Favorite Quotes

Yes, they continue to amaze us, these kids of ours. Here are our favorites from the last month or so:

As Sophie was heading out the door to school, I hollered, "Do you want your iPod?"

She replied, "No, I have a book. I only need my iPod if I don't have a book."

Now there's a child after her parents' hearts! Lost without a book at that age, and still, both of us. How wonderful that she's discovered this lifeline of learning and entertainment. She's to the age that Jeff is finding books for her that he's read about...and she and I are reading some of the same series. Very fun at a time when we may sometimes struggle to connect.

Now Emma. They have this little beehive in her classroom. If you behave, your bee stays in the hive, and you color in a green honeypot on your calendar that goes home each night. Bees with behavioral challenges ;0 may have to move out of the hive to yellow, orange, or even red honey pots. After three nights of green honey pots, Emma heaved a sigh of satisfaction while looking at her green honeypots and told me, "Mommy, I know I'm always going to have green honeypots. I'm always going to listen. That's just the way God made me." Such a sweetheart...and with only two days left in September, so far she is right.

On to Owen. Since he got the tubes put in his ears, he has begun to hear so much better, and guess what--speak! Just little things, but more than his former repertoire of "Mama" and "Uh-oh". He now says "apple" (aaa-ooo), and "hot" (aahht), "light" (sounds just like hot but I know the difference!) can imitate the dogs barking, and understands little phrases. For example, when I say, "Do you want to take a nap?" he starts to cry, or if I say, "Are you hungry?" he'll say "Mmm!" SO cute! My favorite Owen quote? We walked by the stove and there was a boiling pot of water on it. He saw it and said, unsolicited, "Aaahht!" By the way, he is also walking! Today is his 18 month birthday. I'll be sure to get a snippet of video to post of him walking.

Now for a photo. I've discovered the best way to get kids interested in a long-forgotten toy or anything is to put it by the front door to be loaded in the van for its journey to GoodWill. Here's a case in point. The little couch was a birthday present for Emma on her 2nd or 3rd birthday but we find ourselves tripping over it more than anything these days...until they all had to squeeze on it. How I love these kids!