I can't keep up with all of the cute things this boy says! He laughed as he blurted out the title of this post as I chased him through the house. He loves to be chased and to chase! He loves to hide from the monsters and the dragons under the covers on our bed and in our closets. It seems
like all the time it's something new and hilarious/ melt-your-heart/
adorable coming out of his mouth. He continues to be Boy Genius and is
making amazing connections all the time. Here is my meager attempt to
record what I can remember!
But first, an adorable video of Julian and Ella Grace right before bedtime a couple nights ago.
(Ella Grace has started saying words more regularly and last week acquired several words into her vocabulary! You see her say "book" in the video.)
When I was an early childhood education major in college, I remember learning in one of my classes how every good classroom has words all over it, IE: everything is labeled. Once kids have learned their ABC's, this helps them recognize that stringing letters together allows us to form words. When we place the names of familiar objects all around them, they begin to understand that there's a way to use letters to spell names, and thus the concept of reading words on their own really is introduced into their little worlds. I decided I wanted to have that in my home. So I made lots of labels several months back. Julian seemed excited about the words in the beginning, but it seemed the words lost their appeal/ newness a while ago. So last week I looked around my house and just thought it looked junky. I thought "I'm going to take those labels down." Then the next morning, Julian went up to the fake tree I have labeled on our TV stand, and said enthusiastically "look! T-R-E-E spells tree!" He'd done that before, but he just seemed so proud of himself this time! Right away, I knew I would not be taking those labels down anytime soon! That was an exciting Mommy moment:) Then later that day he said "Mom! P-I-C-T-U-R-E spells picture!"
Last week we were all driving in the car and Julian was eating a cookie.
Stace: "Julian, when you eat the cookie, where does it go?"
Julian: "in my mouth!"
Stace: "yes! And once you swallow it, where does it go?"
Julian: "In my tummy!"
Stace: "yep! In there where does it go?"
Me, while giving Stace a look and trying not to laugh: "Staaace!"
Julian, enthusiastically: "To its little home!"
Julian hates the straps over his shoulders in his car seat. He tries his best all the time to wiggle out of them. Last week I was trying to explain to him the reason why we wear seatbelts/ sit in car seats. I said, in a huff in response to his frustration, and in all seriousness:
"Julian, wearing the straps keeps you safe. If we got in a car accident and you weren't wearing your straps, you would go flying out the window."
Well, apparently all Julian heard was the word "fly" because I looked back at him, and his eyes got really big and full of excitement and a huge smile spread accross his face as he said:
"and then I would have WINGSSSS!"
Last time we had the missionaries over for dinner, the presidential election came up briefly in conversation. Julian was playing in the family room as we all sat at the table. I called to him
"Julian, are you going to be the president one day?"
As he continued scurrying from here to there (I think at that moment he was actually running around in circles), he said emphatically:
"No! I'm going to be a missionary one day!"
He tells me often that he's going to be a missionary, and so is Mama, and Dadda and EllaBwace!
He also tells me that he is going to get married in the temple one day on semi-regular basis:)
This past week Julian and Daddy witnessed a car accident. It happened at a very busy intersection in Gainesville, so Stace was one of dozens of witnesses, and pulled over to the side of the road to call 911. Stace said Julian didn't really appear to be phased, but he must have been effected because he is still talking about it. When I met up with them after the accident, Julian looked at me and said several times "The blue car hit the orange car, and it CRASHED!", then he held each hand out to each side with elbows bent, and nodded his head, and matter-of-factly stated "yep. that's what happened, Ma." (continued nodding.) I love it when he does this little move. It's like he's the giver of the news, and whatever it is, well, that's exactly what it is! "yep. uh-huh."
He has started adding "huh?" to the end of his statements, like I always do to him. Ha! It's so cute. Example: "that car is really fast, huh?" "You're really tired, huh?"
Last week when I picked him up from school, Ella Grace was crying and Julian looked at me and said with an empathetic grimace on his face, "Mom, when Ella Grace cries, it hurts my feelings." We've been talking about being kind and not hurting feelings...I guess what hurting feelings means hasn't fully been processed yet! :)
A week before Julian started school, he was around some rowdy little boys who play really rough. Julian is not used to that. He never cried (except when one tried to smother him under a blanket...!), but I wanted to make sure A.) that he would stand up for himself and say "no, please don't hit me." (which he's never had a problem doing...lol! He's been known to get in kids' faces who do him wrong and tell them what's up, in a calm way!) and B.) that he wouldn't pick up that hitting/ pushing habit...especially right before school! ahhh! So I think my attempts to help him understand that hitting is wrong and that we don't do it really sunk in, but maybe not in the way I meant for it to! He couldn't stop talking about hitting! I mean, it's been almost a month and the hitting talk is just now starting to die down. Everyday I'd pick him up from school and ask him what he did and he'd say "hitting." I got the impression that this kid was all-talk, especially because everyday the teacher would tell me how he'd had a great day. So I finally asked the teacher after several days like this: "has he been hitting or have other kids been hitting him?" The teacher looked puzzled and said "no...? He's had a few times where he takes toys other kids are playing with, but all the kids do that, and they're learning." Then Grandmommy asked him a couple weeks ago what kind of birthday party he was going to have and he said "ummm, a hitting party." Whaaat?! ha! Lately when I pick him and ask him about his day, the first thing he says is "Not hit."
Sometimes when he is excited about something he's telling you, his eyes will get really big and he'll start to whisper and look very serious, and then a big smile will come across his face. Too. cute.
