" "No," he answered "because it's all about God!" "Oh, of course" "And all the CANDY!" "Right."
Oh, and don't play this kid at Candyland. He cannot be beaten.

This is Carter's Favorite Holiday

The last two days have been full of activity - getting ready for Christmas and Santa Claus and Mimi and Papa. It's hard to know how to even start. Let's begin with the surprise visit from our friend Prentiss. He is an old friend of ours, who lives in San Francisco and is excellent at relating the crazy things that happen to him. He's a structural engineer, athletic, and pretty random. He enjoys doing things that are different. For example, he picked us up from the airport in S.F. wearing a bright orange KY federal prison jumper and a cowboy hat. He really enjoys coming over and getting our kids all riled up and then leaving. Someday, he'll find the perfect girl and then he'll have a house full and we will return the favor - only we'll know how to do it better.
Anyway, he dropped by last night and Carter immediately switched on for our company. Prentiss tried to catch up with us while this 4 year old Tazmanian Devil rotated fiercely around him. Then, the eye of the storm. Carter plopped on the couch and announced that he would like to say a prayer for us all. We all supported that idea, secretly hoping it would calm the energy level. He instructed us to close our eyes. Baby Will assumed the position - head bowed and hands loosely clasped. We all bowed our heads and then Carter said, "I'll just start out by saying 'God, thank you...' you know." We thought maybe we were supposed to all say something that we were thankful for and he suddenly started, "God, thank you for all the people who come to our house. This is my favorite holiday because it's all about YOU" <> "and because I get all kinds of toys." I peeked around the room and Nathan and Prentiss still had their eyes closed and both were struggling to not to laugh out loud. Carter finished up his prayer and Prentiss was moved to clap. Carter was visibly startled by the clapping. Nathan said, "we're clapping for God." Carter said "Yay God!"
Will, on the other hand really took up with Prentiss which really shocked us. Will hangs close to his immediate family, and his mama in particular. He leaned right up next to Prentiss' leg and drank from his sippy cup. Prentiss seemed to like it; he likes kids though. We were even further delighted when Will spent the entire time in the nursery at church today and didn't even cry at all. We are buzzed every week to come get our miserable little boy. We were so surprised, in fact, we kept looking at the pager wondering if maybe it was broken.
Tonight Will was being so funny. Nathan told Carter to take his finger out of his nose. Will, sitting in my lap, hears the word nose and starts squeezing his nose and saying "gonk gonk" (honk honk). I praised him for being correct. Then I said,"what do you do with your nose? Smell?" and he held an imaginary something up to his nose and inhaled loudly a couple of times. I asked him where a ball was and he leaned over and started looking toward the toy box. I said "yep, that's where the balls are." It's truly amazing the things he understands although he can't speak too much.
Tonight we decorated some allergy free sugar cookies. They are very tasty! Carter really loaded them down with all kind of different sprinkles. After Will ate a small one, he cried so hard and his little hands desperately made the sign for "Please" that I couldn't tell him no. I found one with no icing and gave it to him. He looked up at me with his big, round, blue eyes, tears trickling down his face, and gently took the small star shaped cookie. Then I realized why he's partial to me. I'm a soft touch.

Super Powers

Carter announced to us last night that he has two super powers: the power to pray and the power to love. I don't know where he learns these things, but those are some really profound super powers. He's into superheros and asks us all the time what our super powers are. We joke around with him saying that our powers are something funny. For example, the other night, I said my super power was the ability to construct any meal with creamy chicken soup. He thought that was a sad super power. Well, sure, if he's got those great powers of prayer and love. As we sat at the table, he explained to me that God is everywhere. He is 14 hundred, 3 in 1. I started to correct him on the 1400 part when he said "what I mean is that God is everywhere. In every place. He's in the living room. He's on my arm. He's in my heart. I know he's in my heart." Nathan told him that not everyone believes in God and don't want him in their hearts. He asked Carter what we should we do to these people. Carter said "We just tell them! God is real! He is everywhere. He just hides, you can't see him, because he's invisible." It reminded me of the passage where Christ says to his heavenly Father, "you have hidden these things from the learned and wise and have revealed them to little children" (that's paraphrase).
Carter loves to tell people about God. On our way back from vacation, we had a long lay-over in Atlanta. As we waited in a gate area, Carter set up a church service. He explained that I would need to move my stroller because this was a church service and if I didn't move it, not everyone could see. There were some poinsettias around and he said they were there because there was going to be a wedding. But not right now. Right now was going to be the church service. He lined up me, his daddo, his brother, and three toys in seats and he stood up in front of us and preached a sermon. He said about everything he knows about God and then charged his congregation to love God. After the service was over and we walked off, he told one man to learn more about God. This man was from India and I'm pretty sure he didn't understand very well what Carter said and he smiled really big and Carter yelled "Happy Christmas!" and waved as we walked off. Then we had to take an elevator as we were changing terminals. An elderly lady in a wheelchair also entered the elevator. Carter said something about God and really old people - as Nathan and I tried to divert everyone's attention off of the loose cannon. Carter may be ready to tell the world about God, but we need to work on his tact. She was pretty old though. I don't think she could hear him.

