Tuesday Ramblings...

Snow, snow, go away, come again another YEAR!! :) I have to say I'm more ready for spring than I've ever been...even when I was pregnant for the first time! This has been the craziest, coldest, snowiest winter! Anyway, I've had some cute/interesting things that the kids have said/done lately that I wanted to share...

Bradley- he loves to be told that he's growing and getting bigger and stronger. We can sometimes use this effectively to get him to eat something healthy. Sometimes he'll just come up to us and say, "mom, look at me, I'm growing" and he stands on his tiptoes and puffs out his chest, as though he's literally growing that second. We nod and agree and tell him how big and strong he is. It's quite cute!

When playing a game with Bradley, ALWAYS let him win! He is a very sore loser. Sometimes you may think you're letting him win and lo and behold the game has changed (in his head) and he forgot to tell you. He then may determine that YOU won and he won't be very happy about it. Usually tears and wails ensue. :) He also plays very intensely and very rough. He likes to give you a character, whether it be a dinosaur or Batman or whatever, but whatever other character he has, (a dino or super hero) it WILL take yours down. And it will happen very quickly. His guy ALWAYS has to beat yours. The good thing is that games with him are simple and end quickly! As soon as you move your guy, his will knock yours down...game over! :)

Bradley still LOVES it when Trent "messes" with him. Trent has gotten pretty mischievous over the last couple of months and likes to come up to his big brother and hit him or slap him or pull his hair. Bradley thinks this is hilarious! He loves it that his baby brother wants to be near him. Trenty also seems to understand that Bradley's "bay" is special. If Trent sees it sitting on the couch or floor, he'll go over to it and start tugging on it. Bradley usually very kindly puts a stop to it, but get serious, "Bay" is OFF limits...to everyone! :)

Bradley is still very much a cuddly, sweet little boy. I have to remind myself that he's only 3 1/2 years old. He prefers to be around people rather than play independently and loves to have someone cuddle with him while he watches tv. He likes to be held and hugged and is such a precious, sweet, sensitive boy. At bedtime, I sit in the boy's room in the glider and nurse Trenty to sleep...Bradley is in his bed the whole time and sometimes he looks over to see if I'm still in there. Usually he falls asleep very quickly, but sometimes when I lay Trent down, he'll whisper, "mommy." So, I'll go over to him and he'll ask if I'll lay down in his bed with him for "just 2 more minutes" (which is his favorite way of prolonging things..."just 2 or 3 or 5 more minutes") and I'll usually tell him, "no, mommy's going night night too." Then he'll say, "but I scared." And I'll say, "you're okay, you have your bay and Trent's in here with you..." and he'll give me a kiss and a hug and go on to sleep. I love my sweet big boy and am so proud of how he's growing to be a kind, polite, sweet, loving little boy!!

Bradley's hero and favorite playmate is still his big sister Rachel. No one can entertain him more or get him to laugh at something silly like his sister can. Playtime is constant and Rach and Brad get along SO well considering they're together ALL the time! Rachel's so good to both her brothers...having more of a friendship relationship with Bradley and a motherly relationship with Trent. These boys are so blessed to have a sister like Rachel!

Sweet Rachel is still blossoming and growing and learning everything that comes her way. She still loves her homeschool co-op and comes home with some funny stories. She also loves her friends at church and spends lots of time with them between Sunday morning and Sunday night. Recently, one of her 5 year old (boy) friends from church, Collie (I know, what a name!!) asked Jesus into his heart. We talked a little about this with Rachel and what it meant to accept Jesus as her Lord and Savior...she liked the idea but still didn't get it, which is fine and normal. Anyway, her Sunday School teachers have talked about how Collie has Jesus in his heart during Sunday School. So, everyone's aware of the fact that Collie is a "new" boy. So, the other day Rachel told me that, "even though Collie has Jesus in his heart, he still tried to trip Ms. Cathy (S.S. teacher) and make her fall down and she would have hit her head on the edge of the cabinet." I said, "oh my goodness, did Ms. Cathy get upset with Collie?" Rachel said, "yes, she said she would have hit her head on the edge of the cabinet." "I don't know where Jesus was, maybe he was sleeping." I said, "I don't think Jesus was sleeping, but I don't think Collie was listening to Jesus right then, do you?" Rachel said, "no." It was cute and sweet to see how Rachel is processing the fact that Collie has accepted Jesus and whether or not he has changed that much. I am so proud of my sweet Rachel and how kind and thoughtful and loving she is towards everyone. I love everything about her...even as she tries to be more "grown" than she is and even when she has to be told things repeatedly. She is a little angel!

Trenty is a little tornado! He can clean out a cabinet faster than I can turn around. He can crawl so fast that his hand is in a toilet before I realize he's out of the room. He rakes books off shelves, pushes buttons on the DVD player and is currently obsessed with the fireplace. He doesn't just want to touch the fireplace screen, he wants to touch the soot and crawl INTO the fireplace. He wants to touch light switches and cut them on and off if we pass one when I'm holding him. He's getting good at this and is so proud of himself when he sees a light pop on or off. He LOVES Dixie and screams with glee when he can get close enough to touch her. He sometimes bangs a little too hard on her little head or pulls her fur. But thankfully, she's such a sweet old dog she doesn't flinch. Trent's tired of the stroller! Now that he knows he's mobile, he wants to MOVE on his own! Course, this is hard when we're outside, so yesterday (in the 50 degree sunshine) I realized he's perfectly fine in the wagon, buckled, and he LOVED it! He also loved Bradley's pushable race car with the foot platform so his feet don't drag the ground. He LOVED this so much that he screamed and cried when I took him out! Trent's definitely a little bundle of energy and sooooooooooo sweet! He'll let us know if he doesn't like something or if his sibs take something he was enjoying playing with. And, he'll occasionally crawl up to one of us and grab our back or arm and squeeze it and say, "awww" in his baby-dialect, as though he's giving us a hug! He's certainly a sweet baby boy who has brought so much joy and love into our home. It's hard to remember what life was like as a family of 4! We love our precious Trenty and can't believe that we have less than a month till he turns the big 1!!!!!!!!!!!!!