Almost Two

Look at this boy. Are you in love? I am. He is going to be two in just a few short months. Where did my baby go?

a miracle

They are both looking at the camera! It's a miracle. I might have bribed them. Maybe.

more on Story

Okay, so you saw my Halloween post. You already know that Thanksgiving is in a few weeks, and then Christmas is coming right after that! I love holidays. I love entering into the celebration, and having kids gives me an excuse to REALLY enter in. It can be a lot of fun.

I've been thinking a lot about the idea of story as I've thought about the holidays this year. D. and I try to find small ways we can be intentional about helping our boys enter into God's story. It's kind of like making new habits if that makes sense.

So I've been thinking about Halloween, first of all. My all-time favorite Halloween costumes as a kid: Laura Ingalls Wilder and Anne of Green Gables. (Dorky? Yes. What did you expect?) I remember those costumes well. My mom sewed them for me. They were elaborate dresses with bonnets, ruffles, and puffed sleeves. (If you've ever read Anne of Green Gables, you know what I'm talking about.) I was in love with these books, and dressing up in costume was a way for me to enter into the stories that I loved.

I realize that on Halloween, a lot of the celebration centers around entering into the wrong story. The story of Halloween can be a story of violence, fear, and darkness. I don't want my kids to enter into that. Isaiah and I talked about that a little bit this year. We talked about how some people think it's fun to be scary, or to wear scary costumes, but that our costumes are celebrating something different.

I think that helping our children to love stories and helping them celebrate them is a step toward helping them enter into God's story.

So to sum up, I think these guys entered into some awesome stories this year:

The Dog (DAWG): an animal sometimes known as man's best friend is always loyal, compassionate, and helpful. AND it says "woof woof." 

The superhero: an ordinary guy or girl who is blessed with special powers decides to use them to help others, even if this means that he or she must make a great personal sacrifice. AND he wears a cape.

Halloween

halloween collage
Originally uploaded by correna79

So I'm a little late, but I think these pictures will still make you smile. For Halloween, Isaiah was a superhero, and Ezra was a dog. (Pronounced "dawg.") I have to confess that I had a lot of fun helping them come up with their costumes. (Well, Ezra likes dogs, and that was the input he gave me, but Isaiah had a lot to say.) I made Isaiah's cape a few years ago. The mask was a free download, and the rest... blue long underwear, yoda underwear and boots from the salvation army. Ezra's "Dawg" costume started as a hoodie that I found on the clearance rack at Wal-Mart last May. I added some felt pieces and he's a Dawg. You can't see it, but there are spots all over his back and his pants. Now, you might have noticed that Isaiah was Clifford the Big Red Dog for his fall festival on the Friday before Halloween. That is a story for another day, but what you need to know is that he is three years old, and he likes to change his mind a lot. So I told him that if he didn't want to be Clifford, he had to be something we already had, and a superhero he was.

loving this guy

I am crazy about this little guy. Here are a few reasons:

• When he wants to say "fish" he says "shoe." I think it's the "sh" sound. Seriously, how cute is that? 
• He does a crazy/hilarious dance to the song "Don't Stop Believing." Even while wearing a cast. 
• We took the front rail off his crib today and he laid down and went to sleep. Only three silent returns to bed. 
• He likes to talk on the phone. He says things like "Hey, Pop." "Doin' Pop?" "Bye, Pop." 
• He is crazy about trains. Loves them. Tonight, he took one of his train cars to bed. He calls them "deet deet." 
• He is still crazy about dogs. Dogs, trains, and balls. These are his top three exciting things in life. Doesn't that just make you smile? 
• He likes to flirt with the ladies. He has a special flirting relationship with the children's librarian at our local library. They're tight. 
• Speaking of the library, it has an elevator. He LOVES elevators. So. much. fun. 
• He is a hugger. He just loves to hold me tight before going to sleep at night. And sometimes in the middle of the night when he's a little sick, like right now. It's hard to be mad about waking up in the night when someone gives you such a big hug. 

new word of the day

"Ezra."

Yes! He said his name for the first time this morning. It sounded more like "E-ra," but we take what we can get!

We just took Ezra to the pediatric orthopedist, and it turns out that his leg is fractured! He has a cast and everything- pictures to come.

general silliness