The Natey Files

The following picture just makes me laugh and laugh. Nathan, or as we often call him, The Natey, copies behavior, words, actions, whatever he observes. I think that is normal for his age as he learns how to behave and speak. We made smoothies this morning. Apparently I had my pinkie finger sticking out as I was drinking my glass. I saw him notice it, and the next thing I knew he was drinking his glass like this...

Very proper, Natey. I did tell him that men don't drink like that. And really, most real women don't either. Not sure why my pinkie does that!!

Why nighttime has become a breeze

This is the little reading area outside the boys' bedrooms. Above the bookcase reads, "Brothers are the best of friends". I love this so much (ask me how to get things like that for your wall too!). This is why nighttime has become sweeter and so much easier. The boys are finally at that age where they want to sleep in the same room, they don't chat all night, and they just encourage each other. It takes a load off of mommy and daddy for sure! Here they are the first night sleepover.

 

The funniest part to me is this guy

He's the one who has to have the closet light on, a flashlight or some sort of light in his bed at all times. He's the one who gets scared. He was the one who freaked out about the possibility of a "tormado" and that's why we put Noah in his room. Now all of the sudden he's Mr. Brave. He doesn't even want ANY light anymore. I asked Eric, "why do you think he's so brave all the sudden?". Eric said simply, "He's got his big brother."

 Big brother, Noah, likes being needed. He loves being there for Nathan and they are so excited to go to bed each night together. Book time has been fun too, instead of Eric and I splitting up reading in bed I brought a chair in the center of the room and read to them both.

They torture me with this book. They like it because of the page where the 2 year old flushes his mommy's watch down the toilet. They are laughing hysterically above in this picture. The book tears me to pieces. I cry every.single.time. I cannot get past the 3rd page. I posted this picture on facebook the other night and was relived to know I am not the only mother who cries uncontrollably about this book.

And here's me reading the book, page 3, unable to mutter another a word because I'm stifling bursting into tears.

The boys had to get close to see what was so sad. Here's a little excerpt from the book that the mommy always says to her little boy through each stage in his life: "I'll love you forever / I'll love you for always / As long as I'm living / My baby you'll be."
Tears. I don't want my babies to grow up, but since I have no control over that, I am so thankful they have each other and love each other as best friends. This is a new stage where I don't have to go running to their rooms over every little thing. They are growing up for sure....but they will ALWAYS be my babies.

What have we been doing?

Well, I don't know...there's always something going on! We had a fun trip to the water park with some friends. We've been healthy, the weather has been wonderful!! We've had some great family days together, just making memories every chance we can get.

We have been working on a common issue with the boys....FINE MOTOR DEVELOPMENT. Yuck! They have these issues because of me and my phobia of messes. I banned play doh early on in their life. Crayons make me cringe...they get peeled, broken, and everything gets colored besides the paper they were supposed to color on. Scissors make me envision gaping bloody wounds that require trips to the ER. So because of my fears, the boys are now having to play catch up because they have weak hand muscles. This makes me feel horrible!! Noah has finally caught up. His writing amazes me, coloring is much better, and scissor work no longer brings tears of frustration His new skill he learned this week, after many, many tears and trying over and over again...tying his shoes! Yay! I'm so proud of him.

This is a little board I purchased that helps them learn

Nathan has lots of work to do! We've been working on play doh daily (anyone who knows me know what a huge deal this is for me). He's doing better with scissors, and the crayons...well, at least he doesn't act like he's holding a snake that may bite him at any moment. I bought a new game called "Food Stand Avalanche". He's really enjoyed it and it helps with his pincher grasp. He's gotten so good now he eats his snacks with the tweezers!!

Food Stand Avalanche game

What has been my lesson throughout all this? Well, that my selfishness can hinder their growth to put it simply. This is another reason why I feel like I wouldn't do very well with homeschooling. But, I am trying so hard to learn from this, to let them be boys and do all they need to grow and develop at normal rates! I'm thankful God gives us such grace through these parental mistakes, and has created children so perfectly made that they can catch up at rapid rates. His design for us is always so flawless!!
"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well." Psalm 139:14