The Boys

I realized that I haven't updated on the boys in quite a while, and felt it was time to say a little something about each of them. 

Thomas - He is now officially three-and-a-half and really amazes me at all he understands and can communicate.  Josh and I spell a lot more around him now when we need to say something that he doesn't need to understand!  We are still working through a preschool curriculum that I found online and that he loves to do.  I have bought a couple of books from Barnes & Noble to practice numbers, as his letter recognition and sounds are way ahead of his numbers.  He can pretty much count to 20, but has a hard time going past 20.  He loves to look at the clock and tell me what time it is.  At breakfast, he will usually say, "Mama, it is eight oh eight," and then proceed to update every minute after! 

Discipline is much more frequent now than at any other time.  We know that he is constantly testing us to see who is in control.  Not only do we still deal with direct disobedience, but also defiance and disrespect.  The rule in our home is to obey happily, quickly, and totally.  If he does not obey in those ways (which rarely happens since whining is still such a big issue) then discipline follows.  One of the biggest areas of disobedience is sharing/being kind to Josiah.  I constantly tell him, "Thomas you have to share with Josiah," to which he says, "But I don't want to share!"  At least he is honest! 

Thomas is still a very happy and loving child. He is quick to express his love to us and is overjoyed to do something one-on-one with us.  Spending time with daddy is definitely at the top of his list and I love to see how much he adores Josh and wants to be just like him. 

Josiah - It is so hard for me to believe, but he is only 4 months away from turning 2!  Maybe it is so sudden for me since it took him forever to walk and I never felt like he was a "big boy" when he was crawling everywhere.  Josiah is definitely a mama's boy.  He prefers me over anyone else, and often will not be comforted unless I am the one holding him.  With that preference of me also comes his many demands of me.  I cannot begin to tell you how many times I hear "Mama" during the day.  Since he doesn't say a lot of words right now, he calls my name anytime he wants something: get out of bed, milk, food, sit on the couch, reach a toy, tattle on Thomas, etc.  Some days it is overwhelming! 

Josiah has always been a very sweet child and continues to be very loving to us.  He laughs easily and still likes to sit in our laps while we read or watch television.  He loves to play with puzzles, cars (he says "car" with a Boston accent - so funny), trains, and read books. 

Of course, sharing isn't easy for him either.  He can take a toy just as quickly as Thomas and often resorts to pulling hair or biting to show his anger.  Sigh...the joys of close siblings who have to share toys! 

Just a little update on both of the boys.  I really would like to post more frequently, but often don't make the time.  I'm reading a lot these days and just trying to spend more time with my boys.  My goal is to blog once a week, but that hasn't been very consistent thus far!

Cinderella

Last night, Josh and I were in the car on the way to meet friends for dinner. He was flipping through the stations and one of the songs I heard was "Cinderella" by Steven Curtis Chapman. I told him I had heard the song the other day and thought of him and our yet to be born daughter. He went back to the song and listened to the first verse and then abruptly changed the station. As I was protesting the change of the radio, he said, "I can't listen to that," and as I looked over at him he had tears in his eyes! A good friend told me that he will never be the same after having a daughter, and I'm starting to believe her (especially since she isn't even here yet!).  Thankful to have a husband who loves his daughter so much already!

If you have never heard the song or would like to hear the story behind the song you can watch this: