Bilingual ??? Only my firstborn!

The other day I was with Parker in the kitchen and I heard Davis go into the bathroom. When he goes "#1" he takes care of his business completely on his own, but when he goes "#2" he calls for me to help him wipe his bottom with a wet wipe. I knew this was probably coming so I was anticipating a call. I hear Davis yell down the hall "Ayuda me, Ayuda me, Ayuda me!" (eye-you-da-may) I was completely caught off guard and then I realized he was yelling "help me" in Spanish - which I recognized from a Dora video we used to watch in the car. I had to stand there and just laugh for a minute. He had never used the phrase before so it was so completely random. He cracks me up. That is just so Davis. Not to mention, it confirms the decision we recently came to about actually putting something on in the car that we WANT Davis to memorize as he quickly memorizes things that are on in the car. He is like a sponge.

So Patriotic

I am posting this both in the spirit of the coming holiday and to document what is only a small example of some of Davis' funny quirks that I know I will forget. Davis has what I've come to acknowledge as his "favorite thing of the moment". Some of the recent spot holders were a Hummer hotwheel, a green highlighter, a little black pick-up truck, an old key his Grammie gave him, and a red Bic pen. These are not big items but he literally totes them around all day long and ALWAYS wants them on his nightstand so that he will remember exactly where they are when he wakes up in the morning. They don't usually hold their place of seniority for more than a couple of days (though they occasionally cycle back around) but it cracks me up how intense he is about such small things for those couple of days. The red pen actually traveled to Sedona with us and he hauled it around and slept with it there - I know . . . crazy. Anyway, the current item is this flag. They were giving them away for the holiday at the info desk at the mall and Theresa swiped about 10 of them so each of the kids would have their own. It is only day 2 of the flag, but he literally has not left a room for the last two days without his flag and of course - it sleeps on the nightstand. So thank you to Theresa for the very cheap thrill and Happy 4th of July to everyone!

We Miss Daddy

This week Mark is working in Denver. I know that Daddy being gone is far more typical in lots of other homes (particularly my sister who is alone 1/3 of the year) but we are without Dad very seldom around here. The boys and myself aren't very fond of Daddy being gone. While it really has been fine overall, the boys seems constantly aware that things around here just aren't the same. Davis asks regularly if we can go to Denver for lunch and see Dad and everytime he sees an airplane in the sky (many times per car trip) he is sure it is his Dad's plane coming home. Parker pretty much thinks he has been abandoned by his best buddy. When Mark's voice is on the answering machine, Davis starts talking to him as though he is on speaker phone and Parker runs for the garage door hoping his Dad is there. Everytime I open the garage and they see his car Davis yells "Yeah Dad's home" and Parker yells "Daddeeeee". Usually when Dad's car is here they know he is home. We really miss him and can't wait for Saturday!!

(The video was for Mark - it was the only way I could think to send it :)

"Pizza Donut"

We were at Peter Piper last night and Davis kept insisting that he wanted "Pizza Donut". I assumed that he was asking for dessert pizza (as we frequent the lunch buffet often :). I told him we would get it later. Finally I told him I was going to go up and order his dessert pizza and he said, "No mom, I want to GO-O-O to 'peez donut' to be with my cousins." Oh, finally I understand that he wants to go to Sedona. (Eli and Kara left yesterday). We are going on Friday but that is hardly soon enough for Davis who lives to be with his cousins right now. He pretty much thinks Kara is the best thing that has ever happened to him and doesn't want to leave her side. (Mark and I have actually joked about whether it has crossed over into inappropriate love for your cousin) I think it is killing him that Eli is getting her undivided attention. See you kids tomorrow !

