Little Things

It's the little things that add up (all too quickly) and amount to the passing of a LOT of time.

It is entirely unfair how little control I have over how fast it all goes. In some desperate way, this blog has become my attempt to stop time and preserve the memories I imagine myself reading compulsively once Daniel has grown up and moved out. Come to think of it, that's why I obsess over photography the way I do.

But I digress. Back to "the little things" we're enjoying these days...

Big Brother. For the most part, Daniel ignores the little black baby dolls family and friends have gotten him to prepare him for his little sister. But last week, he emerged from the nursery carrying one in his arms tenderly. He held her like a prized possession, rocking her gently, and whispering "Shh, shh... I got you. It's ok... I got you." About 30 seconds later he chunked her across the room, but I'm choosing to dwell on the beautiful brother/sister moment they shared a moment earlier.

Future Artist. Two days ago, Fernando called me from home to warn me that Daniel had had an accident. I immediately feared the worst (images of broken bones and poop stains on the carpet flashed before my eyes). Apparently Daniel went to the kitchen, opened a drawer and extracted the biggest black sharpie we own. He then proceeded to color his arms, his feet, his legs, the insides of both nostrils, a Hitler-esque moustache AND giant sweeping black circles on the arm of our white couch. I'm not sure what we were more concerned with: the amount of sharpie fumes he inhaled while decorating his nostrils or the fact that we will have to permanently keep an orange throw over the right couch arm forever. I'm just surprised it took him 2.5 years to encounter a sharpie.

Chatterbox. His vocabulary is just amazing for his age. We continue to get comments everywhere we go as random people hear him chattering away about everything and the kitchen sink. My favorite thing lately has been his preference for the word "big" over "little" or "baby". While we're eating, he'll point to my food and say, "Mommy take a baby bite but Daniel takes a BIG bite!" Or if we offer a little of something ("Do you want a little snack?") he will ask for more ("No little snack... I want BIG snack!")

I love how he says "lotta lotta" when he wants a lot of something. I will be pouring a cup of milk (which, by the way, he now pronounces "meelk") and he will say, "Mommy I want a lotta lotta meelk please!"

Explorer. Every night, either Fernando or I will lay with Daniel for a little while after the lights are turned off. Sometimes we fall asleep there, other times, we just stay long enough for Daniel to wind down and get nice and sleepy. The other night Fernando was laying with a very fidgety Daniel who kept touching Fernando's face in the dark, feeling each of his features. When he got to his nose, he suddenly stuck his finger really far into Fernando's nostril and declared loudly, "Daddy, you got boogars!" Painful, yes. Priceless, definitely.

Bible Scholar. He is in preschool most days of the week, and for the most part, I think it's been great for him. He's amazing with his peers, does not display separation anxiety, excels in academic areas, and looks forward to the day's activities. His favorite day is Wednesday because of the chapel service he gets to attend. On the way to school each Wednesday, he practically chants from the backseat: "You ready to have fun? I ready to have fun!" He loves the puppets that are used (Milo the Snail especially), the songs and the memory verses. He can recite, "God made me, Psalm 139:14". Except he says Psalm 149:16. No worries.

He is Perfect. Brilliant. Sweet. Strong. Hilarious. Silly. Smart. Tender.

Best of all... he's mine.