riding the bus

Carter has the chairs from our "tiny table" lined up and has declared them a buss-ah. He said, "mama, bye-bye!", waved, and is now bouncing along making engine noises and driving motions. It's cracking me up and I wanted to get it down before it, too, is a long lost memory. And now since I got the camera out, his friends Cade and Colton have joined in the fun.

smushy skiplips

As I have previously blogged, we affectionately refer to Carter as "Skippy Fishlips" because of his enjoyment of skipping and his tendency to make his upper lip poke out and well...kind of grasp things. Tonight Colby suggested that perhaps we'd prefer to call him "Smushy Skiplips". He didn't give a reason. I guess with a name like "Smushy Skiplips" you wouldn't need one. I just love Colby's humor. You just never know where it's going to go.

Sommas....and Fend!

Carter's English is really coming along. He's using a good mix of English and Chinese most of the time. He gets super excited when he says something in English and can be understood. His eyes light up and arc as he grins. Sometimes he's moved to giving me a hug. I love that boy!

Some of my present favorite phrases are:

Sommas...and Fend! (Thomas and Friends) when his beloved "hoo-hoo" show comes on.

sassy mean-ah (sassy man) I call him "sassy man" sometimes when he's trying to get away with something and he loves to mimic it back.

Wha zat? (what is that) A trip to the grocery store is far from boring these days. He loves to ask me what EVERYTHING is. When he sees something he knows (peanut butter, bananas, apples, milk, chocolate milk) he screams it out proudly.

peanut butter joe-ly (peanut butter and jelly) Any sandwich is likely to be described as "peanut butter joe-ly" and it's his favorite thing to make when we're playing restaurant/kitchen other than....

noooo-doess! (noodles) Always his suggestion for any meal and his hands down favorite food.

owse! (ouch)

And my favorite "chinglish" phrase, "Mama, ni huh me?" (mama will you help me?) Ni is 'you' in Chinese, so it is a nice mix of his languages and I love to hear him say it. Of course I'll help you, baby.

why do my fingers smell like a penny?

This was the question that came from the backseat as we made our way home tonight. "Why do my fingers smell like a penny?" Colby inquired. I glanced back with full intention of telling him to STOP smelling his fingers. That kid smells everything. All the time. Incessantly. Much. EVERYTHING. Anyway...I found myself asking him, "What is smeared all over your mouth? And your hands?" And smells like a penny. Blood. He had a bloody nose. It was a gross thing to have happen in the car, but at least I wasn't driving. And I'm pretty impressed that Colby associated the metallic smell of blood with a penny. I think blood smells like a penny, too. Smartypants.

Jesus

I've been meaning to post this for some time. I was sorting through my email inbox this morning trying to weed out the old and useless. I happened upon an email from my sister and was reminded that I meant to write this down - it's just too sweet and innocent and hysterical not to post.

Waaaay back in December - the weekend we arrived home - my sister brought her kids over to meet Carter. Carter was in his "naked phase" and was running around in just a diaper. My nephew Henry, who will be four in April, was a little taken aback when he saw Carter's short arm. After awhile, as with most kids Carter meets, it was a non-issue. Just as they were leaving, Henry got right in Carter's face and said loudly, "Carter! What happened to your other arm?" Carter, who didn't understand English or that he was Carter, didn't respond. My sister stepped in and said, "Henry, remember we talked about how God made Carter special?" Henry politely responded, "I wasn't asking you, Mom. I was asking Carter. Carter! What happened to your other arm?" He never did get the response he was looking for. Apparently Katie had a talk with Henry on the way home about how God makes us all different and that Carter can do everything anyone else can, just in a different way.

When they arrived home, my brother-in-law asked Henry if he met his new cousin, Carter. "Yeah!" he said excitedly, "and you know what? Jesus broke his arm!!" Katie said they had to have another long talk. It's really interesting to see how kids' brains work and usually pretty amusing (or embarrassing) to experience their innocent candidness. We parents couldn't make this stuff up if we tried!

happy crappy birthday

In keeping with the concept of fairness, I thought it only right that I make Colby's birthday post late as well.

Colby had a pretty crappy birthday a week ago. The day before his birthday was a ton of fun with some morning jumping at a local bounce place with some of his cousins and then a party for family in the afternoon where he was surrounded by loads of people who love and adore him. The day after his birthday was pretty good, too - he got to take vanilla oreos (his choice - I offered to bake for him) to school for treat and he got both a crown and a sticker for his big day. But his actual birthday was...crappy. He was overtired and overstimulated from the party day the day before, his siblings were overtired and overstimulated from the party day the day before, and his parents were overtired and short tempered. It wasn't a good combination. We muddled through and made the best of things, but I wish it could have been a better day.

We had a big old family fun day on Sunday and made it up to him. After church and Sunday School we took advantage of the first week of "Frosty Flicks" and saw "the Smurfs". Colby LOVED it - actually all three kids enjoyed it, although Carter missed the last 45 minutes while he snoozed on my lap. Then we stopped at Walmart and the kids got to buy some new tracks and accessories for their Hexbugs. Home for a snack (we had popcorn at the theater and it was kind of late for lunch), I set up the bug track and they kids played and whooped and giggled, we all headed out for a walk and Colby got to use his new Razor scooter, and then we packed everyone up and went out for Chinese food. The tail end of the restaurant adventure was indeed an adventure, but mostly it was a good day and I felt a little better about celebrating Colby the way he should be celebrated.

We've been going through some tough times - Colby and I. I'm guessing that it's partly due to the clash of the will to be independent at age four going on five and the reality of needing and being forced to be dependent on your parents combined with having a new sibling and being "displaced" in your family role. Kailin was always and will always be the oldest. Colby was the youngest and is now the middle. Although we've got to great lengths to assure him that we love him forever, with our whole hearts, every minute of every day, no matter what - he is apparently determined to challenge us to prove it again and again. I know that we'll come out on the other side with a stronger relationship and I know that this phase will pass. I see glimmers of our "old Colby" from time to time and that assures me that he's still my jovial, hammy, sensitive, caring little boy.

In looking at him over the past few weeks, I see him transforming from a little boy into a boy and it's kind of bittersweet for me. As always, I'm excited to see where life is going to take him in these coming years and as he becomes more involved in school - to see which subjects and areas spark his interest. I have my suspicions, but if there's anything I know about my son, it's that he will set out to prove me wrong. It's a little sad to see him physically changing - his cheeks aren't quite so chubby anymore and some of his little boy speech patterns and sounds are going away. His feet are becoming huge (we just bought shoes 2.5 sizes larger than the ones he was wearing), and I feel like he's grown a couple of inches since school started.

I'm kind of glad that we're having some struggles. Well, maybe that's not the right way to put it. I'm not glad for the struggles - but the opportunity to really examine what I love about him and to appreciate the moments when he is his old self again. I adore my boy with my whole heart. Every minute of every day. No matter what. I'm looking forward to the day when he believes me - every minute of every day with his whole heart.