The thinking of little minds

Any parent of a preschooler will tell you how amazed they are by what their child comes up with or says.  It really is amazing to witness the development of a little soul--to see them formulate their own opinions and to test hypotheses, to see them question why the world works.  I am often in awe of how the Lord designed our children to receive such an imprint from parents on how they view the world.  What an awesome (and sometimes terrifying) responsibility.

I have had many such occasions to see Josiah's little mind work, listening to Josiah explain the world through his eyes.  Sometimes, the pictures he paints are imbalanced, but other times we are just captivated by the sweetness and tenderness of his heart.

As I always like to keep things real, I will start with the imbalanced side.  Josiah, as of late, acts as if he knows everything (my apologies in advance for any adult out there he may have corrected or will correct in the near future!!)  Even when we remind him that he doesn't know everything (hey, we need to instill humility in this kid!!), he says, with most earnestness.... "but mom, I do know some things.  Like cars, balls, chairs....." and it just goes on and on.  He is most assuredly confident.  Competition is also his driving force.  Out of nowhere, he makes comments like

                 "Mom, I'm faster than you and Abigail." 
                 "Mom, I have more shirts than person X." 
                 Or "Mom, I snap louder than ALL my friends." 

My favorite is when he makes comments to his Daddy in a similar fashion "Daddy, I'm more fast than you".  Bryan's response:  "No you aren't" (quite matter-of-factly, then Bryan walks away--and for those of you who know Bryan well, you'll definitely appreciate that!).  Did I mention that Bryan is also driven by competition?

He also has begun pointing out things in others.  Like the time we were walking in our neighborhood, and a local homeless guy walked by.  At the top of his lungs, Josiah stated "EEEWWWW!!!  WHAT'S THAT SMELL??????"  Or when we have guests over, Josiah is quick to notice when they aren't giving him their full attention.  "MOM, how come they aren't listening to me?" (Said in front of said guests). 

We've also been bumping up against Josiah's strong internal sense of JUSTICE.  And boy have we been having battles.  If Josiah hears frustration in our voice or if we raise our voice too much when admonishing him, the crusader in him ignites.  Its as if Josiah turns into a revolutionary, fighting for the rights of all the 3-year-olds in the world.  His response "NO MOMMY.  NO. NO. NO.  STOP!" (In a 'how dare you speak to me in that tone' voice).  Or when Abigail takes a toy from him--what is his initial response?  An eye for an eye, of course!!  That's JUSTICE after all isn't it? 

Even though we see the areas of struggle and refinement still needed, we also see how God has uniquely crafted this little guy.  It's clear that Josiah has a tender heart for those less fortunate.  He is constantly referencing how other boys and girls may not have as many toys as him, and how he is thankful for what he has.  He is also extremely empathetic, and will often be the first to offer comfort in our family when someone is sad.  We really believe that his strong sense of justice will come into play years down the road--as Josiah fights some horrendous societal ill.  And even his competitive spirit!  Having seen what an asset that is in Bryan and what an amazing strength, we are so thankful that the Lord has instilled in Josiah such an internal drive to push harder, push farther, and to never give up. 

Josiah's playdoh masterpiece.  Look carefully, and you'll notice how detail-oriented this kid is! Yes, the balls are in straight lines and color-coded.  Makes a Mama proud! =)



















This was my first real attempt to french braid Abby's hair.  And even though she is in a chair, she constantly moves her head back and forth!


And here are some quick favorites.  Abby being silly (which she is becoming more and more every day--we are LOVING this!), and the last one of Jo and Abby before Randy & Selene's wedding.

Why are we even talking about this now?

I've decided to dedicate this blog post to topics my three year old insists on talking about.  And often non-stop.  And they are the types of topics you think you won't have to deal with until their teenage years! 

Topic 1: Marriage

That's right.  At least a couple of times a week, Josiah asks, "Mommy, are you married to Daddy?".  "Yes sweetie, I am". 

His response, "but I don't have anyone to marry.  Mommy, who will I marry?" 

