Your Weekend Update

**Disclaimer: I am not a person who finds it funny to pick on others. And the reason I am committing this to the blog, is only to record the innocence of children.**

Griffin doesn't always know that sometimes when he says things they can be taken poorly by the other person. He just thinks he is being matter of fact and telling me how it is. You know, it's the truth.! But, sometimes pointing out the truth can hurt the other person's feelings. And we have had this talk before but, in this instance, I know that it was not hurtful. It was a sweet interaction that was also quite hilarious to this adult on-looker!

There is this little 3 year old boy at our church, Jon. Who has had to have several surgeries on his hands and feet because he has that Lobster Claw syndrome. Anyway, his hands and feet look much better, now, and he is the cutest boy on the planet (next to mine, of course!)

So, Saturday was the Fall Festival at our church and the boys had a big time! It was all child centered so how could they go away not having a good time, eh?!?

We were winding down the day when we finally went into the church hall where they were having a Cup-Cake Walk. I'm not going to explain what this is, I didn't know what one was before this weekend myself. But, I found a blog that explains a Cake Walk, so if you want to read about what a Cake Walk is go here. Our church did this a little different from the traditional. They asked people to donate cupcakes, and asked for no money from anyone who wanted to do the walk. But, the winners did win a cupcake of their choosing, yum!

Well, Griffin had Cup-Cake-Walked a couple of times and I was just in the hall gabbing with some of the other folks. Grant and Dan went to the bathroom and we were waiting for them to come back. Wyatt was just hanging out in his stroller when Jon came up to him.

It seems Jon loves babies because he was sweetly patting Wyatt and saying things to Wyatt like, "Sweet baby. Hi Baby. Oh, he's cute." And just smiling and cooing at him. It was adorable!

Griffin came over to where we were and says, "Isn't our baby cute? His name is Wy Wy."

Me: "That's right."

Jon: "Oh Hi, Wy Wy!"

Griffin: "Mom, did you know he only has like two toes?"

Me mouth gaping, "Oh please God do not let Jon's mother hear Griffin!!!"

Me: "Well..... Griffin....stumbling for words....That's okay.......It is okay....We're diff..."
Griffin cuts me off

Griffin: "Yeah, it's okay buddy" patting Jon's shoulder "You're gonna get some some day. I have like 10! You'll get some too."

Oh, if I would have had anything in my mouth it would have been spewed everywhere on everyone around me! I just burst-out with a laugh, and then contained the chuckles that wanted to follow because I didn't want to make the scenario funny to the two of them, I wanted them to just see it as a moment of friendship. Sweet boy interaction.

But, oh man! That brought tears to my eyes when I replayed the scene in my head later!

Griffin had no idea what he was saying could have hurt Jon's feelings. And I was trying to get him to understand that having two toes doesn't make him less of a fun boy to be around. But, I guess I really didn't have to do that, he realized it on his own. Griffin didn't shy away from him, he embraced knowing someone with only two toes! And so much so that he wanted me to know about it! And who knows, according to Griffin, Jon could maybe get more when he gets bigger! What a sweet boy I have. I love that little man.

And I can't tell a sweet funny story about Griffin without adding how sweet Grant is too (of course Wy Wy is as well, but he doesn't talk much at 7 and a half months, so not so much to share on his utterances!)

Grant woke up from his nap on Sunday and like a ninja, came walking into the kitchen and scared the poop out of me!

Me: "Oh hey buddy! You scared me. Are you awake now?"

Grant: "Mummmmhppppfffh"

Me: "Are you hungry? Where are you going? Are you still tired?"

Grant: "Mummmmhppppfffh"

He just glided through the kitchen in his little socked feet, rubbing his eyes, his nose, his hair, and said practically nothing.
I stood in the kitchen waiting for him to come back around, and soon, he came back through.

Me: "Hey buddy, do you want something to drink? What's the matter?"

He looks over and just glares at me, as if to say, "You're not making things any better!"

I watch as he moves from the kitchen through the living room and out the door to the garage.

After a second, I realize he's not coming back, and walk outside to be with him.

I find him standing up against the bathtub we have in our driveway, don't ask. But, seriously, we do live in Mississippi so this is perfectly normal, you do realize this, right?!?

Me: "Grant, what's the matter? Do you want me to hold you?"

Grant: "Dahh-dee. Dahhhhh-deeeeeee!"

Me: "Oh sweetie, Daddy had to go to work. He'll be home in a little bit. Do you want some juice?"

Grant: "No, don't wan-it. Dahh-dee!"
I'm feeling so bad. Poor guy. Then, I remember that I have baked cookies while he was asleep (and Wy Wy was napping as well! Amazing what can get done when the little ones are snoozing!!)

I run inside, and get a cookie for Grant, thinking that maybe he would follow me in.
Fat chance.
Now, when I return to the garage there's no Grant!

I begin yelling, "Grant......Grant, Where are you? Graaaaaaannnntttt! You want a cookie?"

Off in the distance, I hear, a little voice whining and crying, "Dahhhhhhdeeee.......Dahhhhhhhdeeee"

I can tell from where his voice is coming from that he has gone into the back yard looking for his Daddy.

When I walk around the outside of the house, and into the backyard, I see him walking towards the other gate of the fence, crying "Dahhhhhhdeeeee, I wan my Dahhhhhhdeeee!!!"

It was such a sweet display. Grant searching for Daddy. Where could Daddy be? And he didn't care that all he had on was a shirt. He had no pants, no shoes, just a diaper, socks, and a shirt, perfectly fine attire when looking for your Dahhhhhdeeee!

Me: "Grant. I'm sorry, Daddy is working. He'll be home in just a little bit. You want a cookie?"