The Fastest Thing on Earth

Carter just went up to bed and as he walked up the stairs, he paused and said, "I wish I could see what I look like inside your brain." Wow! That's pretty deep for a 4 year old.
When he first began his zealousness for God's supremeness, he mentioned it a lot more than he does now. Let me put that in perspective. Now, he only mentions it about 4 - 5 times a day. Before, it was a part of every conversation. For example, "Carter, I need to run to the bathroom, can you keep your eye on Will?" "God doesn't have to go to the bathroom." So, now, that he has it established that God is the best, I guess he can ease up on us some.
We were traveling up Nicholasville Road one day, heading toward downtown as a helicopter was making it's way to one of the hospitals just ahead of us. I was driving and Nathan began to cheer me on, "You can beat it. Go!" He elicited help from Carter. I finally explained to Carter that the helicopter was going to win because it didn't have to stop at red lights or navigate traffic. Nathan playfully kept the game going. Then Carter said, "You know what the fastest thing on earth is?" We answered that we didn't, and he replied: "God in a fire truck!" Amen.
Will has discovered an old toy of Carter's. It's a toy telephone that Papa got for Carter when he was about Will's age. It counts and has animal sounds. Will only likes the dog and if you turn the selection, he shakes his head no and says, "Daw!" and then blows a couple short puffs (that's his version of barking). Once it's finally back, he points at it and again says "Daw" and barks some more and then makes the daw bark on the phone. This makes him laugh. Then, he will pick up the phone receiver and say "Hi? " and babble some other gibberish, say Mama and hand me the phone." It's funny because it's almost like he's asking a question to the phone.
The next cutest thing he's been doing lately is singing. It's breathy and sing-songy and beautiful. I hope we can catch it on video.

All the world's a stage

I'm tired tonight. I'm not sure if it is the cumulative effect of Will's nightly waking or the fact that Carter raced me home from the grocery store. He keeps insisting that we tied and I remind him that Will crossed the finish line first -even though Carter tried to trick us into stopping by saying "Hey look at that? What is that?' Nice try. Lucky for me, the last 1/2 a block was downhill because I was seriously behind before then.
Will understands so much these days it's amazing! If I ask for a kiss, he sucks his lips in to reveal his front teeth, resembling a chipmunk, and makes a kiss noise. Or, today, he walked halfway into the room presenting me with one of his shoes. I say, "Where's the other one?" He completely enters the room and shows me the pair. Clearly he wants me to put them on. I sit him in my lap and he points his toes indicating they are ready to go into the shoes. We put them on and he smiles and toddles off. Two minutes later he returns with a frown and presents his feet again. So, we take them off. I told him, next time, bring socks, too. His face twinkles with a smile and he says "gock" and goes back to play with his big brother. If Carter sits in my lap, Will must too. If Carter gives me a hug, Will can't be left out. If Carter kisses me, Will puckers up, too. Carter thinks its funny and enjoys watching how his little brother wants to be just like him.
Carter had a busy day. He made a special coloring project while creating a desk out of a folded up stroller turned on its side. See photo above. I thought it was rather ingenious. Later, he got so excited when the FedEx man knocked on the door that he chased him down the walk and wished him a Happy Christmas. The driver seemed delighted. He told every single person we encountered at the grocery that he likes candy. It paid off, just like he hoped: One man gave him a lollipop.
We had to discuss what he wants to get his Daddo for Christmas. He said matter-of-factly "a wishing well." Like its a tie or an electric razor. I was cautious.
"I don't know how we are going to get a wishing well. I guess we could draw one or make one..."
"I know! I got it! I'll go to a wishing well and wish for a wishing well."
"Hmm. I guess that could work. But what is your daddo going to do with a wishing well."
"Wish to fly. That's what everyone would wish for."
"Of course. Stupid question."
Carter on the other hand told me he would wish to be able to do everything and not ever get tired of it. That's what I'd wish tonight.
Or I wish I had a video of how much he liked his supper. Well, I guess he liked it. He looked at his spoon full of tilapia, couscous, and sauteed spinach and said , "This bite might be de-licious. I don't know." He put it in his mouth and closed his eyes. Then he began to do what I can only describe as a 1/2 slow dance, 1/2 Pentecostal spiritual experience. I asked "does that mean it's good or your going to throw up? I can't tell with all the undulating." I looked over at Nathan but he couldn't respond due to his own enjoyment of Carter's performance. The more we laughed, the longer this episode continued, eyes shut body gyrating to an unheard beat. We tried to get him to recreate the show, but he simply could not do it again for the camera. Then Nathan did his version of Carter's spell and my face hurt from laughing. We should have put that on camera, too. Tomorrow, I'll get a picture of Will.