The past few days when I put Ella Grace down for a nap, Julian tells me he wants to come in and sing to her with me. We sing "I Am a Child of God", "Families Can Be Together Forever" and "I Love to See the Temple." These are such sweet, quiet, tender moments. I wish I could live in them forever.
I never wrote about this very special moment that happened a few months ago. We took the youth to a local retirement home to entertain the residents with Alzheimer's. If you want to do an awesome act of service, take your baby to a nursing home. You will make those peoples' days! They all went GAGA over Julian and Ella Grace. Oh, they couldn't get enough of these babies. We sang them lots of songs, the first of which being "I Am a Child of God." I held Julian in my arms and started to sing that song with all of our sweet Young Men and Young Women. We were instructed to project loudly so that all could hear well. So we're all belting it out, and before I know it, Julian is belting it out right along with us. It was SO sweet. I had to stop singing for a moment to regain my breath because he had taken it away, as I got choked up. He sang it so confidently...like he really does know he is a child of God. It was definitely one of the best-mommy-moments of my life so far.
Recently I learned that a former coworker of mine at Florida Prepaid is facing a tough battle. He was only there for a short time while I was, but I will always think of his funny personality and kindness when I think of him. He and his wife had a little boy shortly after he left the office for a new job in NY (I think). Well, his son is fighting cancer, and another coworker of mine got a fundraiser together for the family. Last week Julian and I went to the post office so we could send in a donation. I told Julian we were going to send a sick little boy some money so he could buy medicine and feel better. I told him the little boy was at the hospital. I showed Julian a picture of the little boy, and he got a really sad expression on his face. He wanted so badly to go to the hospital and give him a hug. He was so upset when I told him we were just going to the post office, not the hospital. It touched my heart that he cared so much for this little boy and that he wanted him to get better.
Julian really likes to do puzzles! Here he is working on one...
The classic tongue of concentration...
almost there...
Done!
Julian likes to get all wrapped up after his bath, really snug!
Silly boy!
"Look, Ma! Here's my play dough wall!" awesome.
Stace put him in this simple little onesie the other night for bed, and I about died. I haven't seen him in a onesie in what seems like a very long time. He looked like my little baby again.
Julian gives the BEST hugs and loves, and kisses, and he runs his hand over my cheek and smiles bashfully (see his face below)...it's the sweetest:)
Yes, Stace is whistling here with his booty out in the air. Stace's silliness is not often allowed to be caught on camera, but it is ever present in our home!
Julian just waking up from a nap...
Look at that handsome face...
You know you craft too much when...
JK! Julian likes to get out the felt to play with it. The green is grass, the blue is water, the yellow is "the beach." He was pretending to sleep here. Could he be any more beautiful?!
Julian saw a picture of a cake on this box and wanted to try some!
"okkkaay" I said..."You can try it. But I don't think you're gonna like it..."
Bad decision. Bad call on my part. (For my floor's sake. J was fine.)
Julian pronounces a few words pretty
silly/ hilariously, like "Blues Clues" and also "Publix." I've been
wanting to get this on video. But of course when I finally have the camera ready to record him saying it, he says it PERFECTLY! Ha. You can hear how taken aback I was at how well he pronounced it. It's always been "Plublix." Oh well, at least he redeemed himself a bit
with adding a third syllable the rest of the times. :)
This morning, 9/17:
When
looking in the pantry, he saw our box of Cheez It Grips (such a great
snack for church-- thank you Beth for introducing them to me!) and said
"those are crunchy hexagons!" Yes, my little two year old, those are indeed crunchy hexagons. I have never called them that. He put that together all by himself.
In
our family prayer this morning, Julian was rushing to finish the
prayer, and I was trying to slow him down and remind him to pray for
different things. I prompted him to say "please bless Daddy" (he
repeated) "that he will have a productive" (he repeated)
" and great day at work." (repeated) then Julian said on his own:
"Please bless Mommy in her special work."
That made my heart smile. This work of being a mom is special.
On the way to school, Julian said "one day, I'm gonna be an exercise man like Daddy!"
9/17: Julian walked up to a little girl (4 years old ish...he loves the older girls thanks to his cousins!) at the playground and said Julian just walked up to a little girl and said "hi! I'm your new friend! my name is Julian." He was just delighted to inform her of this news! haha!
On the way to the gym TJ was talking about going poo poo in the potty. Amelia said Julian turned to TJ in all seriousness and said "that sounds like a really good idea, TJ." HA!
August 30: we were all running outside...
Stace and Julian alternated letters as they sang the alphabet on our walk: stace: "H" Julian: "I" Stace: "J" Julian: "K" Stace: "L" Julian: "minno!"
August 25: Julian: "we are going to Grandpa Bill's house!" 5 seconds later: "we are going to my Grandpa's house!" 3 seconds later: "we are going to my Grandfather's house." who says "grandfather"? my child is fancy;)
July 28: Stace shaved his beard off this morning & wondered if Julian would notice. He asked "Hey Julian, do you notice anything different about me?" J said "yeah!" Stace said "oh yeah, what?" and Julian said "umm, the priesthood!" Yay! It is so awesome/ gratifying when he remembers things we talked about in Family Home Evening:) Our lesson this past Monday was on the priesthood♥
My sweet little boy. The world is your playground and you are so free spirited and happy. Everyone is your friend. You are so friendly and loving. You are as stubborn as they come, but you are also even sweeter than that.
Life with you, my sweet miracle boy, is always a wonder.
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