Grant: "I wan my Dahhhhhdeeee!"

I go over to him and scoop him up in my arms.

"I'm sorry little guy, Daddy will be home in a little bit. You wanna cookie?"

Sniffle, sniffle, sniffle......

Grant: "Mmmhhmm, Googie."

He took the cookie from my hand and sank into my arms. My sad little explorer, off to find his Dahhhhhdeee. Heartsick that Daddy wasn't there when he wanted him to be. How dare he!

When Dan got home, Grant was fresh out of the bath, when I saw him pulling up. So, I said, "Grant, come here, look out the door, who is that?"

Grant: "Ohkaaaay. Hhhmmm, ahhhhhh, Dahhhhdeee!!!"

And he jumped and pranced with delight!

All was back right with the world when that little naked boy finally felt the arms of his Dahhdeee holding him tight!
What a wonderful life I have!

Boys, I Have a Definite Lack of Understanding!

So, I was walking towards our hallway from the kitchen when I hear that sound everyone can recognize, the sound of a liquid streaming out onto a surface. I'm looking around, "Where's that coming from, what's leaking????" I push the bathroom door open and no one was in there. 'Course, it was a liquid being poured onto a surface sound, not into the toilet. So, I knew before looking that I wouldn't find the culprit there.

As I round the corner, I see Griffin in the doorway of his room in the "Peeing Position" and I scream, "What are you doing?????"

He turns around, and says, "I just couldn't make it to the bathroom, Mom!!!"

What?!?!? You couldn't make it the 6 paces from your bedroom door to the bathroom?

"Griffin, you know that isn't true! You just decided you wanted to pee on that towel, for some reason, and so you did. It had nothing to do with not being able to make it!!!!"

"Mom, I couldn't make it! I just couldn't make it!"

I will never understand boys. Never. Not going to ever understand how peeing on a towel in your bedroom, just feet from the bathroom is an option over going in the toilet!!!

Maybe I should should just squat down on his pillow and say, "Oh, sorry, I just couldn't make it, Griffin!"

Of course we made him pick up the towel and put it in the dirty laundry pile, but what else could we do? Rub his nose in it?

I tell you, one of the hardest things about parenting is knowing how to punish your child fairly. You know the punishment should befit the crime, but what do you do when they've run into your car with their bicycle for the 8th time knowing they were to stay away from it, or when they have marked all over some important papers but YOU were the one who left the pen there for them to mark with?!? It's hard I tell you. Because sometimes you have to hold the mirror back on yourself. You have to think, "Well, I guess he didn't know it would make me mad if he got into the pantry and pulled out the cereal box upside down, draining it of its contents, he thought he was HELPING!"

But, you don't want them to do it again! So, what's the right way to handle it? Put a padlock on the pantry door? Tell him only Mommy is allowed to pull the boxes down from the shelf? Have him make sure he is asking BEFORE he is getting what he thinks he needs? Choices, choices!

I usually go with the latter since I can't be in three places at once! I've found that one of them is always going to need me and, inevitably, it will be at the same time the other two need me as well! So, I have to encourage them to be independent. Their Independence equals more time for me to see a task through from beginning to end (or at least that is my hope, my prayer, the result I wish to someday attain!!!)

But, punishments are hard, or at least it seems they can be. And, especially when you are seeing this latest transgression as something that needs to be punished while your spouse is laughing his head off because, "C'mon! You KNOW that's funny!" Well, of course its funny! But we can't let him think that! Then he'll do it again!

So, my whole philosophy on punishment has become this, tell him it's wrong. Let him know you expected a better choice, and if he does it again, he will have to be punished. But, let the punishment be something he conjures up. Just say something like, "If you do that again, we are going to have a SERIOUS punishment for you. So do it again, c'mon, do it, and see what the punishment will be!" Oh if he doesn't know what it could be his little mind will go wild!! It could be ANYTHING!!!!

I think the more varied the punishments, the better chance you have of your child heeding your word. He'll think, "My misbehavior could warrant anything!!!" He doesn't know what could be coming at him! He can't pinpoint what punishment will be bestowed upon him, therefore he cannot pre-identify the pro's and con's of his behavior.

If he were to know that every time I do X my Mom gives me a spanking, well, he might determine that a little bit of pain is worth the pleasure he feels while doing X. But, if he has NO IDEA what the punishment could be, there can be no scientific analysis. It's more, "She might kill me this time! She looked really mad the last time. Yep, she could kill me, she probably wants to!"

I had these same thoughts go through my head growing up. I'm sure we all did! As a child, you think it is entirely possible that your parents could kill you, and maybe even sometimes want to! Man, making them mad was taking your life into your own hands!!!!

I always wondered why some of my friends growing up, didn't have this fear? Now, as a parent, I think it is because of two things. One, their parents threatened but never followed through (BIG NO NO, in my book!) Or, two, they gave the same punishments no matter the crime. So, getting spanked was no big deal, you'd had a million before, they're not so bad. Or you've been grounded from the TV before, you survived, it wasn't THAT awful.

So, a lesson for sure, that I will someday pass on to my boys is to be a varied punisher. Think about punishments, get creative with them because punishing can be a difficult task, and you want to make sure that you're choosing well. And then, let your child stew. Tell him he IS going to be punished, just do it again and SEE what happens! And that's when your child will contemplate death.....theirs.....at your hands.....Oh you gotta love the active imagination of a child!!!!

Now, here are some cute pics from the weekend. Rebellious, but Adorable!

Hey, Hey, Hey, It's Me Fat WY WY!!!

Oh, but you gotta admit, he is one precious little chunk!!

And here they all are playing nicely with their blocks.

Had to commit this one to record, playing nicely, a sometimes rare occurrence for us!!