My Big Helper

I told Nathan this story last night and he said I definitely need to write it down. So this will be a part 2 from yesterday.

Carter loves to be a helper. Particularly if cookies are being made. But, in general, he loves to help. I am guilty of being impatient and not letting him help as much as I should. Yesterday was a long day. Laundry, kitchen cleaning, and living room excavating were all on my to do list. Christmas decoration debris was everywhere. It seemed like the more I cleaned up, the more that there was to clean. I was already tired from Will's hour long crying session that began just after midnight. I would sweep a room and both Carter and Will would walk right through the dust pile, redistributing it every time I turned to sweep in a new direction. I was also responsible for feeding the three of us since Nathan was visiting his grandfather during the supper hour. By four o'clock I knew a trip to McDonald's was imminent. It's hard for me to admit that, but there it is. We went through the drive-through. Carter was excited to get a Happy Meal which is what he calls the toy; we've explained that it's the whole meal and he finally starting to get it.
Once we got home, I had many items to get into the house: Will, drinks, food, etc., etc. Carter started to insist that he could carry things in for me as I unstrapped Will from his carseat. I tried to direct him to take only what I thought he could carry. He kept refusing me, very kindly and earnestly, "no, no, no I can get it. You go on. I'll get it." I relented and carried Will into the house. I put him down, and turned to go back out to the car and here came my helper loaded down with two happy meals, and a juice box. I opened the door for him and he said, "Here ya go. There's just one more trip." I told him that he could come in and start eating and I would get it. He sweetly said, "Oh, no, no, no! I can get it for you." And he dashed off, returning with the rest of the booty.
I sat there dazed for a moment, realizing how big he's grown. I've tried putting a heavy book on his head, but he informs me that he's supposed to grow up. Kindergarten is only about 8 months away. That's shorter than pregnancy. Looks like I'll have to try cigarettes. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Decorating the Tree

Warning: Will didn't sleep well again last night and so I'm composing on two nights of abbreviated sleep.
Carter awoke today with just as much love for the Christmas tree as he fell asleep with. He wasted no time in uncovering all the ornaments and rather autonomously placing them on the tree. I tried to get him to slow down, to wait for me to help. He was a force of nature. There were empty boxes all over the place and tissue paper mounting on the couch. I wanted to help because he's only a little over 4 feet tall and the tree is 10 feet. So, as anyone might imagine, all of the ornaments were at the bottom of the tree. Actually, they were concentrated in a small area 3 feet square portion of one side. There is one branch with about 7 different colored bulbs hanging from it. It bends to an exaggerated arc now. I suggested that he let me start to redistribute the ornaments around to the higher parts, particularly the ones that could break. We wouldn't want Will to get hurt. He vehemently declined that idea. He thought it looked beautiful the way it was and still is.
He worked so hard at decorating the tree, with exceptional concentration and talking all the while. He woudn't stop to eat, only to drink some juice once. I was pretty impressed. I had to beg him to take a break. He put every last ornament on the tree. He was breathing heavy, in a dramatic fashion, sighed and said "I'm tired and thristy. Whew! I've been working hard, haven't I?"
That's when Will started plucking the ornaments from the branches like they were apples. He went right for the ones that look like shiny balls, swiftly dislodging them from their hooks and rendering him topless. That is when he would stick one on each index finger and walk around laughing and laughing at his funny trick. Do you know how hard it is to not laugh with him? Of course, laughing only encourages him, so you have to keep a very stern face.
We only lost three bulbs. Oh, and I moved all the expensive ones up the tree while Carter was drinking his juice. He may be the self-appointed head of the Christmas tree, but I am the self-appointed neck. And the neck turns the head.

