- So remember in my last post where I mentioned that Jacob is spelling out things? We were at Lowe's tonight waiting to pick up an online order I placed (the mulch I needed was on sale through Monday but it was rainy that night so I just ordered it online and picked it up today), and Jacob was reading off signs like crazy. I couldn't help but wonder if the clerk was impressed as he listened to a not-even-four-year-old read off all of the letters on multiple signs. I thought it was pretty impressive.
- Bedtime prayers have been interesting. He's been a little less forthcoming and focused in the past week or so, but we've been working on refining his content a bit so it's more in line with bedtime. Even though it takes a little prodding and there's often some conversation in the middle of it, Jacob's series of thank yous (which is really all the prayers are right now--good habit to get him into, right?) are quite entertaining. Sometimes he thanks God for all of the things in his room, right down to the curtains, table, and clock. Sometimes he thanks God for body parts. Tonight it was hair, noses, and eyes. He's thankful for his animals, sports, and sometimes for Mommy and Daddy. He thanks Jesus for dying and rising. And tonight, he was thankful for robots. Nope, no idea. It's a funny little insight into his world on any given day, though. I definitely look forward to it each night. We'll continue to improve his technique, but I think it's awesome right now.
- Interesting doings at daycare this week...they're working on Mother's Day gifts, have a field trip tomorrow, and there's a Mother's Day event on Friday. Jacob got all upset today when I talked about getting Mother's Day cards at the store, because he wants to give me one from daycare. Of course, I explained to him that I was getting cards for other people, not myself. Must be one heck of a card he's making! Tomorrow he's got a field trip to a typical kid place with climbing strcutures, bounce houses, etc. He got a bit of a bruised eye today on the playground, so let's hope it doesn't get any worse tomorrow! Now that he's a little braver, those things make me a little more nervous! Friday they're having a Mother's Day ice cream social, and I'm leaving work a little early to get there on time. I'm looking forward to it! Now that Jacob is older, I don't want to skip events like that, because he's well aware that other kids' parents come and I think he'd be disappointed if we didn't. Happy to do it, though.
- It's a busy week in general since Craig was at Knighthawks' practice in Canada tonight and he's off to Toronto Friday for a playoff game on Saturday. We'll probably spend most of the weekend in Buffalo. I was tempted to take the free bus up to Toronto for the game (provided by the team owner), but the thought of being stuck on a bus with Jacob for hours didn't sound so appealing. Our DVD player doesn't hold a charge, so without an outlet we wouldn't have that. I think my computer would only last so long with a movie loaded on it, and the thought of being stuck at the border for any reason (there are supposed to be seven busloads!) is downright scary. Someday I'll have the guts to do it, but for now I'd probably rather drive myself (in theory). Would have been a fun adventure, though, if all went well.
- As I type I'm watching The Hub, a cable channel that shows a lot of classic TV shows, and the old Batman show came on. Jacob spent a good chunk of time obsessed with this show--to the extent that we have about 10 episodes on the DVR just in case--though lately he hasn't asked to watch them nearly as often. His favorite episode, however, is the first one featuring Batgirl. Penguin kidnaps Barbara Gordon, the police commissioner's daughter, and later it's revealed to the audience that she's Batgirl. I was interested to see which episode came on tonight, just for a change of pace from the ones we have recorded. But when it started, it sounded all too familiar. Sure enough, it's the same exact episode we've already seen a few dozen times. What are the odds?!
- Still dealing with a lot of listening/focus problems interspersed with moments where he's the coolest kid ever. It's so frustrating having to ask him to do things multiple times and either have him ignore us or start to do something only to get distracted by the littlest thing. I can't tell you how many times I need to tell him to get dressed or get up from the potty when he's done. There are times I wonder if there's a bigger issue at play here--be it ADD or hearing problems--but I feel like he has enough moments where he's such an awesome kid that I'm just not convinced that those things could be an issue. If he'd just listen even 60% of the time, our lives would be exponentially easier.
- Not much to report on the baby-making front. We're still on a break, though we're getting ever closer to being past the Florida window we were avoiding. I have made an appointment with a reproductive endocrinologist just to investigate some things and check out our options--none of which I'm probably going to be excited about. There are times lately where I feel like we're so nicely settled into life with a preschooler that I can't imagine going back to sleepless nights and all of the hard stuff we've already been through. But then I see a baby or hear about a pregnant friend or think about Jacob with a sibling and there's nothing in the world I want more. I'm getting a little intimidated by the thought of going through it all with an active child and potentially five years older than I was the last time, but I know it's just something I want to do. Now if we could just get the show on the road...