Trust Me

This story cracks me up because if you know either Eli or Davis you know that this is just so characteristic of both of them. Davis didn't really start talking until he could speak in sentences. It has always been so funny to me that he will hear cliche "phrases" and then he uses them fifty times a day - usually out of context. For example, he recently began incorporating "Nevermind" into his vocab. He just adds it on to whatever he is saying - "I think I am ready for lunch . . nevermind". It cracks me up. His new one, as of a couple days ago, is "trust me" in the context of "I can do this . . . trust me". So today I was driving home from swim lessons with Eli in my car. He says to Eli, "We have to make a truck line when we get home . . it will be so fun . . trust me." Eli quickly responds, "Davis, I can't trust you because the Bible says that I can only trust in God and Jesus, because Jesus is God. I can't trust in you, or people or things, just God". This completely goes over Davis' head so he continues to sit back there and just repeat "No, trust me" over and over until we get home. Of course Eli is desperately trying to shed some Biblically profound information over the chatter but is too distracted by Davis repeating the phrase over and over. They are quite the pair.

These are a few of my favorite things

Each of the boys have their special things that they really can't live without before bed or naps. Davis didn't really attach himself to anything until after 2-yrs-old, but now he loves his doggies - particularly his "doggy with a feather" which is his favorite. (It has a red, now very ratty, ribbon tied around his neck and Davis calls it his feather). He also loves his pillow. No other pillow or pillow case can take the place of his pillow - which I had to discover the hard way. Parker absolutely loves his blanket (bankie) and his bottle. He recently figured out that Davis gets to watch a show while I give Parker a bottle in his room before bed. In the last two weeks or so he is waiting by my bed, with his blanket, so that he can watch a show with Davis. It was so funny to me that we had had that routine for almost a year and a half and it just clicked to him that he was getting left out of the "show on my bed" part of the routine. It is very sweet to me to watch them snuggle up with the things they love and get all relaxed before bed. I was a little sad that Parker didn't want his bottle in his room anymore - but thankfully he still wants to snuggle for a little bit while we sing and pray.

Hair Styles for Everyone

It comes as no surprise to me that Davis takes personal hygiene fairly seriously. He can definitely be "intense" about those types of things and I am sure there is genetic predisposition coming from his dad's genes. Anyway, this weekend Davis became obsessed with fixing everyone's hair. He took the attachment off of this bug zapper thing so that it worked like a blow dryer and then, very seriously, combed and dried our hair - repeatedly :) Even Parker would stand very still and let Davis comb and style his bald little head - which was surprising as he is not usually so compliant to follow Davis' direction. I think Parker really liked the feeling of having his head brushed. He carried all of his tools around in a bag for about three days - slept with them on his night stand and the whole bit. It has already seemed to become less of an obsession, but it was very funny while it lasted.

Let It Penetrate His Heart

I know for many little kids reading God's Word is something they naturally enjoy because they get to do it with their parents and they observe their parents enjoy it as well. For Davis, this has been a long time prayer (and if I am not careful, a slippery slope for fear in me) because he did not "naturally" or readily embrace even reading a children's Bible story. In the last year, I have watched God progressively change this in Davis and it is probably one of the most significant answers to prayer that I have ever personally experienced. It has been a process for him but he has begun to really embrace reading together and has also memorized several verses over the last couple of months. In the last week or so we changed the time we read/pray/sing together to first thing in the morning to include Parker. In this time, I feel like I have watched God continue to work in Davis' life in this area. We have been reading Psalm 19 and memorizing Ps 19:14 "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer". I have watched him start to really digest what he is saying, asking almost everyday to talk about what "Redeemer" means. Not only is God hiding his Word in his heart, I feel like I have seen it actually produce a change in him this week. His words, particularly to his Dad and his brother, have been remarkably sweeter, more encouraging, and more patient. Mark even commented on the differnce on Saturday after spending some time alone with Davis and Mark didn't even know what we had been reading over the past couple of days. I don't know that Davis is making a direct correlation between the verse and his decisions, but it seems to definitely be penetrating to the point of just making an all over change. I don't know that I can even express how thankful this makes me. I am confident that we are called to pray for others in this way so that when God does work, He is even more glorified by our thankfulness for His answer and His goodness to us.

