Setting A Good Example

Recently Eliot and Addie have begun sharing a room. Every night as I tuck them in I tell Addie to 'set a good example for Eliot' meaning go straight to sleep. He has had a tendency to want to babble and stand up and look at her. When she sets a good example, he stops this after 1 minute and goes to sleep. Hence the reason for my advice!

Almost every night Addie says okay and does what I instruct. Last night when I told her to 'set a good example for Eliot' she responded, 'OK, and you set a good example for Daddy'. LOL! So that night as I kissed Charles good night I rolled over and set a good example by going straight to sleep!.

Pep Talk by JWC Anderson

Today Jack's journal entry assignment was to write a pep talk to be given to the St. Louis Cardinals before their game tonight. I told Jack to act as though he was Mike Matheny. What would he tell the Cardinals? Well here it is:

Based on the Cardinals performance tonight - it seems this 'pep' talk worked!  A coach in the making?????

Ways Not to Treat A Brother

Eliot is in a little phase right now where he throws a toy. It is usually little people or something like this, but obviously we are trying to teach him not to. Today Theo told me that Eliot had thrown two little people at him while they were playing back in Eliot's room. I asked Theo if he had told Eliot 'No No'?

Theo very seriously told me, 'No I told him that was no way to treat his brother.'

Out of the mouths of babes. It is hilarious to hear the same thing you say come out of the mouth of little ones!

God's Gifts

Today while in the car, we were discussing how you get to be good at something. We were trying to find the right balance in working hard and having gifts from God. As I was explaining the two concepts (or trying!) Theo piped up and said, ‘Mom I know what gift God has given me.’

Oh really Theo. What gift do you think that is? What gift has God given you?

He has given me the gift to make really great Lego creations. J

Too true. Oh, I love 5 year olds!

Addie The High Schooler

Today while driving to church Theo was looking at some new apartment complexes and commented that he didn't think he would want to live in those apartments when he was in high school. I told him that those apartments were actually meant more for college students. I then told him that you lived at home still in high school. He genuinely seemed grateful for the correction.

Addie then piped up and set 'yes when I grow up I want to be live at home and be a high schooler.' She then continued and said, 'next time you hold that sign up I want to say high schooler not police woman.'  In fairness, a few weeks back when we held up the kids 'beginning of school, I want to be' signs, Addie was a little confused as to what she wanted to be when she grew up. Jack quickly said baseball player. Theo quickly said robot maker. And then Addie finally stumbled upon 'police woman' largely driven, I believe, by a book we had just checked out from the library. So now she has finally decided: when Addie grows up she wants to be a high schooler.  I will remind her of this when she is a high schooler!  Hopefully, she will accomplish this aspiration - probably more realistic than  a baseball player or a robot maker!