Sophie and Rhys Quirks

For months now, Sophie, with her gift of gab, has been rolling her eyes and telling us she "wishes Rhys would just stop talking!" Yep, she's got some competition.  Lucky parents--we get two non-stop talkers!

But honestly, I was just saying to Neal the other day that I remember two years ago being down on my knees, in tears, praying Rhys would be blessed with the ability to communicate his needs and wants when he entered kindergarten! That prayer has been answered by His blessing, Rhys' hard work, and the efforts of his family and therapists. 

Again over the last few months, the kids are trying to determine what is truth and fiction.  They are at that stage where they really want mermaids and superheros to be real but are pretty sure they're not. Every once in a while Rhys will check with me, "Mommy, is Iron Man real or not?"  And he is at that place where he's into his own thing but still feels the influence of his big sister. Thus, he occasionally draws fairy wings on the Hulk.

This should make for some challenging conversation this Christmas regarding Santa Claus.  At this point, I want Sophie to believe but am okay if she does not, EXCEPT she is so horrible about keeping things on the low down I know she is likely to spoil the fun for Rhys, who I am not ready to give up on Santa yet!  We'll see.

Rhys' favorite words lately: naked and underwear.  Uhg!  He has said naked so much that I have to tell the parents of his play date friends that their children may have heard the word but in no way was anyone naked during the play date.  The most loved joke is the kids saying, "Look under there?" and directing their hand in some vague direction, in the hopes that someone will ask...you got this one..."Under Where?" This emits great giggles.

A favorite "word" of mine is hearing him tell me that whatever I have served him is "goodilicious." "Mommy, this is goodilicious!"

Sophie has been asking some really good gospel questions and making some good connections.  Examples could include voicing that animal sacrifice seems cruel so why would Jesus want that done as an example of His sacrifice for us.  Another inquiry was if our cat was living like our spirits in the pre-exsistence (before our birth)?  I love that I have answers to her questions.  I love the gospel of Jesus Christ. On a lighter note, while watching the Smurf Movie, Papa Smurf says, "You are who you choose to be." Sophie elbows me with, "That’s what you tell us mommy. We can make good choices."

Rhys is super concerned for our once planet, Pluto.  He has even asked his Uncle David, who follows astronomy, by text, to clear up some issues.  WHY can't Pluto be a planet anymore?! Could you almost hear the whine? Something about bully scientists saying it's too puny.  More than once Rhys has petitioned his Heavenly Father during prayer to "please make Pluto a bigger planet." And recent news releases say it's still up for discussion so there is hope.

We are working on table manners and the more we do the more I realize I could be a better example.  But once thing is for certain--our kids have been having fart fests at the table quite a bit.  One night at the table I heard my husband offer the kids money if they would make it through one dinner "without having gas" at the table. They now say, "May I be excused?" and leave the room. Money well spent, I say.