Oh Christmas Tree

Nathan and the boys went out last night on an adventure and came back with a Christmas tree. A real live one. It smells good and if you just say the word "smell," Will puts whatever he should smell right to his nose and inhales in rapid fire style. So, this tree is quite nostalgic for us. It is just like a tree we had a few years ago. It doesn't have a top. In fact, both trees are concave at the top. The first one we had, was the fullest one we could find so close to Christmas and I voted for fullness over a pointy top. Nathan however, likes the pointy top. To solve this cosmetic flaw, Nathan duct taped a 4 foot artificial tree to the top, blending the two together in a rather crafty way. I must say, I was duly impressed. That Christmas, we had friends over for desserts and we carefully lit the room so that the already cleverly grafted together tree was even more convincing. All the males invited to the party began to discuss about whether our tree was real or artificial. "It's real. See, feel this part." "No, no. Feel this part! It's artificial." Their wives even stopped their conversation to witness their husbands with their heads literally submerged into our tree. Neither Nathan nor I said a word. We just smiled as they finally found the metal pole duct taped to the trunk. Then they all marveled and enjoyed our tree even more.
Yep, he did it again this year. It looks just as good as it did the first time. Probably even better. This time around, we have a 4 year old who sits and stares at the tree and begs to sleep in the same room with it illuminated all night long. His angelic, sleeping face glowing in the twinkling luminescence. He had a hard time falling to sleep. He had watched attentively as Nathan and I circled the tree with seemingly endless strands of white and colored lights. He talked the whole time, reminding us that he was in charge of the Christmas tree and that he is smart - he doesn't know why, that's just how God made him. When we had finished, his voice was full of expectant joy as he suggested we turn out the lights. As we did, he was overcome by it's beauty, "It's like a dream, but it's not. If this was a dream, I would be flying!" He said that Baby Will would not believe it when he woke up in the morning. He couldn't wait to show him.
Christmas is a wonderful time of year. Children make it even more so. I felt like sleeping in there, too.
He's in there now. Quietly sleeping. Visions of sugar plums dancing in his head.

The Theologian and the Apple Tree

Lately, Carter has been concerned with the superlativeness of God. In fact, we call it one-upping people with God. While we appreciate the eternal truth he is internalizing, it can be embarrassing when someone says, "Oh this candy is so sweet" and he responds with "God is sweeter." God is always stronger, faster, and just generally better. Or you might say "Carter, I love you so much" and he'll say, "I want you to love GOD!" These are but a few small examples of the constant reminder that God is bigger, better, and superlative to anything you can say or do. And really, how can you respond?? Sometimes I have to wonder if God is sending me a message through my 4 year old. When I'm worried about Will and his allergic reactions, it really is good to be reminded that I know who holds the Universe in his hand and who created my little lamb. We're pretty sure Carter has a future in the ministry or politics. Maybe both.
Two weeks ago tonight, we were packing our bags to go on a family vacation. Carter was to share a suitcase with Nathan. Nathan told Carter that he may pick two toys to take with him for the trip. The first was a given: Pounce. She is a beany baby cat semi-permanently borrowed from his Mimi. Carter and Pounce have a strong emotional bond. She went in the suitcase without hesitation. Then he puzzled over which of his other 2,000 toys would make the cut. His turmoil increased for about 15 minutes until inspiration came down from on high. His whole face lit up and he laughed an impish laugh. "I know! I got it! Him didn't say how big it had to be!" He ran off in whimsical joy to complete his packing duty. After a moment, curiousity overcame me and I peeked around the door. There, in the medium sized suitcase sat a large, bright green cash register. I laughed and laughed. Carter danced around the room with delight. I warned him that his Daddo wasn't going to let this one fly. He assured me that no parameters were placed on the size of his toy. What could I say? His skills of argument are directly descended from his Papa. Nathan walked in and caught a glimpse of the cash register in his suitcase and immediately began declaring that this would never do. I explained Carter's side, "after all, him didn't say how big!" Nathan beamed with pride. You see, the apple really doesn't fall far from the tree.

What's in a name?

I thought starting a blog would be a good way to record the fantastic and frustrating moments of trying to raise two boys who have definite opinions despite their inexperience in the world. I often feel remiss for not writing down the things that Carter says and Will does. Every day is another adventure and I have been letting them evaporate into the air. Well, no longer!
As I was setting up this blog, I was asked for a name. Nathan and I thought of some titles that were suitable, and then I said, "what about the Sons of Thunder." I refer to the boys by that title often in reference to James and John in the N.T. Of course, Nathan loved it but I was afraid that it might not come off as being too complimentary of my boys. That's when brushing Carter's teeth became a small military skirmish with shouts of "I can't see MY eyes, daddy!" What?! And suddenly Will stuck something in his mouth from the floor and ate it. Nathan pounced on him and tried to finger sweep the foreign object from his mouth but he'd already swallowed it. I hope it wasn't a nut or covered in milk or eggs. Or a lentil. That would mean a few hours hanging around an emergency room. He seems fine. So, Sons of Thunder fits.
Tonight at supper, Carter said the blessing. He is transitioning from a song he learned at school to actually speaking to God. Upon completing a very sweet prayer, he looked up and smiled, dimples flashing "that was the best prayer ever, wasn't it?!"
Will is walking all the time now, which is strange. In just a few short weeks, he has experienced a developmental explosion. It's so odd to see him toddling around the house when I'm used to this little angel zipping around the house on all fours. He stoops to pick up things and tries to carry various objects around the house. He is always smiling in a way that seems to say "Well, would you look at that! I can carry around the broom!"
Children are amazing. Oh, and Carter has asked that I refer to him and his brother as Super Carter and Super Will from now on.