To try and placate his insatiable curiosity, I say, "Well, when you get old enough, you'll find a nice woman who loves Jesus and who loves you."  Thinking to myself, this answer really should suffice.

But no, Josiah quips back.  "But how will I find a woman?  Will you help me Mommy?"

So this conversation goes on and on.  I remind him again that he is much too old to even begin worrying about such a topic, but he does not relent.  One day, he got so excited (that type of excited where a light bulb goes off in your head!) and he exclaimed, "I KNOW!!!!  I can marry Abigail!".  Ummm.... no. 

Topic 2: Driving

While returning home from church one Sunday afternoon, I pointed out a local car dealership to show Josiah some sports cars.  The WHOLE way home, he kept insisting that he could and should be allowed to drive said sports car.  After explaining the procedure of driving (1. Turning 16, 2. Obtaining a driver's license, 3. Paying for car insurance), Josiah then proceeded to tell me that "actually, three year olds CAN drive sports cars."

Silly me, thinking that the conversation ended there.  However, the rest of the day, Josiah continued to ask when he would be 16, when he could drive a sports car, how he could get a sports car, and why he couldn't have a sports car for his first car.  Shouldn't we be having this conversation when he's 14? 


And of course, it wouldn't be a true blog post without some pics and videos of the kids--completely unrelated to the above, but still worth it.

One of my favorite shots of Abby

Sweet Jo holding Abby at 13 months! Look at those chubby cheeks.

And since we always take hordes of videos, but never upload them.... here are 3 new ones!

We'd like you to meet Mr. Monkey.  Mr. Monkey is abby's lovie.

Anybody who knows us well, knows that Chuck E Cheese is a normal part of our lives (especially Jojo's and Bryan's!!!).  And you can tell by this video that Abigail is definitely a Scott. 

See! Abby loves this place just as much as Jojo! 

Fun in the midst of chaos

Well, we've had a dearth of posts as of late.  What can we say?  Life with 2 kids is downright crazy at times (again, how do our friends with more than 2 do it? you are our heroes!).  A good portion of March we spent traveling--either the entire family or Bryan with work.  And as ridiculous as it seems, it literally feels like it took us a month to recover and be somewhat rested (as rested as any parents with multiple children under the age of 5 could ever feel!).  And just as things seemed like they were normalizing, our eldest had a week that will go down in the record books.  There was some serious testing of boundaries--throwing, screaming, tantrums, and our all time favorite: taking his spoon for breakfast and hitting Abigail in the head (deliberately, mind you) not just once, but 3 times because "she was screaming too loud".  And did I forget to tell you that Josiah has quite an arm?  He went at her full force.  Thankfully, Abigail (and we) have survived.  And as crazy as things get, as exhausted as we feel, we still manage to have fun as a family.

So we wanted to dedicate this post to our sweet Jojo!  Though these past couple of weeks were emotionally draining and trying, Josiah still continues to amaze us and make us so proud as parents, not just for what he does, but who he is becoming.  We have been amazed by the generosity in his heart, as he continues to ask about the welfare of those homeless men we passed outside of church.  How he is learning to share with his sister, and how he tells her almost daily how much he loves her.  And when he notices her dolled up in a dress and tells her "ab-i-gail, you look so beautiful today. like a princess". 

So here are some fun videos of our sweet Josiah.  (And is there a future in baseball for this little guy??)

Abby & the Irish

We are proud to report that we think we've discovered the calling of our youngest--Irish dancing .  I know you must be thinking--what?  Becca, she's only a 1-year old.  But I think it's clear that the Irish blood from Grandma Kim is expressing itself.  Take a look and see for yourself (the true Irish dancing emerges in the 2nd half of the video)!  All kidding aside, we just thought abby's new dance moves were too funny not to post.

