Christmas with kids

Decorating the tree with Leif

This summer Leif asked when it would be Christmas again. I told him it was a long time away, after Halloween. Halloween night when we returned from trick-or-treating, and we were getting ready for bed, he asked if the next day was Christmas. I held out for about a week before I broke out the Christmas lights...yes, early November. I figured a few strands of lights couldn't hurt inside our house. But then I discovered that I had purchased a strand of icicle lights for our porch on clearance last year, and I had to at least see how they looked. The whole time I was putting lights out, I explained to Leif that what I was doing was ridiculously socially unacceptable, and daddy would probably disapprove. Charles actually didn't disapprove. (it is hard to care what society thinks when your children are delighted with simple things like lights)

Spritz cookies

And so it began. Christmas season. The tree and the rest of the decorations waited until a more appropriate time to appear (the day after Thanksgiving).
This year, I have tried to pull some of the things I remember from my childhood into our Christmas celebration- I purchased a cookie press for Leif and I to make Spritz cookies together (something I remember doing every year with my mom), an advent calendar with the little pieces of chocolate inside.

Christmas lights in our mini van

And, we have some traditions that we're starting that are all our own...like hanging Christmas lights in our mini-van and in each of the boy's rooms.
It's amazing what Leif remembers- it snowed in Georgia last year on Christmas, and so he's still not convinced that today is Christmas since we didn't get snow.

Thinking back to last year, it is obvious how much our kids have grown up. Last Christmas, Owen sat like a happy blob while we delivered toys to him. This year, he's our little explorer, delighted with Christmas lights and throwing Christmas balls. He enjoyed climbing in all of the boxes that his toys came in and screaming with glee. We forgot that we didn't need to buy him gifts this year, we should have just gotten some large boxes for him to play with and balled up some wrapping paper for him to throw.

Playing with their new pirate ship

Last year, it took Leif days to open his presents since he would get so excited with the one he opened, he would forget that there were more. This year, well...he keeps asking for more presents to open. I wonder if we could re-wrap some. Leif and I have been busy making Christmas crafts to give away. It's beautiful to watch him deliver the gifts to each person and say, "I made this for you."  Tonight in prayer, Leif said, "Dear Lord Jesus, Thank you for Jesus" and then realizing what he said he laughed and said, "I just thanked Jesus for Jesus." Well, amen Leif, that's what it's all about.

Leif's nativity arrangement

Leif & Jesus

It's a beautiful thing to hear Leif talking to Jesus and about Jesus. Here are just a few of the conversations I've recorded in the last few weeks:

Charles took the boys running early one morning. When he pointed out the sunrise to Leif, he thought Leif said, "Jesus is arriving." Arriving? So he asked him, "What?"
Leif said, "Jesus is here."




 _____________________________

Looking in the mirror with Leif.
Me: Look Leif, we look like each other. (He looks and smiles)
Leif: But your face is darker than my face.
Me: Yes, your skin is lighter. Maybe you got light skin from daddy.
Leif: Yeah, from hugging him and wrestling with him and stuff.
Me: Well, you got some things from mommy and some things from daddy because mommy and daddy made you.
Leif (very serious): Mom. God made me.
______________________________
Leif and Soleil sitting on the front porch. Leif said that he was a good pirate because he had died with Jesus and come alive again.
Soleil: But Jesus is dead.
Leif: No he’s not! He came alive again.
Soleil: But he lives in that place where people go when they die.
Me: That’s right he’s in Heaven, but he’s alive.
Soleil: But we can’t see him.
Leif: Yes we can. You just have to close your eyes and I usually see him. Try it.
(short pause) Soleil: Oh yeah. He’s wearing a white night shirt.
Leif: And he’s as bright as moonlight!
Soleil: No he’s not.
Leif: Yes, he is. Jesus is as bright as moonlight!
And then Leif proceeded to repeat that over and over with Soleil telling him to stop. :)

____________________________
Charles: What story do you want to hear?
Leif: The one where Jesus died
Charles: Why do you like that story so much?
Leif:Because he saved me

Big things

9/11/11 The morning of the 10th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11. I'm letting the boys wander the house while I look through pictures and stories commemorating the day on the computer. Leif comes over while I'm looking at a picture of the Statue of Liberty with the World Trade Center buildings burning in the background, and he asks me what I'm looking at. I'm crying a little, so he knows something is very serious. I decide to tell him the very basics: "Mommy's sad because 10 years ago some bad people knocked down these buildings and a lot of really good people died."

