maybe it's in Heaven

There are just some things that are so preciously sweet coming out of the mouth of a child... Here's one of them.

We've been missing the pink pig piece to a board puzzle for a long time. Maybe over a year now. I don't know. EVERY TIME the puzzle is taken out to do, Mark says "we're still missing that pig." and shakes his head. Very sad thing to be missing a puzzle piece you know.

Well today, he got it out and said "oh. We're still missing that pig." and shook his head. Then he said "hmm maybe it's in Heaven, Mom. Maybe it's in Heaven now."

Oh my sweet Markie!

Mark's birth-DATE

The next couple postings will probably be me playing catch up. I'll start with Mark's birthday. We had a nice time celebrating his birthday with giant red velvet cupcakes! I still can't get over him turning THREE.

My (almost) THREE Year Old.

Since we'll be traveling over Mark's birthday, I thought I'd post this a couple days early. Mark will be three on Friday. Three. Every time it's someone's birthday, I'm just amazed at how old they are, how fast the year has gone, how they have grown and changed so much and this year is no exception with my little bug.

Mark, you are so cute. You just make me smile all the time. You are so smart and so quick. You are so kind-- when you want to be. You're a great eater. You love carrots and tomatoes and any fruit. You like pizza and spaghetti and sandwiches. You're not crazy about chicken or potatoes which have become a staple dinner for Matthew lately. You don't like your socks on when you're sleeping. All the time, I find socks in your bed or on the floor by the bed. You like to take your feet out of your footie pajamas and run around with the arms still in, creating a cape for Super Mark! You like Dora and Little Einsteins and Backyardigans most to watch on TV these days. You used to be crazy for Blue's Clues but that's fading. You love puzzles. It is so neat to watch you with your puzzles. You're getting quite good at the harder ones. You enjoy tracing your ABC's when I draw them for you. You love for me to sing you the "sunshine song" with you prompting me which color to use each verse. We have so much fun. One thing I'm pretty amazed about is your ability to retain information. If I tell you what items we are picking up from the store, you repeat them back to me when we get there. If I'm working with Matthew on a memory verse, the next time we say it, you chime in too. If I tell Micah no no to something, you remember that rule and tell him yourself next time he's doing it. You're memory is so cool. Your love for Micah is also so cool, you just love so much. You are so sweet, such a snuggler, such a love. I love you and the little person you are becoming. I just called you over here, and asked you some questions, so I can capture some of your favorites for today. Here's a peek at our conversation:

Me: What's your favorite colors?
Mark: green and black
Me: I thought they were green and pink?
Mark: Not today, today is green and black like Matthew.

Me: What's your favorite number?
Mark: 1

Me: What's your favorite food?
Mark: vitamin
Me: Vitamin?
Mark: Yup, and cheese
Me: Cheese?! You don't even like cheese.
Mark: Yah, I do.

Me: What's your favorite thing to play with?
Mark: colors

Me: What do you want to be when you get bigger? when you grow up?
Mark: a big boy

Me: What's your favorite animal?
Mark: a cat

Me: Who is your favorite person?
Mark: my matthew

Me: What's your favorite song?
Mark: itsy itsy spider

Me: What else do you like that you want to tell me?
Mark: Well, you forgot one question.
Me: What is it?
Mark: One more questions about children.
Me: What question did I forget, buddy?
Mark: I do like Micah
Me: Oh good. I'm glad you like Micah too.
Mark: Yup. Now that's all. That's all the directions I have for you.
Me: Okay. (laughing!)

Well my little one, I hope you have a great birthday on Friday! Happy birthday to my Markie.

look who's STANDING!?

HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE!?! Saturday he mastered sitting upright without leaning like a tripod or flopping over. Then Sunday, he started over to Jamie, hop-crawling to the couch, and then pulled up like he was a 10 month old. And he hasn't been sitting since. He goes back and forth from my chair to the couch to pull up, stand and laugh at himself. It's the most funny thing he's done so far. Pull up, stand there and chuckle. HA! Look what I did Mom! Ha. He's not so good about getting out of the standing though. He's not coordinated at all yet and doesn't understand gravity but he's standing. In a month when I write that my seven month old is walking, shoot me.

