We're continually being reminded in new and fun ways that our kids are growing up. The other day we took a long drive. As usual, the hum of the tires put the girls to sleep.
When Natalie woke up we heard her say the word, "Boat." "Were you dreaming you were on a boat?" we asked. She immediately said, "yes," as she rubbed her eyes. Dana asked, "Were you on the ocean?"Again she said in a sweet voice "yes!" "Were there fish?" "No!" she replied emphatically. We asked "Were there birds?" She smiled, "Yes." Then she pointed up as if to describe more of her dream, "Moooon!" Dana continued "Oh, you were on a boat at night? "Yes" she said. I then added, "Was mom there?" of course... she said "Yes!" Then she babbled a long string of words. Who knows what she was saying, but I like to imagine that she was saying that we were all there, enjoying the moon on the water, content since we were all together. What a fun insight it was into the dreams of our little 4 year old.
We often wish our kids can stay sweet and innocent like this forever. It's in these times we get rare views into who God has created(ing) them to be. More the reason to fight against the currents of our busy schedules, to be present as much as possible, because this time only comes once.
Last night we found a ripe opportunity to share with the joys of sharing with Nicole. This opportunity came about as the following drama unfolded: THE FOLLOWING IS A TRUE ACCOUNT. NO NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT THE INNOCENT.
The Girl's love pretzels and they often can be seen walking around the house carrying little bowls of this wonderful "God given" snacks in them. Since Nicole had control of the entire bag Dana and I thought it could be disastrous for a kid to have that much goodness, so we tried to help her put a few in her's and her sisters bowl.
"OK Nicole put some pretzels in your bowl." Which she did. Then immediately after we prompted her to place a few in her sisters bowl. She reached into the bag and grabbed a hand full only keep filling her own bowl with more. This happened a few times as she contemplated relinquishing control of the bag. We said, "Nicole, put a few pretzels in your sisters bowl, so you can "share."After a few more hand fulls it seems she couldn't bring herself release her little handful of pretzels. It was the the hand just hovered there wanting to let go but the brain couldn't. The hand often diverted willingly to the mouth.
Finally she reached into the bag and pulled out a lonely, tattered and broken pretzel. This was it we said, "Come on Nicole you can do it!' 'PUT THE PRETZEL IN YOUR SISTERS BOWL..." She did it (of course she took a bite out of it first but something is better than nothing).
"Good," we said outloud, "Now take it to your sister." Each step toon an eternity as she made her way across the room. You could almost see her mind workig as she pondered the lone, injured, half eaten pretzel in the bowl. When she arrived I can faithfully report she stretched out her arm and handed her sister the bowl and did share. THE BAD NEWS WAS AS NATALIE TOOK THE BOWL, NICOLE TOOK THE PRETZEL AND ATE IT.
You don't win 'em all!
Recently we've seen Natalie explore the emotion of sadness. It's odd because we've noticed (after hours of detecting observation) that she goes to distinct areas of our house and pretends to cry. We talked about this a bit and said why does Natalie go to the kitchen and the corner of her room to fake cry? Maybe she is hiding. Maybe she wants us to find her. Or, maybe, she's looking for attention. In fact, what if she's calling out for attention rather than exploring the sad set of emotions?
After much reflection Dana figured it out! It turns out it has nothing to do with attention or hiding, but everything to do with the PLUG OUTLETS. Plug outlets? Yes! When Dana pitched her theory to me I thought she might have fallen off her rocker. Initially I couldn't connect the dots. Scratching my head, I thought to myself, maybe it was an ambient electrical current that triggered this emotional response. But since that was a stupid idea, Dana couldn't have meant that. It hit me when she said go look at the plug.
Click here to see the plugs sad face :(
This was a great holiday. Perhaps most notably was Natalie's confidence in walking. We received a special call from one of Nat's former Physical Therapists. After some time of Dana and her chatting she offered to give free Physical therapy to Natalie until we could get the insurance issues figured out. After one session yesterday Natalie has a new found confidence. Perhaps one of the most heartfelt moments was when my mom took her to school. My mom held her hand and they walked together out the door and to the car. It has been a long time coming but I never thought it would be so sweet. I feel so blessed!
Since Natalie's birthday 4th birthday is soon approaching I was digging through some old-ish photos. I fuound this one of Nicole 365 days ago (6 months old). Now Nicole is 1.5able to say three word sentences, climb stairs, jump off the couch, walk around in mom's shoes and throw a fit (she's not too old to stand in the corner though!).
I am amazed and reminded how fast they grow up. I keep telling myself to savor every moment. because a moment can turn into a week, and a week can slip into a month, and so on...
Anyway happy birthday little sweet Natalie. Mommy and Daddy are so proud of you and love you more that we can share!