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Current Obsessions
Jacob is currently has a couple things that he is totally obsessed with--spelling and time. I guess those are good things to care about since they're both foundations of our existence, but apparently even really intelligent, useful obsessions have a tendency to wear on you after a while.
He's gotten to be pretty good with his letters these days, and he's constantly reading off letters one by one, of many words he sees. It sounds pretty impressive for a three year old, but I know he's still not fully understanding that those letters make up words. I mean, he knows that they're words because he asks what they spell, but he has no concept of how the letters actually form words or how the words form sentences with meaning. Sometimes he knows which sounds make which letters, but it's still a bit of a work in progress. He also has a tendency to to read from right to left, so if he's pointing to letters as he says them, he'll start with the last letter of the word. We're working on that. He can spell his name now, and he took great delight in sitting with me the other night and typing letters on my computer. He randomly typed, and then we spelled his friends' names. He loved it and has asked numerous times to do it again. He's working on writing letters at daycare, but I haven't really asked him to show us his skills too much. I probably should do it more to make sure he's practicing, but it's not always easy to remember.
Another obsession is time. He is constantly asking when things happened or when they're from. Music, TV shows, movies, pictures, events..."When was that, Mommy? Was that a long, long time ago?" It's not easy to explain time to him, but he's now aware of the various decades that have existed for most of the 20th and 21st centuries. Again, he has no concept of what that actually means, but it's funny to hear a little kid refer to "the eighties". He seems fascinated by the idea of things being assigned to a certain time period, but I haven't quite figured out why. Just trying to figure out his world, I guess!
We get interrogated with questions associated with these types of issues all day, every day. I'm seriously ready to go buy one of those clicker things that people use at low budget events to count attendees, to keep with me all day and count his questions. Some days they don't seem to end. I'm finding it hard to keep my patience at times because I can't think straight with the constant barrage. I don't want him to lose his curiosity, but holy cow--I need a break sometimes so badly that I directly ask him to stop asking questions. It's pretty crazy. I guess it's good that he wants to learn about his world and actually acknowledges that things even existed prior to his birth. Hopefully years down the road he'll put it all to good use, be it in school or some random pop culture trivia game. But man, it's exhausting trying to get there one question at a time.
He's gotten to be pretty good with his letters these days, and he's constantly reading off letters one by one, of many words he sees. It sounds pretty impressive for a three year old, but I know he's still not fully understanding that those letters make up words. I mean, he knows that they're words because he asks what they spell, but he has no concept of how the letters actually form words or how the words form sentences with meaning. Sometimes he knows which sounds make which letters, but it's still a bit of a work in progress. He also has a tendency to to read from right to left, so if he's pointing to letters as he says them, he'll start with the last letter of the word. We're working on that. He can spell his name now, and he took great delight in sitting with me the other night and typing letters on my computer. He randomly typed, and then we spelled his friends' names. He loved it and has asked numerous times to do it again. He's working on writing letters at daycare, but I haven't really asked him to show us his skills too much. I probably should do it more to make sure he's practicing, but it's not always easy to remember.
Another obsession is time. He is constantly asking when things happened or when they're from. Music, TV shows, movies, pictures, events..."When was that, Mommy? Was that a long, long time ago?" It's not easy to explain time to him, but he's now aware of the various decades that have existed for most of the 20th and 21st centuries. Again, he has no concept of what that actually means, but it's funny to hear a little kid refer to "the eighties". He seems fascinated by the idea of things being assigned to a certain time period, but I haven't quite figured out why. Just trying to figure out his world, I guess!
