Addiss, Wessle?

Yay for November!  We did get sick early on (yuck, we all got a stomach virus and a couple of us eve seemed to relapse) but once that passed the month was beautiful and we had some good times.

This Thanksgiving was a little different.  We didn't have any family visiting so we felt more free to try a few new activities that we're hoping to make a tradition.  We started the day off with a one mile Turkey Trot (more on that later), made sure to play at a park before Hinckley's nap and then had a blast hot tubbing in the rain after an early dinner.  We had umbrellas to keep our heads dry and friends to make us laugh.  It was perfect.  And I now feel confident that I can cook a Thanksgiving dinner on my own. 

The next day we decorated for Christmas (Dane put up Christmas lights for our first year, ever) and on Saturday morning we had the chance to visit the Giving Machine downtown.  If you haven't heard about these, check it out!  It was such a worthwhile experience (and a great way to start off the Christmas season!

As always, our Atticus has had amazing and awful moments in the last month.  His questions have been so deep and detailed.  He asks about the devil pretty often, which has led to some really great conversations involving life before this life and after it (here are some great resources that we believe to be true.)  We're a little worried that these detailed questions are going to get us into trouble.  He is already pretty curious about Santa Claus and isn't very satisfied whenever we use magic as an explanation.


We are finding that he is starting to come up with his own explanations, too.  Some are right on and others make us laugh.  For example, when a classmate didn't turn in her homework (at preschool, mind you!) Atticus got very concerned about her.  He told her that his mom had told him that in big kid school that if you don't turn in your homework you get sent to prison!  He even told her that there are guards and that you don't ever get to see your family.  Up until this point I had been pleasantly surprised by his diligence when it came to homework completion.  I think we now know why!

Another development that I've loved this month has been watching him play with greater kindness with smaller children.  I babysat quite a few children in November (way more than usual!) and I've been so pleased with how he includes them and adjusts his intensity for them (more than he used to, anyway.)  It's a start.  Even when he wrestles with Hinckley (which is all the time!) he is very good about letting Hinckley feel like he's winning or that it's an even match.  They both LOVE it.

The most embarrassing moment was our Turkey Trot.  The poor little guy was convinced it was a race and got very upset when an older friend was "beating him."  It did end up well, though.  About halfway through he started trotting along with me as I tried to get him thinking about things that make him happy.  He ran or walked the rest of the race.  We couldn't ask more than that.

We have begun praying with him that he'll be able to control his temper more.  We're not giving up on the tried and true relaxation methods that are out there but we figure that a little Divine help won't hurt.

Atticusisms:

• (Dane says, "Come on, dude.")  “No!  You  call me ‘Son’!”
• "Stop littering, people!" (Shouted at cars while riding his bike.)
• "Aw man, I was hoping to keep that in my stomach.  It was so delicious." (The first time he threw up)
• "Dear Heavenly Father... please help me to get the throw up out!"  (This was a prayer that he yelled 3-4 times in the middle of the night after having thrown up many more times."
• "Does Heavenly Father have a wife?"
• "Is God really real?"
• "Look!  1+1=2.  Check it out!" (Showing off his calculator to some younger kids.)
• “Is this pornography?”  (He's asked a couple times about pictures of people in swimsuits.)
• "[I'm grateful for] Everyone in the world except bad guys." (Gratitude list)
• "My shark is grateful for his house." (Gratitude list)
• "MOME SO SMOT." ("Mommy is so smart.") (Gratitude list)
• (After hearing that Daddy's the "head of house,") "What is Mommy?" ("I don't know, maybe the neck.")  "Then are we the stomach of the house?" 
• "I don’t want the Government to take my money!" (Where did he get that?!  We were dying!)
• "The only thing that makes me happy is money!" (During our Turkey Trot.)
• "You’ve lost my trust, you have to earn it back." (When Max kept ringing the potty bell but then wouldn't go outside.)
• "Those aren't really wise men!  Those are robbers who dressed like wise men and shepherds and they are going to get the baby and hide him." (While playing with a nativity set.)
• "Mom, what do the policemen get for Christmas?" ("I don't know.  Would you like to do something for them?")  "Yeah!  Maybe Daddy could get them a bad guy."

Hinckley started the month off VERY grumpy.  We're pretty sure he was teething.  He kept grabbing his mouth and chewing on blankets/shirts.  He even started gagging on food and would only eat when I started cutting his food into TINY bites. You can see him rubbing his gums in the photo below:

Unfortunately he went straight from teething to "thwow up" as he started calling it.  He began in the middle of the night (after we had been awake with Atticus up until then) and it was awful.  He does NOT like to throw up or admit that he's going to.  He even throws his head back like it will stop him from vomiting.  It was messy and exhausting.  And it took him days for his tummy to get back on track because he didn't want to eat ANYTHING that was nourishing.

The kid is growing up, I tell ya.  He is at a hard stage in some ways (he throws huge tantrums several times a day now) but we still want to enjoy every moment and milestone.  He is saying three word sentences all the time now and he can totally count to 20!  He is able to pray by himself, although he usually waits for help.  He wanted to try undies one day but after 30 minutes things got pretty messy and he hasn't asked since.  But he does love his froggy urinal.  It's so funny- when he uses it he bends his right knee and lifts his right heel.

He has developed a little stutter step that he'll do when he's unsure or, more often, when he's trying to be funny.  It works.  Makes us laugh pretty much every time.

He already loves "Sah-Wah" (Star Wars) and knows the names of many characters (thanks to a favorite board book.)  His favorite stuffed animal is Wicket (the Ewok).  He calls him "Chub-chub" and he wrestles with him and with Chewie, both of whom are close to his size, so it's pretty funny to watch.

Hinckley-

• "No. I Not."
• "Yes." (Said very clearly all the time, usually with a long a sound.)
• "Addiss, wessle?"  (Asking his brother to wrestle- all the time.)
• "Sunny?" (Smoothie.)
• "Ice eem?"  (Ice Cream.)
• "Vacuus?"  (Still asks for the vacuum but then cries when we turn it on.  It's so confusing!)
• "Pway?" or "My ton!" (Loves to pray but still waits for unnecessary help.)
• "Hi Nana, how you doeen?"  (Is starting to greet Max and other people/inanimate objects this way)

And now we begin the Christmas season.  Can. Not. Wait!