Tiny Talk Tuesday

Sunday night as we were going through our bedtime routine Benjamin climbed into Nathan's empty bed just to mess with him. I told Nathan to get in bed and give Benjamin a big hug and then send him over to his bed. As Nathan climbed into his bed to love on his little bro, Benjamin resisted - still just messing with his big bro. Nathan then said "Benjamin, let me love on you or you're going to be sorry!" That's brotherhood at it's best!

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Last Tuesday at Grandma and Poppo's house (when the boys wore their St. Patty Day shirts) David was giving them Daddy back rides around the house. He had already given Benjamin a ride around with Nathan chasing them before I started filming. As Nathan was riding around he says "I'm worn out!" We all got a kick out of that!

A couple of days later I had a similar experience while shopping at the big Walmart. The boys were in one of those carts that has the extra seating area in front of a regular shopping cart. Brilliant idea except for the fact that it is impossible to steer - oh well. Anyway we had been shopping and adding things to the cart for quite some time and Nathan looks up at me as I'm struggling to wrestle/steer the cart around a corner and says "I'm tired." I know he meant that he was tired of riding in the little cart attachment but it just sounded funny. A lady walking by overheard him and laughed at the irony with me.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Last Saturday when we were at Fort Imagination Benjamin was playing with a little girl he had met there. At one point he was standing up on a step and she pushed him off of it right flat on his face. David was standing near him as this happened and said it is a thousand wonders he did not get a bloody nose out of the deal. He did however get a scraped nose and a big mouthful of dirt, both of which greatly upset him. I took him out to the van to get him all cleaned up and after the tears had subsided and his mouth had been thoroughly rinsed he said "I don't like my new friend anymore." Me either, honey, me either.

Nathan is reading/spelling more and more every day and this makes for some interesting situations at times.

After we left Fort Imagination Saturday we went to Texas Roadhouse for lunch. Benjamin was a bit fussy during the meal and Dad asked him what was wrong. I mentioned to Dad that he was probably t-i-r-e-d, spelling it out so as not to give Benjamin a license to misbehave. Nathan looked up and his dad and said "Yeah, he's tired." David told me later that I'll have to start spelling exhausted - yeah, if I could!

Another situation came about in church this past Sunday when Nathan's Sunday School teacher set down a container which had once held animal crackers but now held Honeycomb cereal. Nathan looked at the package and said "Animal Crackers" and his teacher shared with me later that he just assumed that Nathan recognized the container. A few minutes later as they were eating Nathan looked at the package again and said "Why does that say "Low Fat'"? Okay, so he really was reading the words. Smarty pants.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

While we were driving through Mineral Wells on the way to Ft. Worth this past weekend (I like to eat at their Braums and I like to bypass the Interstate 20 chaos), Nathan was looking out his window and asked "Why does that say 'Well of Life?'" David and I looked at each other a little surprised that he had just read this then started looking around for where he had read it. Sure enough there is a Well of Life church in Mineral Wells and my four year old read their sign to me. Ah, the adventure of having a young reader around.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

The other day Nathan and I were talking about Christmas, and Jesus, and his Cubbie verse which was "Jesus said 'I am the resurrection and the life.'" I wanted him to have the big picture regarding why Jesus came and why he had to die and what it means for us to have eternal life because He rose from the dead. I decided to draw out a simple plan of salvation on paper for him and explain the whole thing. It's really amazing how simple the story is and how complicated we often try to make it. At the end of the explanation I told Nathan that I was explaining all this to him because I wanted him to know the truth of God's love for him - for everyone. I then told him that many people in the world do not know the truth. At that he picked up the paper I had written on and said "Can we take this to them, to the people who don't know?" Talk about a big lump in my throat! I could hardly speak to tell him "Yes, that's exactly what God wants us to do!" I only pray that my heart would be as tender and eager as my son's to tell a dark world about the Light born on that first Christmas night so long ago.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Last week we had a plumber coming to our house and Benjamin was watching out the front door for him. When he got out of his truck Benjamin noticed his cowboy hat and excitedly said "The plumber is here and he's dressed as a cowboy!"

Tiny Talk Tuesday

I was talking with the boys one day about who is older and such. They hear the "'are they twins?" question alot when we're out and about and Nathan wanted to make sure we all knew that he is older. I asked him if he was older and wiser and he said "No, not wiser, that's just God and Jesus." Pretty smart kid!

Tiny Talk Tuesday

David was roughhousing with the boys the other night which is something I've had to delegate solely to him. (I can't play rough with them anymore because I get hurt!) I'm glad they've got a good daddy that loves to get his work out in by wrestling around with them. Anyway, David grabbed Nathan and said he was going to eat him. Nathan said "No, don't eat me! I taste bad! I'm covered in germs!" David cracked up laughing and Nathan ran free so the line worked.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

On the morning of my birthday, the boys were watching one of their videos (before we left for the bakery) and there was a preview for the Stuart Little 3 DVD. Benjamin looks at me and says "We don't have that video. I think you should get that for your birthday." It made my day. We'll have to see if we can't find it for his birthday coming up in November.