We get interrogated with questions associated with these types of issues all day, every day. I'm seriously ready to go buy one of those clicker things that people use at low budget events to count attendees, to keep with me all day and count his questions. Some days they don't seem to end. I'm finding it hard to keep my patience at times because I can't think straight with the constant barrage. I don't want him to lose his curiosity, but holy cow--I need a break sometimes so badly that I directly ask him to stop asking questions. It's pretty crazy. I guess it's good that he wants to learn about his world and actually acknowledges that things even existed prior to his birth. Hopefully years down the road he'll put it all to good use, be it in school or some random pop culture trivia game. But man, it's exhausting trying to get there one question at a time.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Novelty
Jacob is a funny kid. He's definitely quirky. One thing that stood out to me for a long time was that he didn't get genuinely excited by too many things. He's always been one to take things in and observe. In the last year or so, he's begun to get more excited about certain things. A lot of it revolves around opportunities to go outside and play sports with Craig. He's super-excited to go with Craig to the arena tomorrow, prior to Knighthawks practice. They'll have the turf to themselves, and he's been excited about it since the possibility arose the other day. However, I still feel like his excitement is hard to come by. I think it's part of the reason I want to have a girl next time around, because they tend to get all squealy and excited (ok, not loving the squealy part, but it seems to go hand-in-hand with girly excitement) all the time. And I love that.
Today I read a blog post by Matt Logelin, who I mentioned here last year after I read his book. His wife passed away the day after giving birth to their daughter, and three years later his book was published. Four years later he has an amazing little four year old and he wrote a blog post about taking her to a Dodgers game. He hyped it up all week, and other than a couple minor hiccups, it went well. The passion within each of them was so fantastic to read about. It almost made me realize that I wished I could go back in time and take Jacob to less games so he'd be more excited about them now. I know that's probably a little silly, because I really appreciate those times and I'm not sure it would make a difference now anyway. Going to games just seemed like a natural part of our lives, particularly since it gave us a little extra chance to see Craig in the midst of busy streaks of games. But being able to have the sports experience be a novelty now, when he's more capable of excitement, would be cool.
Last night I was actually having a similar conversation with a work associate of Craig's. Last night was his annual fundraiser, Tip-A-Knighthawk. We won a cool jersey and the charity (CURE Childhood Cancer Association) made a couple thousand dollars. The representative from CURE is a great guy, and he even brought Jacob and me some lacrosse shirts from an event he did. Later in the evening we were chatting, and he said something about Jacob having quite the life...meaning, the opportunity to meet players and go to games on a regular basis. I agreed and said that I do try to remind Jacob once in a while that his opportunity to go to games is very special, that not all kids get to do things like that. Whenever he shies away from the players, I tell him that they want to talk to him and that should be a really cool thing, so he should really take advantage and talk back to them while he can. The two of us exchanged cherished sports experiences from our childhoods--his two Yankees games a year with his dad, my annual Sabres game. There was such an excitement for those, and it's really something Jacob doesn't have a concept of because he's so used to going to games.
I guess it just forces us to up the ante and try to expose him to other, new sports experiences. I suppose that's why we try to hit up games in other places--be it a baseball game on vacation, a lacrosse game in Toronto, this past winter's Sabres game, or a couple different college games. That excitement is in there somewhere, but we need to get him out of his element enough to bring it out. It's no small challenge, but when it happens, it's worth every effort we made to get there. That smile and excited giggle inspire me to be a better mother and remind me to see the world through his eyes...because the view is much better from there.
Today I read a blog post by Matt Logelin, who I mentioned here last year after I read his book. His wife passed away the day after giving birth to their daughter, and three years later his book was published. Four years later he has an amazing little four year old and he wrote a blog post about taking her to a Dodgers game. He hyped it up all week, and other than a couple minor hiccups, it went well. The passion within each of them was so fantastic to read about. It almost made me realize that I wished I could go back in time and take Jacob to less games so he'd be more excited about them now. I know that's probably a little silly, because I really appreciate those times and I'm not sure it would make a difference now anyway. Going to games just seemed like a natural part of our lives, particularly since it gave us a little extra chance to see Craig in the midst of busy streaks of games. But being able to have the sports experience be a novelty now, when he's more capable of excitement, would be cool.
Last night I was actually having a similar conversation with a work associate of Craig's. Last night was his annual fundraiser, Tip-A-Knighthawk. We won a cool jersey and the charity (CURE Childhood Cancer Association) made a couple thousand dollars. The representative from CURE is a great guy, and he even brought Jacob and me some lacrosse shirts from an event he did. Later in the evening we were chatting, and he said something about Jacob having quite the life...meaning, the opportunity to meet players and go to games on a regular basis. I agreed and said that I do try to remind Jacob once in a while that his opportunity to go to games is very special, that not all kids get to do things like that. Whenever he shies away from the players, I tell him that they want to talk to him and that should be a really cool thing, so he should really take advantage and talk back to them while he can. The two of us exchanged cherished sports experiences from our childhoods--his two Yankees games a year with his dad, my annual Sabres game. There was such an excitement for those, and it's really something Jacob doesn't have a concept of because he's so used to going to games.