Walking through 9/11 memorial at Kennesaw Mt.

That evening we visited Kennesaw Mt, where hundreds of flags were planted in honor of the fallen. I told Leif that these flags represented all of the good people who died.




9/12/11 We're driving in the car, and Leif says: "Mommy, tell me the story of the burning buildings again." So I tell him again about the bad people, and tell him about all of the good people who died and sacrificed on that day and in the following weeks to help rescue people and clean up the area, and now start building again and planting trees, where the buildings used to be.
Leif picks up on a word: "Mommy, how do we sacrifice?"
Me: "Sacrifice is when we choose to do something good even though it may cost us everything. Like Jesus- he sacrificed his life so that we can live with him forever when we die."
Leif: "Is he still dead?" (good question, Leif!)
Me: "No! He came back alive again after 3 days. He conquered death- he's the only person to ever do that because he was a man, and he was God."
We continue talking, and our conversation continues on death- what happens when we die. (I never thought that I'd have such deep conversations with a 3 year old, btw)
"When we die, we get to see Jesus. And Jesus will give us a new body that will never hurt, and we'll never be sad, and we'll never grow old. We'll get to live with Jesus forever. And mommy and daddy will be there with you, and all the people you miss in NJ. We'll get to live with them and never have to say goodbye."
With excitement Leif asks: "So, when can we die?"

Kennesaw Mt. 9/11 memorial

Now I realize I've sold the concept of death pretty well here. Maybe too well. And yet, I wonder if that shouldn't be all of our responses. We're all afraid of death because it's unknown, and because for many it involves a painful decline, but Leif doesn't yet know to fear death, he only knows hope and trust.  No wonder Jesus loved hanging out with little kids. I sure do.

Mark 10:14, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these."

Light Savers

Leif and his friend Will were playing together the other day. They were fighting with light-sabers, but calling them "light-savers". Sometimes Leif would even say "Life-saver". So, I decided to tell them the truth.
Me: "You know, they are actually called light sabers, not savers. Saber. (I over-pronounce the 'B') It's another word for sword."
Will: "No it's not." (not sure if he's fighting the definition of the word saber, or the whole concept of it being a light-saber)
Me: "It's like a saber-tooth tiger, have you heard of them? They have two big teeth that stick out of their mouths like swords."
Leif: "Do they SAVE people?"

At this point, I drop the subject altogether because I could see I was not getting anywhere with my little word lesson. I have given in and now refer to them as light-savers. It's a happy sounding mistake.

Leif's prayers

Leif has learned the art of praying out loud anytime, anywhere, from Charles and me. It's just a habit. We thank God for good things, and in a crisis are praying out loud almost the entire time. (who better to talk to?) Leif has truly embraced talking to Jesus about everything. A few months ago in the car I told Leif I had lost my brain. I heard him imploring God to get me my brain back.

A bad habit I'm in is when changing the rabbit tray quickly (like when company is about to arrive) I throw (well, place) the dirty rabbit tray in the garage, shut the door and forget about it.

Gordy (the culprit)

Yesterday, we arrived home, and went through the garage to go inside. A dirty rabbit tray was laying near our path. I hear Leif say, "There’s a lot of rabbit poop there. Mommy, did you see all this rabbit poop? (and then, very serious) Jesus, why did you send us rabbit poop?”

I made sure I took the tray out and washed it.

Dear Mommy

Leif read the label on my new hair brush.
It says, "Dear Mommy. Wash your hair and bwush with me. Goodbye."

Oh Captain, my Captain!

Marina at sunset
by Mari Ann

Charles and I recently brought the kids up to New Jersey for a visit. Traveling with Leif was endlessly entertaining. Our first stop was at my in-law's condo in Forked River. We arrived late in the evening, a little past the boy's bedtime, and put them to bed as quickly as possible. Leif awoke early the next morning, and looked out at the marina. "Look at all that water!" he exclaimed, "There must have been a flood!"

