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.