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| Our new jersey, a Rochester Greywolves (semi-pro team) jersey with former Knighthawk Pat Cougevan's name on the back. The bottom of the jersey is the Rochester skyline, which I love. Jacob even pointed out my work building right away! With him is a Knightingale dancer who was helping out with the raffles. |
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
"Wild" Saturday
In my last post I mentioned that we had a little visitor in our backyard at the end of Jacob's Saturday nap. We've known for a while that we have a groundhog living under our shed. I had yet to actually see him. While I was out doing yardwork on Saturday, I noticed his little nose peeking out from a hole under the shed. Later on, when I went to wake Jacob up from his nap, I saw this...
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| Sorry, it's a little fuzzy because it was majorly zoomed through a window screen. No idea what he's doing with his little paws... |
This is what I found when I went in to wake Jacob up. We had a busy morning so this scene didn't surprise me at all...
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| Yes, he's still sleeping on the floor. He's getting the stiff-arm from that brown monkey, right across his eyes. He was OUT and had a hard time waking up, even after 2-1/2 hours of rest as of 5pm! |
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| He's so big! |
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| It's a female cardinal! |
After watching the wildlife, we headed out for a bit of basketball in the driveway. Keeping with the theme of the day, Jacob was a "wild" man out there!
After grabbing a quick dinner, we headed to the Knighthawks game. Usually we park right across from the arena, but that night the lot was full and we couldn't get the guy to let us in (we are on a list there and are supposed to be able to park there), so I had to drive to the garage I park in for work. As we walked across the Broad St. Bridge over the Genesee River, I looked down and saw this:
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| Pretty sure that's a Blue Heron! |
Anyway, it was just a funny day of random wildlife. Not too bad for a bunch of suburban dwellers, eh?
Sunday, April 29, 2012
The Lego Store
A couple months ago we took a trip to Canada for a Knighthawks game. Along the way we stopped at a mall we've passed by many times (and stopped in once, as I recall) because--surprise!--it now houses a Lego Store. There's not too many of those around, and after Craig stopped in the one at the Mall of America on a previous road trip to Minneapolis, he was eager to take Jacob to one. We also went to one in Florida when I was pregnant, and admittedly, they're pretty darn cool. The one in Canada was a far cry from Orlando's, since a little mall store can't compete with this:
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We ended up not buying anything in Canada since we figured we could get it cheaper somewhere in the states. Still, the place just oozes fun. Consequently, a few months ago when we got word that Rochester was getting its own Lego store, we were pretty happy to hear it. It opened up a few weeks ago and Craig happened to visit the mall (on the other side of town) shortly after. He picked up a flier, and we were intrigued by one of the store opening specials. Each day of the grand opening weekend had a special if you spent $35--Friday was a free shirt, Sunday was a set of three minifigures, and Saturday was, in my opinion, the best--a free building kit of a miniature Lego store! There were also other events as part of the opening, so we penciled it on the calendar.
Since the store had been open for a while, I was hoping the opening events wouldn't be too crazy. Still, we planned to get there right around when the mall opened. And as we arrived in the center court at 10:15, the line was wrapped halfway around it. NOOOOOO. Still, we dutifully got in line and hoped for the best. We chatted with the mom in front of us (her kids ended up getting interviewed by the news) and the line moved steadily but never quickly enough. It was challenging managing Jacob, but we did what we could. I even walked him over to the building event (separate chaos from getting into the store) while Craig waited. I also ran into a friend of mine from college who was there with his son. It took a little over an hour, but we finally we got into the store, relieved to hear they still had some of the special kits. Our plan was to buy gifts for some upcoming birthdays, and believe it or not, Jacob came home empty-handed. Well, we did get the special kit, as well as a special Buzz Lightyear brick thanks to a special postcard we got in the mail. He'll get plenty for his birthday, I'm sure, so I wasn't in a rush to buy him anything, especially since we've been having some behavior issues, again. Had he listened better at any point in the previous 48 hours or so, I might have been a little more willing to supplement his collection further.
Anyway, here's the photo documentation of the adventure:
We had a very busy day and Jacob took a nice, long nap when we got home. I exhausted myself further with some yardwork and then went in to wake him up (naps that go past 5pm are problematic, even with a late night ahead of us). We were highly entertained by a visitor in our yard (more on that soon), played outside a bit, and then headed off to the Knighthawks game. They won, and clinched a home playoff game next Friday. Woohoo--one less roadtrip for Craig!