Mark saw me taking that picture and wanted to be in one, and it couldn't have been a cuter, sweeter pic if I posed it. Then he pulled up a book and was showing Micah the pictures in the book. Oh the sweetness. I love happy filled darling moments like this to make the mornings worth it all.

a picnic with Jesus

Saturday, Matthew was gone on an adventure with my dear friend Nancy. While he was gone, Mark decided to have a picnic in the living room. Jamie was on the couch and I was on the floor with Micah. Mark went after play dishes and play food and gave us all some. Even Micah had a plate of food. It was really sweet...

Then after sitting down and singing "The School One" blessing,
he said "OH! I forgot Matthew.
So he went to fix Matthew a plate for when he got back home.
Then sitting down again, Mark said, "OH! I forgot Jesus."
and he scampered off to get Jesus a plate.
He came back and sat down and looked at me... "Jesus come my picnic?"
I answered "yes. Jesus can come to your picnic if you want."
He looked relieved. "Oh okay," he said.
We took that window he created to talk about how Jesus is always with him and He can come to his picnic any time or his room or his school, that Jesus will go wherever Mark goes as long as Mark wants him to, He will be there.
After chatting about it for a few minutes, I said, "Mark, where does Jesus live?"
He looked at me proudly and patted his tummy. "Me heart!"

...

that boy sure does make me smile!

Tomorrow he'll be TWO.

How did another whole year pass me by? Tomorrow by baby boy, my beetle bug, my snowman, my Markie will be two. Two. TWO?! How did that happen? Wasn't he just born? Wasn't it just Christmas night and we were bringing him home from the hospital? Do you remember the little bump in the road at the hospital we had to overcome?

(Mark with his IV in for meds)

What a sweet precious gift it was to come home Christmas night with our most blessed present in our arms... My sweet baby boy, you are so wonderful. I love being your mommy. Do you all remember this cute (messy) face from last year's cake experience?

Mark, you continue to floor me with your cuteness. How can one little boy be so cute? Even Matthew will tell him he's being cute from time to time, Mark really is just a cutey pie. I love you to pieces. I was thinking about how you wont be the baby soon the other day when I was rocking you to sleep. Soon you'll be the "middle child" but you will always be my baby. My sweet darling baby. For now you can be the baby and I'll continue to rock you to sleep as long as you like.

Here's a few pictures from his party Monday night,
the theme Blue's Clues if you can't tell from the cake:

Oo Esus?

Mark has this thing we do every day that we drop off Matthew at school...
Matthew leaves the car.
The car door shuts.
Mark starts his role call...

"Oo Matshew?" (Oo, in Mark speak = where)
"Matthew's at school. Say bye bye Matthew"
"Byeee Matshew." (pause) "Oo Daddy?"
"Daddy's working"
"Daddy erkin"
"Daddy's working. Yes."
"Oo Momma?"
"Momma's driving"
"Momma drivin" (pause) "Oo Markie?"
"Markie's riding"
"Oh. Markie ridin" (pause) "Oo Matshew?"
sigh. "Matthew's at school"
"Oh. Oo Daddy?"
sigh. "Daddy's working"
"Oh. Oo Momma?"
sigh. "Momma's driving. Where's Markie?"
BIG SMILE "Markie RIDIN!"
"Right."
"Yeeahhh"

Sometimes this repeats two, three, four... a lot of times. Today it repeated all the way from dropping off Matthew, to the post office, in the post office, from the post office to Walmart and into Walmart... However. I think he got bored with only four options.

In Walmart's parking lot he started with "Oo Grandpa?"
and "Oo Grammy?"
and "Oo Ris?"
and "Oo Rocky?"
and "Oo Kiki?"
and "Oo Jonfan?"
and "Oo Nanceeee?"
and then the one that made me stop in my tracks was "Oo Esus?"
Blink. Blink. "Jesus?" I asked him.
"Yah. Oo Esus?"
Big smile. "Markie, Jesus is in your heart." and I touched his chest.
"Mine art?"
"Yes baby, right there. That's where Jesus is"
His answer has melted me into a puddle. "YAY!!!!!!!! Mine art Esus!"

