This picture was not posed. They really just adore him that much.
Tuesday, April 30, 2013
The Wonderful World of Gabe
Gabriel has said a number of things this month that have made it clear that he sees reality in a very different way than I do. These are my three favorites:
Gabriel love babies and is pretty smitten with little Tobias. One day he was holding Tobias and decided to give the baby "lessons". "What's one plus one Tobias?" Tobias wiggled his little hand and left two fingers lingering a little bit longer than the others before curling up into a fist. "Mom! Did you see that! He knew the answer was two! Tobias, what is one plus one plus one?" Again, a little hand wiggle and this time three lingering fingers. "Wow! He got that one right too! Mom, I had no idea that babies could do math! He is so smart." At this point, Tobias started to coo, making "aaahhhh" and "ohhhh" sounds. Gabriel then exclaimed, "Did you hear him?!? He is already learning his letter sounds! Those are the sounds for A and O! Tobias can read!" I have a feeling that when Gabriel grows up and has a family he might be one of those parents who are convinced that their child is a genius. He certainly has a high opinion of Tobias.
As anyone who has visited our house can tell you, Gabriel is quite an adept climber. He likes to show off for guests by shimmying up the door jambs and then doing a spider climb in the door frame. He loves the monkey bars at the park. When we were there recently, Gabriel showed me how he can now do the high the monkey bars by climbing to the top of the small set and then jumping over to the higher ones. It was, admittedly, impressive. After I congratulated him on his climbing prowess he said, "I know! Where did I get these awesome monkey powers?!? It's like I drank some oil or something." I am a little concerned that he thinks drinking oil might give you super powers. Where did he get this idea? Did he think oil is what gave the Ninja Turtles their powers? Has he even seen an episode of Ninja Turtles? I don't know, but we may be locking the cabinet with the cooking oil and hiding the motor oil until we get it sorted out.
Speaking of super powers, Gabriel informed me that he already knows what he wants for Christmas this year. "Oh, really?" I said, "You don't think you might change your mind?"
"Nope. I know that I want a ball that gives me the power to fly and climb vertical walls."
At first, I wasn't sure how to respond. We talked for a while about how awesome it would be to get a gift like that. Then I asked, "But, do you think Santa even brings gifts like that? Do you think a ball like that even exists?"
With the faith of a child he replied, "Mom, Santa is magical so he can make magical things. Don't worry about it. Santa will bring the ball and we'll just have to try it out and see if it gives me powers or not. I think it will."
Since that conversation he has been talking with his brothers about the things he will do when he can fly. I also think he's added some powers to the list of abilities he'd like the ball to imbue him with. Most recently, he's decided that he would also like laser eyes. I fear it may be a disappointing Christmas. Hopefully, the imagination that dreamed up this "super ball" can also compensate for its deficiencies. Gabe's worldview may not be exactly accurate but is certainly more fun.
Gabriel love babies and is pretty smitten with little Tobias. One day he was holding Tobias and decided to give the baby "lessons". "What's one plus one Tobias?" Tobias wiggled his little hand and left two fingers lingering a little bit longer than the others before curling up into a fist. "Mom! Did you see that! He knew the answer was two! Tobias, what is one plus one plus one?" Again, a little hand wiggle and this time three lingering fingers. "Wow! He got that one right too! Mom, I had no idea that babies could do math! He is so smart." At this point, Tobias started to coo, making "aaahhhh" and "ohhhh" sounds. Gabriel then exclaimed, "Did you hear him?!? He is already learning his letter sounds! Those are the sounds for A and O! Tobias can read!" I have a feeling that when Gabriel grows up and has a family he might be one of those parents who are convinced that their child is a genius. He certainly has a high opinion of Tobias.
As anyone who has visited our house can tell you, Gabriel is quite an adept climber. He likes to show off for guests by shimmying up the door jambs and then doing a spider climb in the door frame. He loves the monkey bars at the park. When we were there recently, Gabriel showed me how he can now do the high the monkey bars by climbing to the top of the small set and then jumping over to the higher ones. It was, admittedly, impressive. After I congratulated him on his climbing prowess he said, "I know! Where did I get these awesome monkey powers?!? It's like I drank some oil or something." I am a little concerned that he thinks drinking oil might give you super powers. Where did he get this idea? Did he think oil is what gave the Ninja Turtles their powers? Has he even seen an episode of Ninja Turtles? I don't know, but we may be locking the cabinet with the cooking oil and hiding the motor oil until we get it sorted out.