Morning came all too early today, and thanks to Jacob's wonky sleep schedule all weekend, he was a crazy kid for a good portion of it. I told him we could put together the mini Lego store today, but when the time came he wasn't that into it. He did help a bit, but I think he's used to building a bit more organically with Daddy and the instructions weren't his cup of tea. The boys are still working on their lacrosse arena, and here's a photo update:
So, the team store is the mini Lego store we got. Why not, right? Here's the finished product:
So, Jacob may not have been super impressed (with the mini store or Mommy's building skills), but to be honest, it was a fun little adventure despite some iffy moments. I'm glad we did it. If I would have overthought it we probably never would have gone, but I'm thankful we went and stuck it out. Parenting is funny like that.
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We ended up not buying anything in Canada since we figured we could get it cheaper somewhere in the states. Still, the place just oozes fun. Consequently, a few months ago when we got word that Rochester was getting its own Lego store, we were pretty happy to hear it. It opened up a few weeks ago and Craig happened to visit the mall (on the other side of town) shortly after. He picked up a flier, and we were intrigued by one of the store opening specials. Each day of the grand opening weekend had a special if you spent $35--Friday was a free shirt, Sunday was a set of three minifigures, and Saturday was, in my opinion, the best--a free building kit of a miniature Lego store! There were also other events as part of the opening, so we penciled it on the calendar.
Since the store had been open for a while, I was hoping the opening events wouldn't be too crazy. Still, we planned to get there right around when the mall opened. And as we arrived in the center court at 10:15, the line was wrapped halfway around it. NOOOOOO. Still, we dutifully got in line and hoped for the best. We chatted with the mom in front of us (her kids ended up getting interviewed by the news) and the line moved steadily but never quickly enough. It was challenging managing Jacob, but we did what we could. I even walked him over to the building event (separate chaos from getting into the store) while Craig waited. I also ran into a friend of mine from college who was there with his son. It took a little over an hour, but we finally we got into the store, relieved to hear they still had some of the special kits. Our plan was to buy gifts for some upcoming birthdays, and believe it or not, Jacob came home empty-handed. Well, we did get the special kit, as well as a special Buzz Lightyear brick thanks to a special postcard we got in the mail. He'll get plenty for his birthday, I'm sure, so I wasn't in a rush to buy him anything, especially since we've been having some behavior issues, again. Had he listened better at any point in the previous 48 hours or so, I might have been a little more willing to supplement his collection further.
Anyway, here's the photo documentation of the adventure:
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| Jacob with Buzz's head...I'm guessing that's the actual head they put on the 8-foot one they built this weekend. Impressive. |
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| You can't beat a giant minifigure. |
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| What a nice picture! Of course, this is five seconds before he turned around and started climbing it. Awesome. |
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| Post-shopping and lunch, Daddy went to work and Jacob and I went to build blocks for the giant Buzz! |
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| I was trying to get a picture of him with our two finished blocks, but ended up with this one instead. I kinda like it. |
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| With the master builder and a scaled down version of Buzz... |
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| And the part of Buzz that was done when we left... |
Morning came all too early today, and thanks to Jacob's wonky sleep schedule all weekend, he was a crazy kid for a good portion of it. I told him we could put together the mini Lego store today, but when the time came he wasn't that into it. He did help a bit, but I think he's used to building a bit more organically with Daddy and the instructions weren't his cup of tea. The boys are still working on their lacrosse arena, and here's a photo update:
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| The stands are in the lower right, the press box is in the upper center, benches are to the right of the press box, and to the right of that is the new team store (more on that in a second) and the ATM. There are lines, plexiglass, working doors, and more. Craig tried to add a concession stand this afternoon, but Jacob vetoed it when he was trying to build his kids zone. In the end that didn't really happen, either but you can see the construction guys in the lower left preparing for changes. Yeah, it's crazy. |
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| It looks very cool and modern on the outside. There are skylight-looking things on the top, ornamental trees on the sidewalk out front, colorful displays in the window, and tiny door handles. The windows wrap around the sides, too. Under the roof, there's a couple clear round blocks surrounded by yellow blocks that are reminiscent of the real light fixtures in the store. |
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| I took off the top and part of the front to get this shot. In the front is a display case on the left, and the same "giant" block Jacob got his picture taken with on the right. Further back is a service counter with another display (I think) and a cash register. The shelves on the sides are complete with circle portholes (you can just see them on the second row up), which the real store has with built models on display inside. The back wall of the store is made up of circular bins full of blocks that you can pick and choose from, and you can see those represented here. It's pretty stinkin' cute. |
Friday, April 27, 2012
Bedtime Prayers
The other night, Jacob was getting snuggled into bed...errr, make that snuggled into his blankets and animals on the floor...and we said his bedtime prayer. It's the same one I said growing up, and I figured I'd stick with that one since I knew it well and it rhymed, which I figured would make it easier to learn. I would say it every night with him, probably starting around his third birthday once he was talking sufficiently, and he picked it up relatively quickly.