Happy Early Father's Day

My Dad will be gone next weekend so we celebrated Father's Day this Sunday at Joe's Farm Grill (excellent by the way and great for kids). It is crazy to me to look at this picture and see him surrounded by all of us - we have become such a crew. Mostly I am just be struck by the goodness and faithfulness of God to my dad and to our family. My dad has been and is a faithful leader in our family and in so many ways gives us a physical demonstration of the love of our Heavenly Father. I am very grateful for him and the way that God has blessed all of us through my dad.

(I don't know if you can see Davis' face in this photo - but it is classic Davis - he HATES photos)

Happy Birthday Clay

My nephew Clay turned 3-years-old today and the kids had a blast tearing through Peter Piper together. It is so fun to be able to see the TX Johnsons. Clay and Kara are both so much bigger each time we see them. It is crazy to see that clan of little kids all sitting around and talking at that table. It seems like we went from little babies to all of these sweet kids almost overnight. Clay has definitely become a sweet little boy. Davis is really enjoying getting to play with him this visit. Happy Birthday Clay!

La You!!

Davis and I have long played this game where he says "Mama, I love you" and I reply "Oh, no, no, no, no, no - I love YOU!" and then he replies back the same way. This can go back and forth for a really long time - he is either very amused or likes to confirm how much he is loved :)

Tonight, I was acutally alone with Parker for his bath, which almost never happens, and I said "Parker, I love you." He smiled up at me and said "na, na, na, na - la U" and pointed at me the way his brother does. It was the sweetest thing. I responded back the way I always do and he laughed and laughed to reply back and forth. He is learning so many new words and expressions everyday - but the first "I love you" has definitely been my very favorite. He is the sweetest little boy.

Big Brother

Davis completely loves being Parker's big brother. Lately, he is particularly aware of things that he thinks are "his job" such as helping Parker get down out-of or off-of something like the Jeep Big Wheels or a kitchen chair. This is particularly amusing because there is really only about seven pounds difference between the two boys at this point so it is less than graceful when he gets Parker around the waist (or around the shoulder and neck if Parker is unlucky) and does his best to lift him down. Yesterday, I had to go back into the house after already loading both boys into their car seats and Parker was not happy about being in his car seat. When I opened my door, Parker was fussing about being in the car without me and Davis was singing "Jesus Loves Parker" at the top of his lungs. It was very sweet. I couldn't decide if it was an effort to tune out the fussing or an effort to calm his little brother down - probably a combination of the two. Either way, I was very aware of how sweet their relationship is becoming everyday.

The Rat Pack

This crew, particularly my son, would never pose for a picture without a battle but this afternoon, after getting to play together for the first time in a long time, all five of them flopped down on my bed like sardines to watch a show. Davis has been standing on his head waiting for his cousins to get to Phoenix from Texas. Being with his cousins (Eli, TJ, & Logan) is a daily request and it is over-the-top great for him if his out-of-state cousins (Kara and Clay) are here to play too. He is so thrilled to be with them and I am so grateful that God has given them friendships with one another.

First Haircut

Okay, I know you are probably wondering why the bald kid is sitting in the chair for his first haircut, but he actually did have a lot of hair in the back that was getting long enough to gather into a tail. As you can imagine, this look did not appeal to his Daddy. I was so sad to get it cut but when she got done he looked so cute. It actually makes his face look so much more like a little boy to have that "bald old man" hair in the back trimmed up. My experience with Parker was (no surpise) a completely opposite experience from Davis' first haircut. I literally had to hold Davis down in that little car the entire time she attempted to cut the hair of a little boy who was shaking his head no and crying. Parker happily sat in the little car and told the lady what was on the Baby Einstein video two second before the banana or the apple would come up on the screen. I know, so proud that he has seen the video enough to anticipate what is coming. He is one handsome little white-haired boy!