Speaking of super powers, Gabriel informed me that he already knows what he wants for Christmas this year. "Oh, really?" I said, "You don't think you might change your mind?"
"Nope. I know that I want a ball that gives me the power to fly and climb vertical walls."
At first, I wasn't sure how to respond. We talked for a while about how awesome it would be to get a gift like that. Then I asked, "But, do you think Santa even brings gifts like that? Do you think a ball like that even exists?"
With the faith of a child he replied, "Mom, Santa is magical so he can make magical things. Don't worry about it. Santa will bring the ball and we'll just have to try it out and see if it gives me powers or not. I think it will."
Since that conversation he has been talking with his brothers about the things he will do when he can fly. I also think he's added some powers to the list of abilities he'd like the ball to imbue him with. Most recently, he's decided that he would also like laser eyes. I fear it may be a disappointing Christmas. Hopefully, the imagination that dreamed up this "super ball" can also compensate for its deficiencies. Gabe's worldview may not be exactly accurate but is certainly more fun.
Sunday, April 28, 2013
A Way With Words
While we love to watch our boys grow and develop and master new skills, sometimes we wish they would hold on to their imperfections a little longer. For example, David John used to say "strawbaberries" instead of just strawberries. We loved it and were actually pretty sad when he learned to pronounce the word correctly. I wanted to preserve some of the other things our boys say that I will miss when they're older.
1. "intersting" - this does not describe an internal insect sting i.e. a bee in your ear canal; no this is how our boys pronounce interesting. Maybe they are just trying to save time by eliminating one syllable.
2. "badgers" - nope, not an animal but more of a patch. They called Uncle Sam (my brother, not the political cartoon character) to ask him how many Scout badgers he has. They were impressed by his answer of 48.
3. "inside this out" - this is a request to turn something right side out, i.e. they hand us an inside-out shirt and say "inside this out please".
4. "gatoraders" - I know this made you think of reptilian mercenaries or perhaps Floridian frat boys but, in fact, this is the plural form of Gatorade. Our boys got to drink quite a bit of "gatoraders" when they had the stomach flu earlier this month.
5. "hummus bird" - it sounds like something exotic from the middle east, but it's really just a humming bird. It makes me happy that our boys even know the word hummus so they can make the mistake. Also, the state bird of Ohio is not the cardinal but the "carpet bird". I have no idea how it got it's new name.
6. "Easter Egg Bunny" - this one is self explanatory. I just think it's cute that they added the word "egg" to his name. David John loves the Easter Egg Bunny, although this year he was distraught when he opened the markers that were in his Easter basket. They were Color Wonder markers from Crayola. They have clear tips and only color on Color Wonder paper. When David John saw the clear tips he assumed the markers were useless and exclaimed, "Oh man! The Easter Egg Bunny left us dumb markers!"
7. "Barber Ann" - you've probably guessed that this is the title character from the Beach Boys' song "Barbara Ann". Elijah likes the song and requests it some evenings for bedtime. After I sang it he asked me, "Why did you sing 'take my hand'?" "Because that's how the song goes." "Oh. Why does he want to hold hands with his barber?"
8. "beanstalk" - not the kind you can grow in a garden. This is actually a word used to describe what Santa may fill with presents. David John informed me, "I hope Santa leaves me a minion toy and some fruit snacks in my beanstalk at Christmas time."
9. "stickernoodles" - pasta shaped embellishments? Nope. These are cinnamon-sugar cookies, aka snickerdoodles. I think this word might be preserved in our family vocabulary. It's just too cute to let go of. I love our boys' ways with words.
1. "intersting" - this does not describe an internal insect sting i.e. a bee in your ear canal; no this is how our boys pronounce interesting. Maybe they are just trying to save time by eliminating one syllable.
2. "badgers" - nope, not an animal but more of a patch. They called Uncle Sam (my brother, not the political cartoon character) to ask him how many Scout badgers he has. They were impressed by his answer of 48.
3. "inside this out" - this is a request to turn something right side out, i.e. they hand us an inside-out shirt and say "inside this out please".