Anyway, the other night he insisted on saying it himself, and when he finished, out of nowhere he launched into another prayer: "Dear Lord, thank you for this day, thank you for these kids, thank you for this classroom...and all God's children said, AAAA-MEN!" That last part was LOUD.
Now, I wish I could take credit for his spontaneous prayer, but as you may have guessed from its contents, it's very obviously spawning from his time in Sunday School. I'm glad he's learning things in Sunday School, because he rarely gives us much insight into his experiences there. We can see the stuff he brings home, and once in a while he'll recall one of the stories or lessons he learned, but it's usually like pulling teeth. But here it came, out of the blue.
As I said, I wish I could take credit for it, but I suppose I wasn't sure when the right time was to teach him to pray. Maybe I should have been doing it from the beginning--and maybe next time I will--but I guess I had some concerns. First, I didn't really want it to be just this thing we always did. I wanted him to have the capacity to understand what we were doing and why, so it had some meaning beyond being a nightly ritual. I also didn't want it to lead to so many questions. My goal is always to keep bedtime simple and quick--potty, toothbrushing, pajamas, two books, prayers and bed. Adding an extra, off-the-cuff prayer seemed to be inviting delays. Jacob likes things to be just-so, and I can see him stalling until he thinks of all of the necessary elements of his prayer, or asking a million questions about the contents of his prayer. I guess that's the price we could pay to have a seasoned pray-er, and we may have to go down that road soon regardless. Because, obviously, now it's here and we might as well do it right.
He's prayed pretty much like that for the past three nights, all on his own, and tonight I finally suggested some alternate prayers--thanking God for Mommy and Daddy, and for our house, and for sports. Then he said something--not sure if he was trying to say "forgiveness"--but whatever he said sounded like it and triggered that suggestion as well. We are still working on toning down the volume of the "Amen", but as long as he's praying, I'll just plug my ears for now (yes, it's that loud.).
If nothing else, it just shows you that Sunday School is a much better way for him to spend that hour, at least for now. He sat in church for three years and barely noticed a thing--aside from Easter time when things were always a little different--but just a handful of weeks at Sunday School and the kid is doing his own prayers out of the blue. Maybe it wouldn't have resonated as strongly had the same teaching come from me, though. It wouldn't be the first time he's listened better to someone else besides his parents, that's for sure. It's also a reminder that I need to up the ante and encourage him even more. He's a smart boy and he picks certain things up quickly, so we might as well start the process in earnest now. And knowing what he can pick up, I also need to walk the walk a little better to make sure I'm being the best example I can be. It can only make things better down the road, for more reasons than one.
In the meantime, I'm grateful for the reminders and my heart is warmed by this newfound skill. It is something to be grateful for and I'm eager to hear his prayers for years to come, if only to gain more insight into the amazing little boy we've been blessed with.
Anyway, the other night he insisted on saying it himself, and when he finished, out of nowhere he launched into another prayer: "Dear Lord, thank you for this day, thank you for these kids, thank you for this classroom...and all God's children said, AAAA-MEN!" That last part was LOUD.
Now, I wish I could take credit for his spontaneous prayer, but as you may have guessed from its contents, it's very obviously spawning from his time in Sunday School. I'm glad he's learning things in Sunday School, because he rarely gives us much insight into his experiences there. We can see the stuff he brings home, and once in a while he'll recall one of the stories or lessons he learned, but it's usually like pulling teeth. But here it came, out of the blue.