First birthday

It's hard to believe, but our Abigail celebrated her 1st birthday back on March 9.  We were fortunate to be able to spend her birthday with my side of the family in Minnesota (where my eldest sister & her family live).  Abigail thoroughly enjoyed opening her presents (what kid doesn't like gifts, right?).  She very much disliked her birthday hat--as it was pulled off in a matter of seconds.  And the cake?  Well, she at first was quite adverse to it (as you'll see below), but after much cajoling, I eventually convinced her to at least open her mouth to try it! 

Happy birthday to our sweet Abby-cadabby!  We are so enjoying every facet of who you are, and we thank God for your beautiful life!  Mommy & Daddy love you!

Our birthday girl

saying "cheese" for the camera 

"I don't know about this mom" 

"You eat it.  I don't want that cupcake!"

"NOOOOO!!!"

 

"Ewwww"

"Okay, maybe sugar isn't so bad afterall!" 

 "hihi"

She's a girl that gets what she wants

Having two children always gives such a fascinating perspective as parents.  We are daily amazed at how DIFFERENT Josiah and Abigail are--besides just the obvious boy/girl differences.  In fact, we often find ourselves shaking our heads in wonder saying, "wow, Josiah never did this...." or "Josiah wasn't this.....".  Not that we are purposely trying to compare our children to some imaginary standard or compare them against one another. Not at all. In fact, I think if truth be told, Bryan and I often find ourselves wondering what exactly we've gotten ourselves into, but in a good way, mind you.  We truly believe children are a blessing from the Lord--it's just sometimes that blessing comes with some sweat and tears from the dear parents!

Case in point.  Abigail is fast. She RARELY sits still.  Both of our kids were early walkers, but Abigail seems to have a little extra "ummphh" to her.  And quite frankly this scares us!  You see, Josiah already is quite intense.  Though Josiah has a strong sense of justice and is motivated by "right & wrong" (which can make it easy, at times, to parent him), he is physically strong, physically active, emotionally volatile, and verbally alive (that is my euphemism for the kid just won't stop talking!). So we can't but help compare what Abigail does now through our lens of how Josiah has grown.

Take today, for instance.  Abigail already gets into way more than Josiah every did at this age (Abby is 11 months).  She also started crawling before Josiah and climbed the stairs before he did.  Josiah, though he mastered physical developments early, was still a very cautious kid.  Abigail seeems (at least for now) to throw caution to the wind.  When she sees something out of reach, she figures out how to make it within reach.  (if you'll remember, her pseudonym is Elastigirl).  She uses any means possible to reach items that are not suitable for children under the age of 3 (let alone under the age of 1), and she often succeeds. 

This is Abigail reaching for something on our TV stand.  These picture don't do it justice.  Abigail is notorious for adding inches to her height by standing on the tips of her tippytoes.  Is she taller than our TV stand?  NO!  Can she even see what is on our TV stand?  NO.

And here is another climbing adventure.  Abigail, not wanting to miss out on the full experience of piano playing, figured out how to climb onto our blanket basket.  Yes, that basket is about a foot tall. Does she even need this basket to reach the keys?  No.  She can reach them just fine by stretching her arms--though she wouldn't be able to actually see what she was doing.  And so, she figured out how to make herself taller.  And here's a video to witness it yourself.  No fear.  No concern about how to get down.  No fear of falling.  None. (Thankfully she had Mommy and Daddy within reach!)

Celebrating 6 years of marital bliss (and A LOT of hard work!)

Happy Anniversary to my love!  Six years ago today I said "I do" to the man of my dreams.  I am so thankful for God's goodness in our marriage!  Bryan, you are truly a man of honor and humility, and I know how blessed I am to be your wife.  Not only are you a faithful husband, but you are a gentle and kind father to our children.  I cherish our friendship, and I am so proud of all that you've accomplished in your life!  Thank you for walking with me, helping me to draw nearer to God, and for all that you've done to lead our family!  Thank you for making the past six years marital bliss (mixed in with some hard work, of course!).  Here's to our lifetime together! 

December 2005--do we look any different?

Duke Gardens, Feb 2006

Kiss, kiss!

Love!