You Can't See Me...

I'm not sure what it says about the person if he constantly likes to be covered up.  Is there some deeper, underlying message there?  Maybe it means the person isn't happy with himself if he is always hiding under a blankie.  Or, maybe it's just a 21-month old pretending no one can see him.  Enter Harper.

For the past couple of weeks or so, our very gregarious, social little boy has had a fascination with walking around the house, covered up by a thick heavy crib blanket.  You may have read my post last week, where he walked out of his room and smacked into the wall.  Well, the saga continues.  However, he's getting much better with his sense of direction.  He can now navigate from the family room, through the kitchen, to the utility room...all, while hiding under his blanket.  Impressive, I tell you!  (For your viewing pleasure, the video below is just one, of about 50, that I could have if I were a little faster when grabbing the camera.)

A Lesson in Forgiveness

Yesterday at church, two of Warren's church buddies, at two different times, so sweetly said "Hi Warren" in passing.  Warren gave some sort of a grunt and hid behind my leg.  Incredibly rude and totally embarrassing!

I talked with Warren later about the incident and tried explaining to him that it's just the polite thing to do to speak to others.  I also said that if he kept acting like that, he wasn't going to have any friends.  Then, I asked him how he would feel if he said "Hi" to them and they were rude like he was.  While nothing should surprise me with him, I still am never prepared.  Warren immediately looks up at me (and to add to the atmosphere, we're walking hand in hand in a parking lot) and says "Mommy, I would forgive them.  That's what Jesus wants us to do is to forgive people.  So, I would just forgive them, because I know they probably didn't mean it."

Well, of course that instantly melted my heart.  And I realized how right he was.  And, like most parents, I started thinking "Awww, how cute is that?  My four year old is teaching me a lesson in forgiveness."

Then, as I thought about it more....I began to realize....we've got one smart boy on our hands.  He knows just what to say to a) get him off the hook and b) make me stop dead in my tracks and think he's the best kid ever!  Well, it worked.  And, although I know he was probably "playing the system"....I'm going to choose to believe he was teaching me a lesson about forgiveness.

The Bible says in Matthew 18:3 "...unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of God." 

Bedtime Banter

While most of my blog entries normally contain some sort of substance or update on the family (aka, the boys), today's is really nothing more than pure joy.  Last week, I was home with the boys while Chris was at band.  Normally, on the nights Chris is gone, I read to Harper first, then tell him goodnight.  Then, I go in and do the same with Warren.  On this particular night, I decided to switch it up a little.  I reversed the order.  So, picture this:

Warren is in bed, asleep.  I have just finished reading with Harper, tucked him in and told him goodnight.  I walked out of his room and made it to the end of the hallway, when he opens his door behind me (bare in mind, Chris nor I knew he had figured out how to get out of his bed).  He peeks around the corner.  I turn around and we have a 1 minute stare down, until he caves and runs down the hall, arms outstretched, with a huge grin on his face.  I picked him up, held him for a minute and put him back in his bed.  The next time, I made it to the utility room, when I heard his door open again.  I walked to the kitchen to just see what would happen.  Little did I know I'd have a ghost appear!  Harper walked down the hall.....and smacked into the wall with a blanket over his head.  After smacking the wall, he turned around and just stood crying.  The funniest part (not that watching him smack into a wall is funny).....he stayed in character!  Not once did he take off his blanket.  As he stood there crying, after having walked into the wall, he stayed covered up in a blanket of blue fleece with white lambs.

Fast forward a couple of nights....the boys are sound asleep.  It's 11:00 as I head back to bed.  I get to our bedroom, just as Harper's doorknob turns.  His door opens and he stands holding his "baby" (a soft, raccoon snuggie blanket).  As he stands at his door, he looks up and (if you know Harper) in typical Harper fashion, rubs his eyes and says "Hi Mommy!" 

Goodnight!