Hippo Logic

So, this morning I'm driving Leif to school and he says to me:
"Mommy, do you ever lie to me?"
Me (slightly startled): "No, Leif, I try not to....why?"
Leif: "Because I just think it would be really cute to see you hugging a baby hippo...(long pause where I say something like "oh")...It's just, I'm trying to steer my mind to the cute stuff."

So, there's my clue to following the Leif rabbit trail- that and the hippos. You see, last night, Leif was having trouble falling asleep.
I could tell he was legitimately troubled, so I agreed to cuddle with him.
Our conversation went something like this:
Leif: "Mom, are monsters real?"
Me: "No."
Leif: "What about big animals? Do they eat people?"
Me: "Yes, there are big animals who can eat people."
Leif: "Like Hippos? What if a giant hippo was trying to get me-"
At this point I interrupt: "Leif, you can't let your brain do this. At night especially, your imagination is going to take you to some pretty scary places if you let it. While you're still awake, you need to think of a happy story: something that made you laugh, or something you enjoyed. Think about that, and then if your mind starts to wander to the scary thoughts, you bring it back to that story, and soon you'll be fast asleep and dreaming."

After saying something like this, I answered a few more questions about hippos, including the fact that we don't have any hippos in Georgia for him to fear. I then made up a short story about his stuffed animals playing Angry Birds, and he fell asleep.

And so, you see, if I was telling the truth about having no hippos in Georgia, then he can't see me hug a baby hippo, and that would be sad.
And that folks, is Toddler Logic. 

DID YOU LOSE YOUR CHICKENS?

Roosters in our yard.

While the boys were playing in the yard with Charles the other day, I look out the front window and see two roosters wandering around the yard, right by the kids. The roosters didn't seem to mind the kids, in fact, they were munching in the grass and seemed totally comfortable by them. Roosters? So, I got my camera. How often do you see roosters wandering in your yard?
That evening, our yard bunny joined them. It was kind of like living on a farm. I figured they'd be gone by the next day or, I'd call animal control if they decided to crow in the wee hours of the morning; but, neither happened. They were still around in the neighbor's yard, but had not woken us early with their crowing. So, I ignored them. They came over by our yard when we were outside playing, and were quiet in the morning. So, they stayed.

Boo-Boo Chicken

Leif and I had a lot of conversations about the roosters. From the first day they arrived, he loved them. He had come up to me and said, "These roosters have no one to take care of them....(long pause)...maybe we should take care of them?!"...as if that idea had just dawned on him.

He also was a little incredulous to find out that roosters were male chickens. "Mom." he said with some obvious disbelief, "Are they really male chickens? Do they bring people mail when they come by their houses?"

After dinner we went up the block for a walk. A man was grilling in his driveway, in front of one of the most disheveled houses on our block- broken down car in the driveway, weeds and randomly planted bushes in the front yard, garbage piled in the side yard, etc.
Leif shouts up to the guy: “Did you lose your chickens?”
The guy can’t hear or understand Leif, and says, “What?”
Leif shouts again, much louder, “DID YOU LOSE YOUR CHICKENS?”
The guy puts his hands to his ear and says, “I can’t hear him- what did he say?”
I decide to explain, “He wants to know if you lost any roosters- there have been some in our cul-de-sac today.”
“Oh, no, I  don’t have any roosters. I have dogs- I don’t think they’d get along very well.”
“Roosters eat dogs, you know.” Leif informs him. “So watch out for your dogs!”
“Oh, okay.” The guy goes along with Leif.
We continue to walk a few paces. “I LOVE YOUR HOUSE, BY THE WAY!” Leif shouts at up to the guy.
“Thanks!” The guy responds.
At this point I’m just laughing, but I’m very curious about what he likes about this totally disheveled house, so I ask him.
“The flag, mom. I like their flag. Can we get an American flag for our house?”
“Yes, Leif, I think we should.”

Bringing Boo-Boo to the Yellow River Game Ranch

So, to make a terribly long rooster story short: one rooster wandered off, and a neighbor called animal control who apparently found a home for him. The other rooster we named Boo-Boo Chicken and let him hang out for a few more days and then brought him to the Yellow River Game Ranch for his permanent home. And...we got an American Flag for our house, and put it up on the 4th of July! And that's what roosters have to do with American Flags, at least, at our house! 

Hanging our American Flag.

Straight from the source

I usually post stories about Leif on this blog, but yesterday at snack time, Leif started to talk about his plans for the future, and I decided to just record him. At the beginning of the video I am catching up on the info he has already shared, then he takes over...enjoy!

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.