4. "gatoraders" - I know this made you think of reptilian mercenaries or perhaps Floridian frat boys but, in fact, this is the plural form of Gatorade. Our boys got to drink quite a bit of "gatoraders" when they had the stomach flu earlier this month.
5. "hummus bird" - it sounds like something exotic from the middle east, but it's really just a humming bird. It makes me happy that our boys even know the word hummus so they can make the mistake. Also, the state bird of Ohio is not the cardinal but the "carpet bird". I have no idea how it got it's new name.
6. "Easter Egg Bunny" - this one is self explanatory. I just think it's cute that they added the word "egg" to his name. David John loves the Easter Egg Bunny, although this year he was distraught when he opened the markers that were in his Easter basket. They were Color Wonder markers from Crayola. They have clear tips and only color on Color Wonder paper. When David John saw the clear tips he assumed the markers were useless and exclaimed, "Oh man! The Easter Egg Bunny left us dumb markers!"
7. "Barber Ann" - you've probably guessed that this is the title character from the Beach Boys' song "Barbara Ann". Elijah likes the song and requests it some evenings for bedtime. After I sang it he asked me, "Why did you sing 'take my hand'?" "Because that's how the song goes." "Oh. Why does he want to hold hands with his barber?"
8. "beanstalk" - not the kind you can grow in a garden. This is actually a word used to describe what Santa may fill with presents. David John informed me, "I hope Santa leaves me a minion toy and some fruit snacks in my beanstalk at Christmas time."
9. "stickernoodles" - pasta shaped embellishments? Nope. These are cinnamon-sugar cookies, aka snickerdoodles. I think this word might be preserved in our family vocabulary. It's just too cute to let go of. I love our boys' ways with words.
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Baby Bibas
It's been suggested that I have been a little lax about posting pictures of our newest addition. Benjamin calls him "Baby Bibas" which we find irresistibly adorable. Anyway, here are some more recent pics of the little man.
He loves his swing, but it often puts him to sleep.
He just got his social smile about 2 weeks ago. That smile makes our day, especially when it comes with a little "coo".
We were thrilled to have Aunt Gina in town this week. She is a saint and patiently endured all of our plans being ruined by the boys getting the stomach flu and then patiently endured the stomach flu herself.
He is getting so big, so fast. On Thursday he weighed in at a whopping 11lbs 9oz. We can't believe it.
We love you Baby Bibas!
He loves his swing, but it often puts him to sleep.
He just got his social smile about 2 weeks ago. That smile makes our day, especially when it comes with a little "coo".
We were thrilled to have Aunt Gina in town this week. She is a saint and patiently endured all of our plans being ruined by the boys getting the stomach flu and then patiently endured the stomach flu herself.
He is getting so big, so fast. On Thursday he weighed in at a whopping 11lbs 9oz. We can't believe it.
We love you Baby Bibas!
Blessed
We blessed little Tobias on March 3rd. It was a wonderful day, surrounded by our family and friends. I love that when we welcome a baby into our family he is instantly adored by a large cast of people. For Tobias' blessing we were able to have Marc's parents present in addition to my dad and two of my brothers. Marc's favorite mission companion drove over from Pennsylvania with his wife and four kids and we also had some of our close friends from Marc's work at the church and then the luncheon afterwards. A big thanks to everyone for helping with lunch preparations and keeping track the 7 little boys running around the house. Marc's mom made her amazing rolls and we had delicious deli meats that I purchased from Yeleseyevsky's Deli*. I've always wanted to go in there and Tobias gave me a great excuse. His blessing day was just another reminder of how good life has been to us and how much we will miss Cleveland and the ties we have made here. We are just so so blessed.
*Yeleseyevsky's Deli is not only fun to say but is a delightful place to visit. While the name is Polish, most of the people inside were speaking Russian and they offer not only meats but a wide variety of Russian and Polish products. We sampled some foreign chocolate and gummy candies. Beware the deli counter woman. She can be a little stern with us English-only speakers. I asked for some turkey and when she reached for the chicken I said "Oh no, the turkey please." She glared at me and spoke with her thick Russian accent. "You SAID chicken." It took courage to ask her to please get the turkey instead. I have suspicions she used to work for the mafia..The meats were fabulous though and the cashier was very nice. They even took VISA. I enjoyed hearing "Spasibo!" as I left the store.
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