Mommin' It Up!

April 8, 2010

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

Every morning this week, Sophie has bolted as soon as I’ve opened her bedroom door after she wakes and made a beeline for my bedroom – specifically, the full-length mirror in my bedroom. Before Monday, her routine was to bolt for the stairs – to get downstairs to her waiting sippy cup of milk, to have her morning computer-playing time, to get started with play.

But since Monday, she’s taken a few minutes each morning to stop and admire herself in the mirror. To watch herself jump around, to make funny faces, to giggle at herself. My favorite part is when she says, “Come here, mama!” and pulls me to her, squishing her face up next to mine so we can make big cheesy grins, stick our tongues out, and perfect the ancient art of mother-daughter goofiness.

Later in the day, when I let her watch her favorite move “Curious George” in my room, she’ll watch the mirror and the movie at the same time. She loves to watch herself imitate George as he jumps, dances, and climbs. It’s pretty hilarious!

She comes by her vanity honestly, *ahem*, but I wonder how long Sophie’s love affair with the mirror will last. I think there comes a point in every girl’s life when she no longer likes what she sees in the mirror. When instead of grinning wildly at her image, she picks it apart.

I wish I could preempt that point in my daughter’s life. I wish I could make it so that she is always awed and entertained by the sight of herself.

I love to look at my little girl. To take in her smile, her long eyelashes, her dimples. It is my prayer that when she looks at her reflection, she can always see what I see when I look at her – breathtaking beauty, unbridled joy, and the glory of God.

What do you want your daughters to see?

April 7, 2010April 6, 2010

Wordless (well, not exactly) Wednesday

Sam’s birthday was perfect.

My sister and I took the kids on a picnic for lunch, and Aunt Anna took some great pictures.

They had such fun playing together.

Kate’s monkey-bar muscles must have had a growth spurt over the winter, because she went right across them.

“Ballgame Sammy” (as he’ll tell you his name is) wanted to check out the empty ball diamond.

I managed to hold him down just long enough for Anna to snap a picture.

These two?

Are my lucky charms.

I’m holding on to them – and days like this – with both hands.

April 6, 2010

Educational Hazard

Joshua has changed so much since going to kindergarten. Bobby and I count the ways and add to them often. I am sure Emily and I will both have a post at the end of the year about the innumerable ways kindergarten has affected our kiddos and about the million things they have learned. I giggle when I say this, but in truth, some of this learning has been a wee bit inconvenient for mom and dad.

Like for instance, the unit on weather that Joshua’s class did a couple of months ago where he learned about tornadoes. And the accompanying tornado drills. The combination of which has now rendered him terrified of the possibility of a tornado. Yippeee!

The other day, he asked me what month it was, because he knew while he was on spring break from school it was going to turn from March into April.

“It’s April,” I replied.

“Oh NO! APRIL! TORNADOES!” he wailed. I guess they learned in school that tornadoes are more likely to happen during the spring, which to him means April. Anyway, he was fairly sure a funnel cloud was going to form instantly and carry us all away.

Yesterday morning shortly after waking, he started in on his tornado talk as we were snuggling on the couch.

“What if we can’t get to the basement on time? How come it can’t get us if we’re under the ground?”

I tried to convince him he didn’t need to worry about it, but he has taken to not believing a word I say, so it was difficult!

Then yesterday afternoon in the car on the way to Target, he said, “I know a tornado isn’t going to come when I die.”

“What do you mean, honey?”

“Well, God made heaven a happy place, and when I die, I’ll go there, and since God made it like that, no tornadoes can come there.”

GREAT. Now we’re talking about death AND tornadoes. Yippeee!!

Last night as he was going potty before bed, he asked my husband, “What if a tornado comes while I’m sitting on the potty?”

FOR THE LOVE!!!

Then, 2.2 seconds after I tucked him into bed, the world’s LOUDEST thunderstorm began. The kind that had me running around lighting candles and checking the TV to see if there were in fact, any tornado watches or warnings.

As you can guess, Joshua was a bit, um, AFRAID. It took some creative talking to get him calmed down enough to where he could fall asleep.

I have a feeling this tornado talk isn’t over. Ohio is a stormy place in the spring! With my kindergarten boy and all his new weather knowledge, I think it’s going to be a very long rainy season.