meditations on immortality

We were eating lunch when out of nowhere, Abraham says with surprise, "Mommy, we're NOT dying!"

I simply agreed, deciding not to go in the more morbid direction of arguing that we are all slowly dying, with each passing day. You know, because he's 3. But this assertion of his runs along the same lines as other questions that come up some time like, "Why am I still small?" "Am I four yet?" "Why is Gabriel still a baby?" Time is moving too slowly for his liking. For me, I can't believe how fast he's grown.

THINGS ABOUT ABRAHAM

1. He likes to negotiate. He's got his own opinion and is not afraid to share it. For instance, he asked me around snack time, "If I eat two carrots, can I have some chips?" I said, "Sure. Do you want two carrots or one carrot and one celery?" "How about just one carrot?" "But you said two." "How about no carrots, just chips?" What! He's the one who brought up carrots to begin with! And he still had to negotiate it down.

2. We had a dance party the other day. Not to Raffi or Disney songs, but The Smiths, Juanes, Ok Go, Andy Grammer. Kid's pretty eclectic; pretty diverse selection. Just need some techno and rap to round it out. I'm accepting toddler-friendly recommendations.

3. He asks why. ALL the time. About everything. I am endeavoring to really appreciate this quality rather than allow it to exhaust me. I don't KNOW why that guy is wearing a red shirt. I really don't. But along the same lines,  when he asks me what a new word means, the English teacher in me is so so psyched about it. I will define words all day long for you, my dear! I hope he will always be so bold about asking questions, and not fall into the habit many of us have of not asking for fear of looking ignorant, and so ignorant we remain.

4. He says beautiful kind things that make my heart explode. Today we were reading a book that was about finding your talents. I asked Abraham what his talent is and he said, "Serving people." So lovely!

5. Some days, he gets completely eaten alive by his parents. He is the cutest ever! Sorry, all other boys! :)

fun and games

"What if there were noses all over the toilet and all inside the toilet? And noses all over you! And noses all over me! And noses all over the town and all over the place! And noses all over superheroes!"

*   *   *

A: This bat wants some dinner too.

Me: Well, you can share some of yours with him.

A: No, he wants his own plate.

Me (drawing the line at serving a plate of food for a toy, but trying to be diplomatic): Well, I don't think bats like to eat the same kinds of food that people eat.

A: (pause) Mommy, it's just a toy.

*   *   *

And now, a couple photos.

Fishing with Grandy over Christmas break

Outside shirtless the day before Christmas!

happy holidays

Abraham's grandma, Cookie, was telling him the story of the three little kittens who lost their mittens. Afterwards, Abraham asked me, "Are Cookie's cats sad?" I said, "Do you mean the cats in the story or real cats?" He clarified, "Not the cats that talk and...make pie!"

"Does the Bominal Snowman have meat inside him?"

"Reindeer the Rudolph"

Singing softly to himself in bed, "Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer had a very shiny booger!"

Back home, after the holiday travels, "When is it going to be a holly jolly Christmas again?"

Me: "What did you do?"

Abraham: "I'm not going to tell you because I don't want you to be disappointed in me."

*   *   *

Conversation after some undesirable behavior on his part. What a vocabulary. :)

"Mommy, are you  mad at me?"

"No."

"Are you unhappy?"

"No."

"Are you frustrated?"

"No, I'm fine."

*   *   *

Another Abraham story that he told me after tucking me into bed.

"Once upon a time, a boy was walking in the woods. He said, 'Hmmm,' and then went back home."

it's a guy thing

Me: "Yeah, shoe starts with S. Actually, two letters together make the 'sh' sound, S and H. Can you think of any other words that start with 'sh'?"

Abraham: "Shereen!"

Me: "Yeah! And shoot." (Why is that the first word that came to my mind?)

Abraham: "Shoot?" (He is interested.)

Me: "Like shooting a rocket up into space!" (Trying to save it.)

Abraham: "Or shooting bullets into fire?"

Me: "...Yes..."

Abraham: "Or shooting guns and lava and lasers!"

Me: "....Yes..."

Abraham: "And zappers and electricity!"

Me: "....."

Abraham says

Abraham is at an age where he says some pretty hilarious and/or impressive stuff on the daily, so I've been trying to write things down when I can. This is just a small sample of what I get to experience on everyday. I'm not even sure if all these will be that funny to anyone else, but they really crack me up.

At the park, talking to a much older kid, Abraham says to him, "I like your shirt."

*  *  *

Abraham asks, "Could you get me a glass of water?" I reply "Sure." Then I get a blue plastic cup from the cabinet, pour some water and hand it to him. He takes a sip, then looks at the cup and says, "I said a glass."

*  *  *

At Sunday devotions, after he'd reached his limit of sitting still, he leans over and whispers in my ear, "I love you very much, but this is taking a long time!"

*  *  *

"The farmer killed all the chickens that were doing bad things and brought them to the store for us to buy and eat."

*  *  *

"I'm thinking about Christmas trees and snowmen."

"Why?" I ask.

"Because I want them to exist."

*  *  *

And finally, a very sweet moment that made me proud. We were at the library playing at the playground outside, and Abraham started playing with a little boy about his age. Then when we went inside to look at books, he saw the boy again. The boy's mom was occupied taking care of a baby. The boy kept asking her to come watch him do a puzzle, but she said she couldn't at the moment. Then Abraham went over to the boy and said, "I will watch you so you won't be sad." Then the boy's mom had to walk away for a few minutes and told him she would be right back. But after she left, he started calling her. Abraham said, "Don't worry, she will be right back. I will stay with you."

Construction sensory bin

We found a fun way to bring some sand/digging/construction activities indoors now that it's getting chilly. The water didn't stay in the pond long, though! Also I forgot to add any "guys" which I think would have kept his interest for longer. He enjoyed it though!

Pushing dirt.

Filling the truck with rocks.