As I said, I wish I could take credit for it, but I suppose I wasn't sure when the right time was to teach him to pray. Maybe I should have been doing it from the beginning--and maybe next time I will--but I guess I had some concerns. First, I didn't really want it to be just this thing we always did. I wanted him to have the capacity to understand what we were doing and why, so it had some meaning beyond being a nightly ritual. I also didn't want it to lead to so many questions. My goal is always to keep bedtime simple and quick--potty, toothbrushing, pajamas, two books, prayers and bed. Adding an extra, off-the-cuff prayer seemed to be inviting delays. Jacob likes things to be just-so, and I can see him stalling until he thinks of all of the necessary elements of his prayer, or asking a million questions about the contents of his prayer. I guess that's the price we could pay to have a seasoned pray-er, and we may have to go down that road soon regardless. Because, obviously, now it's here and we might as well do it right.
He's prayed pretty much like that for the past three nights, all on his own, and tonight I finally suggested some alternate prayers--thanking God for Mommy and Daddy, and for our house, and for sports. Then he said something--not sure if he was trying to say "forgiveness"--but whatever he said sounded like it and triggered that suggestion as well. We are still working on toning down the volume of the "Amen", but as long as he's praying, I'll just plug my ears for now (yes, it's that loud.).
If nothing else, it just shows you that Sunday School is a much better way for him to spend that hour, at least for now. He sat in church for three years and barely noticed a thing--aside from Easter time when things were always a little different--but just a handful of weeks at Sunday School and the kid is doing his own prayers out of the blue. Maybe it wouldn't have resonated as strongly had the same teaching come from me, though. It wouldn't be the first time he's listened better to someone else besides his parents, that's for sure. It's also a reminder that I need to up the ante and encourage him even more. He's a smart boy and he picks certain things up quickly, so we might as well start the process in earnest now. And knowing what he can pick up, I also need to walk the walk a little better to make sure I'm being the best example I can be. It can only make things better down the road, for more reasons than one.
In the meantime, I'm grateful for the reminders and my heart is warmed by this newfound skill. It is something to be grateful for and I'm eager to hear his prayers for years to come, if only to gain more insight into the amazing little boy we've been blessed with.
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
This Week in Blog History (plus a bonus video!)
Since I can't seem to formulate any other thoughts to expound on, I'll take the opportunity to start what I hope will be a periodic series here...this week in blog history! I now have over four years to recount, so let's see where we've been:
2008 - I had just had my car accident, which totaled my first car. It happened the week of my first baby shower, so it made for a tricky week. Craig had to drive me to a doctor's appointment and got to hear the baby's heartbeat and feel around my belly, which was certainly more than he bargained for. I pondered if getting a haircut would make it feel like a mom 'do, or if getting a new car would leave my old car as a symbol of my pre-baby life. I looked forward to my shower, and ended up with some amazing gifts and a lovely time with my family.
2009 - We were dealing with some random sleep problems for Jacob, which looking back on it was probably just another round of teething. Sleep was rare and we were exhausted! He had also been diagnosed with eczema, which turned out to be pretty much a non-event, thank goodness. After a conversation with a father-to-be friend of mine, I looked back on my labor experience and wondered how I might do it differently next time. I still wonder about that, for that matter! I recounted a very busy weekend that included Jacob's second-ever baseball game, a trip to the zoo, and outdoor dinner by the lake. I discussed God's wisdom in preventing human babies from getting mobile as quickly as animal babies, which is funny to look back on in light of a picture my cousin posted on Facebook yesterday of a new foal that was born on her family's farm. Amazing how it was up and walking, but thank goodness human babies have to wait until they start controlling their bodies and understanding the word "no" just a little better. Finally, I took one of my favorite accidental pictures--a picture of a tulip in our yard with Jacob's and my shadow silhouetted on the house's foundation behind it. Love it to this day.
2010 - We were still settling in from our move nearly a month earlier, but managed to get the house in decent shape before welcoming some guests--my parents friends, their daughter, and her son Colin, who's just a couple months younger than Jacob. It was fun watching the boys finally run around together and talk just a little bit! We'd just purchased our potty, which means we have had that thing sitting in our bathroom for two years now. I'm ready to hide it and make Jacob start using the big potty, just because I know he can. I discussed how Jacob really is just a small person, in how some of the behaviors I don't understand at first are actually no different than how I handle things as an adult...from sleeping to not wanting to eat certain foods, we all have our moments. We had another hectic weekend, where we went to Jacob's little friend Angelica's birthday party (she turned 4 last week!), and had a great time at the zoo with Lori. I still look back fondly on that day!