One day I was checking out a Target and the salesclerk asked Nathan what his name was. He looks at her and says "I'm LarryBoy!" Then Benjamin turned around and says "I'm Superman!" I explained to her that I named them Nathan and Benjamin but that I do feel quite safe in the company of two super heroes.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Nathan was at Grammy and Granpop's house the other day and Granpop was catching him as he ran by and Nathan said "Don't boynap me!"

Benjamin was at Grammy and Granpop's and after dinner Grammy mentioned something about having ice cream for dessert and Benjamin VERY excitedly said "You have ice cream!" That's my boy.

Nathan was pretending to be a "bad guy" one day and I asked it what he did that made him a bad guy and he said "I'm a villain that eats the last bite of ice cream." Yep, that's a villain in my book any day.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Our friend Josh was at the house the other day and Benjamin was bugging both Josh and Nathan as they sat on the couch together. Josh's mom, Aylin, asked Benjamin if he was bugging everybody and he said "No just one...just my Nate." Well, at least he's honest. I've determined that it is the express goal of the little brother to bug the big brother and Benjamin is doing a bang up job of it. They're both very good at pushing each other's buttons and they can be really good at playing nice together sometimes too. All in all I'm really glad they have each other to bug and to love.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Nathan was helping me with his drink cup one day and was turning the lid the wrong direction as he tried to put it back on. I told him to remember "Righty tighty" and he looked at me sort of puzzled and said "and lefty tefty?" That's not exactly what I was going to say but it was pretty cute. When I told him it was actually "Lefty loosey" he thought I was joking. No seriously - righty tighty lefty loosey - that's the only way I can remember which way to turn things.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

On Sunday when the boys were bowling with Dad they started out with Dad setting up the pins and the boys quickly bowling them down. (We're going to have to explain the game to them much better before they ever go to an actual bowling alley. As it is right now they think that once you've rolled your ball you get to go and kick down whatever pins didn't fall. Not exactly accurate but awfully cute to watch.) Anyway, after a while Dad told them it was their turn to set up the pins for him to bowl them down. These pins fall over extremely easily and the boys were having quite a time getting all ten of them set up an the same time for Dad to roll his ball. As they were working Nathan told Dad that it was "going to take a minute for his game to load." I love my three year old speaking computer lingo!

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Benjamin was feeling of Nathan's cast and I asked him what it felt like on the outside and he answered "Rough" which is very accurate. Next I asked Nathan what it felt like on the inside (having never had a cast myself I was curious) he said "It feels like an arm." Well, duh. Silly me. I should have known.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Benjamin is talking more all the time and has recently started singing his ABC's. Dad caught it on video for us all to enjoy.

Nathan was spending the weekend with my parents and my mom had asked him at one meal if he wanted to try some pineapple and cottage cheese. He declined. At a later meal he said that he would try some after all and just as mom was going to put some on his plate he said, "Not!" They all got a kick out of that.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

As I mentioned in an earlier post Nathan is very into spelling out words right now. He saw the trash can at the zoo and wanted to spell out the name so I videoed it. You gotta love the way "L" is a two syllable word - he's definitely a Texan. (Also, he got a slight sunburn the day before but had on sun screen at the zoo so the bun on his neck is not near as bad as it looks in the video.)

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Nathan has long quoted his favorite lines from the various videos he likes to watch. Well, Benjamin was watching the Boz video titled "Thank You God For Friends and Helpers" and he quoted Gracie saying "Should have known" along with the video. It was too cute. I had to get him saying it on video so here it is.

Nathan of course needed to be videoed saying it as well so in the interest of equality here's Nathan's version.

Nathan was crawling under the table and announced that he was in the "Chairy Forrest" because of all the chairs - obviously.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

We've been working with the boys on first time obedience (a practice taught in our Growing Kids God's Way class which we just finished up). One thing they suggest is that before you give an instruction you get eye contact and then have the child say "Yes Mommy/Daddy" or "Yes Ma'am/Sir" to acknowledge that they've heard the instruction and are going to do as they've been asked. Well the other day Nathan asked dad to do something for him and followed up his request with "I need to hear a 'Yes Sir.'" At least we know he's been listening.

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Before we put the boys in bed each night we say a prayer together as a family. Dad usually leads the prayer. Tonight after Dad said "Amen," Nathan said he wanted to say a prayer too. It was incredible. He closed his eyes and said, "O God, You are my God, I bless You. Amen." David and I were both misty-eyed at the preciousness of those sweet words. I praise God for Nathan's tender heart that is already being drawn to Him. I have no doubt that God was indeed blessed.

O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly. Psalm 63:1a

I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Psalm 34:1

Tiny Talk Tuesday

Back in August my in-laws kept Nathan for five days while Benjamin stayed with my parents. One day Grammy (my mother-in-law) had some hand weights out and Nathan asked what they were. When she told him they were weights he asked "What are they waiting for?"

Nathan was delighted about something (sorry I don't remember all the details) and he said "I'm so very pleased and thank-youed."

We were shopping at Sam's and we needed some cereal so I picked up a three pack that had Fruit Loops, Cocoa Pebbles, and Apple Jacks in it. (I'll go ahead and admit that David and I like all those and yes I know they have very little if any nutritional value.) Anyway, Nathan looked at the box and though he has never had Cocoa Pebbles to my knowledge he said "The brown one is my favorite." I asked him if it was because he thought it was chocolate and he said yes. Like mother like son.