Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Growing Pains

It's Tuesday and the sun is (gasp) shining! But we can't get too excited because rain is in the forecast for rest of this week. Actually, I would not have minded today being a rainy day since the boys have softball tonight and you all know how I feel about dragging myself out to the field week after week! But it looks like that is where I'll be tonight. Hopefully, the boys will do as well as they did last week when they had no parents there to cheer them on!

We had a good time Sunday night. Our friends picked us up and we drove to Pella. To our great surprise, two older couples from our church were also visiting! They had heard of our plans to bail on our own church and thought that was a good idea. Pastor Jeff and Courtney were so surprised (and pleased), I think, to see all of us, that they asked if they could take us all out to Pizza Ranch afterwards. Tammy and I were a little uncertain at first, since we have 12 children between us and that's asking a lot to have other people feed them. But they insisted and we had a really nice time.

We noticed Sunday - and were greatly amused - that Sam has taken an interest in singing. He's always loved grabbing the hymnals during song time, but this past week he began lustily "singing" during all the songs. I had to laugh, too, during one song that we were sitting for. Sam stood himself up, faced the front of the church, and joined right in! What a little ham!

Sam also mastered the bunkbed this week - the climbing of it. Only, he can't get down, so he sits up there and hollers and then cries if someone doesn't rescue him right away. I had a sudden memory of when Ben became mobile, around age 3. Paul had to devise a board that fit over the rungs so he wouldn't climb up. We should have used it longer than we did because when Ben was 7, he jumped or fell off the top bunk and fractured his shoulder. Hopefully, Sam will have the good sense to remain seated up there! He is definitely more cautious than Ben ever was (but not as much as David), so I'm hopeful, anyway.

Sam has two favorite blankies. They actually used to be one throw that I had on my bed. From the time he was itty bitty, he loved that blanket. When I'd change his diaper and clothes on the bed, he'd rub his back all over it (it's fake sheepskin on one side, soft fur on the other) and sigh in ecstasy. When he started walking, he began pulling the blanket off my bed! It was so big that he would get all tripped on it, so I finally cut the blanket in half and zig zagged the edges. I thought that this way, Sam would have a "spare" blanket in case one was in the wash or got lost. Well, that wasn't Sam's plan! He has continued to insist that he has both blankets at almost all times. When they need to be washed, it's a real struggle to get them away from him and I generally have to wash one at a time to avoid a battle. The whole thing makes me laugh, especially when I remember the sheer number of blankets we were given when he was born. We had many, many receiving blankets, furry blankets, John Deere blankets, afghans and soft tied ones. He didn't care for any of them - only the one blanket that was never supposed to be his in the first place! Last summer I finally bagged most the blankets up and gave them to Goodwill. It was obvious he was never going to be attached to any of them!

So anyway, Sam started out calling his blankies, his "bi-dahs." Then, a few months ago he shortened that to "dah." Whenever he asks for his "dah" we know exactly what he wants. So, I almost fell over last night (and I have to confess that my heart truly did clench) when I heard Sam announce that he needed his "banket." I asked him, just to make sure that my ears were not deceiving me - and he said "banket" very clearly again. Yesterday morning he was still saying "dah" and within just a few hours, his brain had clicked in recognition to the true word. I suppose it's just a matter of time now before he outgrows his blankie all together. I don't know - I think I'll always look at those raggedy, dirty, stained things now with some affection. They'll always be "dahs" to me!

David's birthday is a month from today. He starts giving us a countdown about this time of the year, "Only 30 more days! Only 29 more days!" Will brought in the mail and David commented, "Hmm - it won't be long until birthday cards start arriving for me!" So, of course, he already has his birthday list well underway and posted, with daily updating. I noticed the other night that he had this listed: "Walking Talkings." It took me a minute. Yeah, you'll get it, too! Maybe I should give him a spelling book for his birthday...

Well, it's lunchtime for the hungry hordes - duty calls!

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