2011 - This week last year was Easter week. I dealt with the difficulty of talking to Jacob about death in the context of Good Friday, and had a blast with him in pleasant weather on Holy Saturday, despite the fact that my mom had to spend the whole day at the hospital with my grandma, who was really starting to go downhill. We had a nice Easter, though. That week we took Jacob to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time. The boys have been back since, but I've managed to avoid it! It definitely wasn't my favorite place to spend an evening, but I'm sure we'll have to do it again soon. Jacob's been asking. A year ago I also attempted to get treatment for my lack of smell, which ended up not working. I haven't given up hope, but it's been another year without two very important senses. I also blogged about one funny experience when Jacob and I had to dash through the rain to our car, and while I was freaking out, he was laughing. And I needed that! That was just one of the little elements of Jacob's personality that was just starting to emerge. We've seen a LOT of personality come out in the last year, that's for sure!
It's amazing to look back on how far we've come in four years.
Speaking of that...check out this video from Easter weekend this year, when Jacob was giving his golf clubs their first workout of the season. Kid's got some talent...or maybe I'm just used to my lack thereof...
2008 - I had just had my car accident, which totaled my first car. It happened the week of my first baby shower, so it made for a tricky week. Craig had to drive me to a doctor's appointment and got to hear the baby's heartbeat and feel around my belly, which was certainly more than he bargained for. I pondered if getting a haircut would make it feel like a mom 'do, or if getting a new car would leave my old car as a symbol of my pre-baby life. I looked forward to my shower, and ended up with some amazing gifts and a lovely time with my family.
2009 - We were dealing with some random sleep problems for Jacob, which looking back on it was probably just another round of teething. Sleep was rare and we were exhausted! He had also been diagnosed with eczema, which turned out to be pretty much a non-event, thank goodness. After a conversation with a father-to-be friend of mine, I looked back on my labor experience and wondered how I might do it differently next time. I still wonder about that, for that matter! I recounted a very busy weekend that included Jacob's second-ever baseball game, a trip to the zoo, and outdoor dinner by the lake. I discussed God's wisdom in preventing human babies from getting mobile as quickly as animal babies, which is funny to look back on in light of a picture my cousin posted on Facebook yesterday of a new foal that was born on her family's farm. Amazing how it was up and walking, but thank goodness human babies have to wait until they start controlling their bodies and understanding the word "no" just a little better. Finally, I took one of my favorite accidental pictures--a picture of a tulip in our yard with Jacob's and my shadow silhouetted on the house's foundation behind it. Love it to this day.
2010 - We were still settling in from our move nearly a month earlier, but managed to get the house in decent shape before welcoming some guests--my parents friends, their daughter, and her son Colin, who's just a couple months younger than Jacob. It was fun watching the boys finally run around together and talk just a little bit! We'd just purchased our potty, which means we have had that thing sitting in our bathroom for two years now. I'm ready to hide it and make Jacob start using the big potty, just because I know he can. I discussed how Jacob really is just a small person, in how some of the behaviors I don't understand at first are actually no different than how I handle things as an adult...from sleeping to not wanting to eat certain foods, we all have our moments. We had another hectic weekend, where we went to Jacob's little friend Angelica's birthday party (she turned 4 last week!), and had a great time at the zoo with Lori. I still look back fondly on that day!
2011 - This week last year was Easter week. I dealt with the difficulty of talking to Jacob about death in the context of Good Friday, and had a blast with him in pleasant weather on Holy Saturday, despite the fact that my mom had to spend the whole day at the hospital with my grandma, who was really starting to go downhill. We had a nice Easter, though. That week we took Jacob to Chuck E. Cheese for the first time. The boys have been back since, but I've managed to avoid it! It definitely wasn't my favorite place to spend an evening, but I'm sure we'll have to do it again soon. Jacob's been asking. A year ago I also attempted to get treatment for my lack of smell, which ended up not working. I haven't given up hope, but it's been another year without two very important senses. I also blogged about one funny experience when Jacob and I had to dash through the rain to our car, and while I was freaking out, he was laughing. And I needed that! That was just one of the little elements of Jacob's personality that was just starting to emerge. We've seen a LOT of personality come out in the last year, that's for sure!
It's amazing to look back on how far we've come in four years.
Speaking of that...check out this video from Easter weekend this year, when Jacob was giving his golf clubs their first workout of the season. Kid's got some talent...or maybe I'm just used to my lack thereof...
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