Paying Attention Tuesday

"And when you realize that anything and everything could be gone by Wednesday, all you can do, I've decided, is to really try to pay attention Tuesday."--Paul Reiser

It's such an important lesson, and I've been trying to slow down lately and do just that. I spend time with the boys, but so often it's while I'm doing dishes, or working on the computer, or watching tv, or doing laundry... I hate to think that at the end of the day I've only spent a half hour playing or talking with them. So here's to turning the tv OFF and noticing the little things like this...

The little boy...
Connery had a doctor's check-up yesterday, and I'm on Fall Break, so we spent the day together. Before his appt. we hung out at Kenny Mango's. While I ordered, he handed me wet coins...and I realized he had taken them from the fountain! As we lounged on the sofa, he talked non-stop about the monkeys hanging from the ceiling and I held his hand. Once he asked, "Doing, Mommy?" "Just sitting here, holding my baby's hand." "K." He then pretended to fall off the sofa repeatedly, telling me "bagguy pooth me off adang" (Bad guys pushed me off again.) A few minutes later, he said, "Hold Baby hand?" and reached for mine. That's when a mother's heart melts...

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For a while, Connery had a series of questions he asked:
Ba? (My answer) At work.
PaGaga? (My answer)Playing golf.
Daddy? (My answer) At work.
Bob? (And the only Bob I know is Bob the Builder...) Bob's building.
Doctor? (Where does he get this stuff??) At the doctor's office.
For a few weeks, he would ask us these questions--always in this order--AT LEAST every fifteen minutes. And by the end of the sequence, I would always laugh, so he reached the point that he would laugh afterwards too. He knows he's funny.

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One day as we pulled up at his school, he didn't want to put his shoes on. I said, "You have to wear your shoes, baby." And he said, "No Tew, Baby." Of course, I laughed, so he said it over and over again, laughing each time. He doesn't know why it's funny, but he knows it is!

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Quiet afternoons are a thing of the past now that both boys can say just about anything they want! Connery repeats everything Kieran says, and when we can't understand him, Kieran can usually translate.

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Connery-speak:
hamango--flamingo
dince--dance
Uh-no--I don't know
Yayo--yellow
reem--Green
focks--Crocs, his favorite shoes
oo--you or your, as in "I wear oo shoes, Mommy!"
Yaya Booboo, no det me!--Nanny nanny boo boo, you can't get me!

And the best!!!
Dah-do-dee--Connery

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The big boy...
Kieran has been so good at school lately. One day only three "friends" in his class got a ribbon in Spanish class because they were listening. And Kieran was one of them. Another day, I walked in and saw that he had about 6 stickers AND a car from the treasure box! His teacher said that he was an example to everyone that day, because he was the ONLY "friend" who put his finger over his mouth and sat on the circle for reading time!

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He notices skin color now, which scares me just a little. Of course, I want the boys to have a respectful appreciation of diversity...but how do I explain that to them?? (Heck, it's hard to explain to some ADULTS!) Well, he's noticed that a couple of classmates, his cousins and his Ba are brown--not sure if he's noticed that Daddy is, too. He's crazy about his cousin Meagan, but I don't think he quite catches on that she's his cousin. He thinks she's his girlfriend half the time. In fact, one day when I said, "your cousin Meagan," he explained, "Meagan is not my cousin. She's not brown. I already have some cousins, and they're brown."

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Did Connery behave? "He was being a little have"

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Mommy, do you know who I'm going to marry today? Meagan.

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Gryphon and Sweets are boyfriend and girlfriend. When one of them is not at home, the other is sad.

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Kieran: Mommy, I have a broken leg. See this red stuff? (Points to scab on his knee) That's where my leg is broken.
Connery: Gryphon broke The-The's leg, Mommy.
Kieran: No, Gryphon didn't break it. I broke 'my-thaylves' leg.

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Kieran-speak
primming--pretending
ablieve--As in "Can you ablieve that??"

And "out of the mouths of babes..."

If only it were that easy.