My in-laws took us sailing, and Charles was feeling sick and couldn't go. Knowing that I would probably end up holding Owen most of the sail, I wanted to make sure Leif understood that sailing was serious business and he had to listen to his grandparent's instructions. So, I explained that Papa was the Captain, and he was in charge, and would tell us what to do, and we must listen to him.

Leif & MyMy

However, the next time we got into the car, Leif announced that HE was the captain. So I asked, "Then who is daddy?" Leif said, "Daddy is just the driver. I tell him what to do." So, Leif earned the title, "Oh Captain, my Captain", and he still pulls the captain thing on me. Today getting in the car I told him to sit down and buckle his seatbelt, and he said to me, "I'm the Captain. I know what to do. Don't tell me what to do." You've just got to love 3 years olds.

Leif's two wonderful questions while sailing:
1) After tacking, he calmly asks me: "Are we going to sink now?"
2) Can we walk back?

In Need of Socialization

Setting: Driving home from the YMCA where Leif had spent time in childcare.

 Leif: A boy was saying mean things to me.

 Me: Oh Leif, that's terrible. Did you tell him not to be mean to you? 

 Leif: No

Me: Well, next time someone is mean to you, you tell them to be 

nice and if they continue, you tell someone in charge. 

Leif: Okay

Me: What kind of things was he saying?

Leif: He was saying things like- "Stop telling me what to do, you're not my mommy".

Me: Leif, were you telling him what to do?

Leif: Well, yes! 

Concept of Time

Leif: When will Owen be a little boy?
Me: In about a year.
Leif: When we're in NJ?
Me: No sweetheart, that's in a few days.
Leif: Oh
Me: Next year, Owen will be 2, and you'll be 4!
Leif: Oooh....(severely disappointed) I wanted to be 3 for WEEKS!

Movie Theatrics

This morning when Leif got up I asked him to go on a date with me to see Cars 2, to which he replied "Let's go NOW!" (that was 7am) Today is opening day, and I pre-purchased tickets online for the matinee showing. Leif was so excited about it- we had to go to Target to pick some things up and he announced to the woman at checkout (he NEVER talks to anyone in stores- he gets too shy and clams up) that he was "going on a date today, to see a movie with lots of cars in it: Guy (his name for Lightning McQueen), and Mater." I interpreted for her that we were going to see Cars 2.

Arriving at the theater

For a 3 year old, Leif has a great attention span for books and movies, but this was his first theater experience so I wasn't sure what to expect. I did tell him that it was going to get really dark in there once the movie started, at which point he was announcing loudly to the people next to us, "This is really good popcorn!", so then we talked about trying to be quiet in the theater. He did the quiet thing pretty well until the lights went down and he declared, "It's REALLY dark in here...ooo, what are those?" (pointing at the lights on the floor that lead to the exits.) Overall, he did really well, having to be coaxed back into his seat only about 3 times, and needing to hold my hand only for a short time when we thought the bad guys might kill Lightning McQueen. And, my favorite part of the date was when we arrived home and he asked me what my favorite part of our date was, a cute habit he's picked up from Charles. He's the sweetest little guy, and I'm so glad he's mine.

Introduction

I have a 3 year old. And a 1 year old. Since I have donated my brains to my children, I have decided instead of blogging my thoughts, I should record their thoughts, which are wonderful and twisted and entertaining. Here is a sample conversation with Leif (3) from our time on the swingset this morning:

Me: I don’t like mosquitoes
Leif: Well, I LOVE mosquitoes
Me: You do?
Leif: Yes, cause Jesus loves mosquitoes
Me: Yes, I guess he does
Leif: He loves them cause he kills them.
Me: I don’t follow your logic
Leif: Well, I follow my logic
Me: That’s good.
Leif: Cause Jesus kills them, and I kill them.
Me: Oh, I see. You love them and kill them because Jesus loves them and kills them
Leif: Right!
Me: I like your logic.

few moments later....
Me: I’m trying to decide if we should go to church today, because if we are, we should go in and get ready soon.
Leif: I don’t follow your.....problem. But, I like your problem.