Beach update (4) Mark

Mark was a character this week. He normally is. First, he didn't like the sand. No no no, not happening. No sand. THANK GOD for the $2.00 clearance water shoes I'd bought the day we left town for him. With his water shoes on, he could be placed on the sand. Without them, not happening. He would tolerate digging in the sand for short periods of time but he got "all done" very quickly. He loved the pool though and he loved jumping in the pool, by himself in the baby pool, over my legs, on his own; or from the edge of the big pool into open arms. He also really enjoyed the amounts of snack food we had on the trip. I think he'll be sad to see that we don't normally have an overwhelming variety of chips readily available where ever we are now that we're back home.

Pride and sorry

How much pride and stubbornness and control can a small child actually have? The Bible speaks of pride being from fools and arrogance. But how prideful can one so small really have? We're finding out these days that the answer is QUITE A BIT! There is no doubt in my and Jamie's minds that children ARE IN FACT born SINFUL. I never really thought so many things about the issue when Matthew was smaller. He was a baby. Babies "don't know" how to act/behave/etc. ... But my word! We are seeing repeatedly JUST how much PRIDE and selfishness and stubbornness and will and control Mark has. and it's a LOT.

A week or so ago, he was hitting and kicking me. Jamie asked him to say "sorry." He wouldn't. He went back to bed. Got out, asked to say "sorry" and wouldn't. He went back to bed. Finally I was able to bribe him. I said "Mark, do you want your cup?" He nodded. "I said, Okay, say sorry and you can have your cup." He said "sooo-we. Cu-uh-up?" I gave him the cup.

He has a really hard time saying sorry to Matthew if he wrongs him.

Tonight though is just awful... He threw bucket fulls of water out of the tub. Jamie stood there, told him not to and he stared Jamie in the eyes and did it anyhow. I came in when I heard the commotion and saw what had transpired, scooped Mark out of the tub. Bath time is over. Got him dried off and changed and took him back to the bathroom to say "sorry" to Daddy. Would he? Nope. It's been like 20 minutes now. He's not interested. He's currently in his bed right now. Does that make me a horrible mean mom? Maybe. But so what. At this point, we have to nip this pride thing down FAST. When I asked him where the water goes, he could whisper "tub" to me. But can he face his dad and say "sorry" to him? Not yet. He had many chances to do so. I just heard Jamie go down the hall and ask him again, got no response and shut his door again. I'm shaking my head as I am typing this.

Oooo buddy, you have a LOT to learn. You can't just be all cute all the time and get away with things. In the long haul, is spilling water from the tub disastrous? No. But the issue isn't the action/offense, it's the unwillingness --in EVERY situation-- to say "sorry" for his actions.

If there are other moms out there with super strong willed, full of their own pride children, HOW do you handle situations like this?

Grandma's visit

This past week, Grandma came to visit. It was a nice time. We had a good visit and it was refreshing having a constant steady help in the house instead of people rotating. Not saying rotating help is bad! Oh my, I don't know what we would have done without it, but there is something just calming about not having to find a new face every morning and face someone else. The boys needed a bit of consistency too. We're slowly finding our way back to normal though, now that she's gone and we're back on our own. Not for too long though, as next week we plan to spend a few days at her house.

Also, while she was here, Mark started using a spoon! I think Matthew's first spoon usage was yogurt, Mark got applesauce. It was fun! I'm glad she was here to witness a "first"!

My baby is one.

Happy Birthday Mark Edward!!!
It's hard to believe it's been a year already.
Look wear we came from in just a fast flying year.

We weren't sure we were going to all come home together for a moment of our hospital stay. I am so blessed. I am so grateful that God made you healthy and let you come home with us. It has been such a joy watching you grow from baby to a big boy.

Look at this big one-year old! Happy Birthday angel boy.

You started walking yesterday. Walked before your birthday. How about that?!