The boys are growing up so fast!
Hinckley is communicating more and more. His words include "Up" ("Uh"), "See saw" (sometimes "dee daw but sometimes said with an "s"),
"Peekaboo" ("da doo or dee doo"), he can "bock" like a chicken, "Oink" like a pig, "moo" like a cow, and will usually say "bye bye" ("buh bye") while waving goodbye. We love all the different ways he uses "One, two three!" He'll say it so he can get spun or tossed, to go on the slide or do anything adventurous. He also says it as he throws food off his tray ("un [or dah], two, ee!"- and throws the food on three). He knows "soft" (although we're afraid we may have accidentally taught him the wrong word for "dog"- he calls dogs and all furry blankets/animals "soft" because he's constantly being told to be soft with them...) He's also saying, "Thank you" ("Deet doo") when he gives or is given an object.
His mimicry is so adorable. He folded his arms for family prayer a couple nights ago. Toward the end of the month he really came into his own with his lion walker, jerking it around corners. He acts like he owns the place! Then, just today (the 27th), he stood independently before church and took his first step toward Dane right before bed. Yaaaaay!
A milestone we didn't love was his first real time vomiting. Not a fun night. But it was only the one time, thank heavens. (Atticus got sick with a violent but short-lived stomach bug at the end of the month, too.)
One more aspect of his personality with which we're becoming acquainted is his STRONG will. Mom and Dad are NOT his favorite people. He loves certain people (a few of our ward members and Dane's cousin Delaney) and he pretty much jumps out of our arms when he sees them. It's a little embarrassing when we, inevitably, need to take him back. He cries and even screams. I have a hunch it's because Dane and I are always the bad guys.
Oh, Atticus. We've had such great days and such rotten ones. We are planning on getting a dog at the end of February and we had the grand idea that we'd make a sticker chart for Atticus to help him act more "responsibly" in order to "earn" a dog. It's definitely had mixed results.
While we've had plenty of tantrums and, unfortunately, a couple incidents with honesty (involving hand washing), Atticus has also had so many wonderful moments. For example, he prays from his heart, all the time. When he hears that someone is in trouble (even when he overhears me talking on the phone) he will stop and drop right then and there and pray for them. He has prayed for my mom's ankle (her knee has been troubling her for the last month or more) and for his Nana every prayer for the entire month. He also spontaneously decided he wanted to make a "seed of faith" piece of art and, halfway through the month, he decided he wanted to share the gospel with his friend. He talked about it so much that we had the missionaries come so we could bring him a copy of The Book of Mormon. We wrote him and his mom a note and brought them cookies. It was all his idea. I would never have had the guts to do it without him.
I think a big reason for his growing testimony has been our new program of Bible study. 2019 brought big changes in our church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, one of which is the "Come, Follow Me" program for individuals and families. I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who wants to help their family have a closer relationship with the Savior and with one another. (We've also gone from having three hours of church to only two, which has been amazing!)
Studying the New Testament has been wonderful. We're taking our time and have been able to glean some wonderful things from Matthew 1-2, Luke 1-2 and John 1. We also studied Alma 32, learning about growing a seed of faith. I'm proud (and surprised) to say that our seeds are growing! Hooray! Now if only we could get our own seeds of faith to grow. My faith has taken a beating in the last little while. I'm working very hard to dig deep and keep it strong.
Atticusisms:
"Please bless Atticus because I was so good today."
"Is that Uncle Rick [on the phone] pretending to be the Grinch?"
"It's an emergency. Can you button up my pants?" (while I was putting H down for a nap.)
"I don't know about that. I'm going to see for myself."
"[Bobba's] giving me a creepy wave."
"How was your new class [at church]?" "Good, but there were no shnacks!" (said very angrily)
"How do babies come out of a mommy's tummy?" (Ah, dang...)
"Can we do 'Mommy Wrestling'?"
"Be careful, Atticus." (While playing at the park)
"With God, nothing shall be impossible." (he'll still whisper this to us to give us a pleasant surprise.)
Bowman, "Atticus, are you really a wolf?" Atticus, "No, I'm just pretending."
"You're not a slowpoke, you're a fast poke!"
"It's going to be a rough night." (Said dramatically when he was feeling sick one night.) :(
January moments:
We had a Harry Potter themed New Beginnings (it was 5 hours long... yikes!) We had a lot of fun.
The scariest part of our month was Marti's hospital stay. She has had a rough couple of weeks. We've been praying without ceasing for her and I'm happy to report that she's at home, recovering little by little. Still, it was a wake up call for us. We can't take anything or anyone for granted. It was also eye opening for me to see how much faith little Atticus has that his Nana would be okay. We will not be stopping our prayers in her behalf.
"It's going to be a rough night." (Said dramatically when he was feeling sick one night.) :(
January moments:
We also are trying out a new toy rotation schedule. I already love it (more than half of our toys are now put away in storage!)
The scariest part of our month was Marti's hospital stay. She has had a rough couple of weeks. We've been praying without ceasing for her and I'm happy to report that she's at home, recovering little by little. Still, it was a wake up call for us. We can't take anything or anyone for granted. It was also eye opening for me to see how much faith little Atticus has that his Nana would be okay. We will not be stopping our prayers in her behalf.
