Then and Now

7 Month Eli...March 9, 2007

7 Month Abby...June 24, 2009

Recorded for Posterity

The other night I was giving Eli a bath and randomly asked him what his eyes do. He gave me a look that said, "It seems that I should know the answer to this, but I'm pretty sure that you have never told me what my eyes do..." So we went through all of the senses. Our eyes see. Our ears hear. Our tongues taste. Our noses smell. Our fingers touch. I could see Eli contemplating this new information and mulling it around in his constantly moving brain. After a few minutes he looked at me and said, "What's my penis about?"

When he turns sixteen, let's not tell him about this post.

So Close

There is only one color that Eli can consistently identify correctly, purple. I ask him all the time what color items are and, unless it is purple, he is inaccurate. Today, however, for a bright shining moment, I was getting excited. Here is how our conversation went:

Me: What color are your shoes?
Eli: Red (CORRECT)
Me: What color is our grass?
Eli: Green (CORRECT thanks to lots of rain this spring)
Me: What color is the sky today?
Eli: Blue (CORRECT)
Me: What color is my shirt?
Eli: Etch

And then after that, everything was ETCH. I guess, for a kid that has the genetics of color identification stacked against him, we can call today progress.

Some People

This morning Eli had a favorite phrase. He began his sentences with "Some people like to..." and completed them in the following ways:

• play catch.
• change my diaper.
• go to the park.
• jump on trampolines.
• watch digger videos.

He did this for about fifteen minutes and then I never heard it again all day. The mind of a two year old.

Tradition

On Friday, May 22, 2009, I had a chance to pass along a tradition to my kids. I was able to go to the WLAP with Eli, Abby, and my dad. For all of you non-Stanton-natives, that is the We Love America Parade. The WLAP began 30 years ago, started by the principal of Stanton Elementary School. At the time, my dad was teaching sixth grade at Stanton, telling kids to "look sharp." Mom was also teaching and I was one and half years old. The WLAP, in its glory days, was a march through the streets of Stanton, every elementary child and teacher decked out in their Red, White, and Blue. All students and most spectators received a WLAP button and a flag. I remember many sweltering May days walking through Stanton singing Yankee Doodle and You're A Grand Old Flag. When I was in sixth grade, I even was able to read an essay that I had written on the steps of the court house, the final destination of the parade. Very fond memories.

I was excited to take the kids to the parade, such a memorable part of my childhood. But, pinning the traditional WLAP button on Eli made a profound impact on me, beyond what I had even anticipated. I found myself beaming with pride as I watched Eli wave his flag as the kids march by. And, with my dad there, and mom marching in her last WLAP, it was even better. Three generations of WLAPers.

Many emotions filled my heart that day. Gratefulness to the men and women who have secured the freedom we have in the United States today. Thankfulness to God for giving us ultimate freedom. The whole point of the WLAP hit me again, maybe even really for the first time.

Motherhood Lesson #952

Eli was eating his snack at the table when I heard his sweet, angelic voice call, "Mom, come look at this." I went to the table to see his hand outstretched with some brown goo on his finger. Curiosity overcame me, along with the thought of the McDonald's Happy Meal that we had for lunch. Since Andy and I are really watching what we eat, the possibility of a bit of caramel from the Apple Dippers sounded, sadly, a bit appealing. Against all sensibilities, I decided to take a lick. Needless to say, it was not caramel. I asked Eli, "where did you get this?" Eli responded, in his sweet, angelic voice, "From my ear."

Lesson learned.

Give Me a Head of Hair

We'll let the pictures tell the story...

We love her anyways...