Out of the Mouths of My Babes

I was explaining to the kids that tomorrow we are going to see Christian. Up until now we have really focused on Dayton and helping him work through some things. Ellie has been a little out of sorts lately so I told her that Christian was also going to be her friend and asked if that was okay. She didn't respond so I asked again and here's how it went down.

Ellie: Mom, I can handle myself.
Me: Ellie, What does that mean?
Ellie: Mom, I can handle myself to make good choices so back off.

I wasn't sure I heard her correctly and didn't know if I should laugh or cry. She wasn't mad but merely defiant and apparently understands way too much for her own good! She often reminds me that she is 4 AND A HALF.

Then while we were coming home from a doctor's appointment Dayton informed me that he really had to go to the bathroom. I was trying to change the subject to preoccupy him. We were stuck in traffic and were only a few minutes away. Here's what the exchange sounded like:

Me: Well Dayton, the good news is that you don't have chicken pox so you can still go to Ben's bowling party this weekend and skiing with Grandma Mikey.
Dayton: And the bad news is Mom that I gotta poop real bad!

Needless to say I burst into laughter and we made it home just in time!

Dayton also has made a habit of weighing himself daily and some times several times throughout the day. He's been at 44.5 lbs and has been anxious to hit 45 lbs. Today before his bath he weighed in at 46.5 lbs and commented the following;

Dayton: Mom, look I'm 46 point 5!
Me: Wow, that's awesome D! You must be doing a great job eating healthy.
Dayton: Nah, it's just my clothes and my shoes. I don't really weigh that much, Mom!

How foolish am I? Later after his bath he put his jammies on and hopped back on the scale and came in at 45 lbs even! You've never seen a 5 year old so excited! Now our little Beansie is another story. She hopped on the scale after tubby time and she came in at a whopping 35 lbs!

Bedtime for her has been a struggle and she has pulled some pretty funny one liners out of her sleeve. This was tonight's conversation.

Ellie: Mom, I just want to come snuggle with you for 5 minutes.
Me: No Ellie. It's time to go to bed.
Ellie: But Mom, if you let me come out there with you I will get you a nice chair.

Yeah, I have no idea what prompted her to think that I need or want a nice chair but I know her well enough to know that there was some serious logic in there somewhere!

On the B Side: I am grateful to be a parent, to be a Mother. I must admit that it is an extremely humbling experience at every moment and I wonder how on earth I am going to manage/parent tomorrow. Parenting is a responsibility that you grow into. You don't go into it knowing how to do it well regardless of what you think you know. When they are infants their needs are basic and fairly easy to attend to. As toddlers their needs become more apparent and beyond that I am still trying to figure it all out! If you didn't know what your weaknesses were before you sure do after you have kids. Bless their little hearts, I love them so much and that is the piece of this confounding equation that I never have to ponder because I just feel it so strongly and naturally deep inside.