Love notes

I walked into Noah's bedroom this morning to find him writing a note in crayon that said, "I love you to. Do you want to play football with me after my swimming lessons?" He had also pulled out three pieces of gum from his stash.

I asked him who that was for and he said, "Sometimes at night when Caleb and I have trouble getting to sleep we'll write each other notes, or if we just don't want to say it out loud we'll write a note that says 'I love you.'" He gave me a note last night so I'm giving him one this morning.

He then proceeded to sneak into Caleb's room while he was still sleeping and laid the note and gum on Caleb's shoulder. I could see a future paper cut to the face or a rude awakening at the very least, so I convinced Noah to leave it on the floor.

So sweet.

An oiler

Noah has become increasingly interested in rocks lately and knows (freakishly) a lot about them so he has determined he will be a geologist when he grows up. So today, our conversation went like this:

Noah: Do you make a lot of money as a geologist?
Me: You can. Depends on who you work for. If you work for an oil company, I would say 'yes.'
Noah: Oh, yeah. I want to do that because I want my wife to be an oiler.
Me: What's an oiler?
Noah: You're an oiler, Mom. I want to marry someone like you.

(So apparently since I write about the oil industry, I'm an oiler. Good to know.)

Pro baller

"I don't want to play professional football, but I will if I have to." - age 6

A Long Way from Home

Noah got upset this morning and decided he would run away.  He grabbed two plastic grocery bags and filled them with stuffed animals, a few toys and his blanket. When I got out of the shower he announced, "Goodbye, Mom!"

I said, "What do you mean, 'Goodbye?'" He said he was going somewhere else where he was loved. So he headed outside and plopped down next to the big rock in our front yard. I watched him take out all his stuffed animals and line them up next to him. After about 7 minutes, he packed them up and came back inside. "I didn't know what yard to go in, so I just stayed in ours. But I want to come back now."

A Messy World

Noah is very literal so when it's said that "God holds the whole world in His hands," he imagines it is just that. He said, "If God holds the whole world in His hands then His hands must be really messy."  (He actually figured God's hands were the ground/dirt, but his comment was so interesting!

That's SO my boy.

At the end of Noah's clinic visit today, the doctor asked him if he'd like some animal crackers or Teddy Grahams to which he replied, "You got anything with chocolate?" SO MY BOY.

My little valentine

Noah: "Mom, I love you so much your heart is breaking my head." 

 While I can't be sure this is the accurate translation, I'm still going with: Your love is mind-blowing.

The Mysins. A lovely couple.

Okay, so Noah really said nothing in this conversation, but it was so hilarious, I have to write it down.

So we're doing bedtime prayers and Paul asks what the kids want to pray for. "Hank!" is blurted out. Then "My sins," says Rachel.

Caleb begins and prays for Hank and then says, "And I pray for the Mey..Meyers? wait. What's that name?"
I answered, "Do you mean 'My sins'? Rachel said she wants to pray for 'my sins.' Two words. It's not a name."

To which Paul chimes in with, "The Asian couple?"

We got back on track only to have Rachel start praying, asking God to forgive her brothers of their sins. Never did mention her own.

Oh, goodness.

Root Beer

Noah wanted to know if we could have "root beer" for snack. "Not the pop, Mom. The stuff by the garden." I had no idea what he was talking about so we put on our snow boots and headed to the backyard - to discover he was talking about rhubarb!! Too bad it's the dead of winter...

Tummy Troubles

Today is Noah's birthday and he asked around 2:30 if he was truly 5 now. I said yes, and that 5 years ago at this time I was holding him in my arms after having him in my tummy for so long.

To which he replied, "When I came out, what was on me?"

I thought he meant clothing so I said, "Nothing. You came out naked."

And he said, "No, I mean, what food? What food was on me since I was in your tummy?"

Nice or Naughty?

Noah: Mom, Jaxon told me if you are naughty, you don't get presents from Santa.
Me: Yes, that's why Santa has a 'nice' list and a 'naughty' list.
Noah: But we're (speaking on behalf of his brother and sister, too) always naughty. I don't know how to work that out.

They have kids?

Noah: "Mom, how fast did you grow up?"
Me: "I guess you'd have to ask my Mom."
Noah: "Who's your Mom?"
Me: "Your Grandma in Carrington."
Noah: "The one who lives close to a park?"
...

Me: "Yes."
After much thought, he then asks, "Do you have a Dad?"
Me: "Yes. Grandpa. You know, he took you fishing."
Noah: "Oh. I didn't know they had kids."

Eat your veggies!

While at Caleb's T-ball game, Noah was playing with a couple little girls. When I asked him if he made some new friends he said, "No. They were mean and pushed me. But I'm tougher than them. They don't even eat vegetables!"

My little meterologist.

In the van, Caleb asked, "Why is it raining?" Noah replied, "Because the clouds get heavy and squish together and that makes it rain."

The Lone Star State

As Noah & I were leaving the Y this morning, he asked me why we sweat. I gave him a couple reasons, one of which was, "It gets rid of toxins, or the bad stuff in our bodies." He replied, "It gets rid of Texans?"

If only.

Older like me.

Today at BECEP, Noah sat in a rocking chair and when the teacher asked him if he was okay, he sadly replied, "I miss my Mom." But the teacher was able to lure him back into participation by initiating the "skeleton dance" in this season of Halloween. When I picked him up, he said, "Mom! We did the skeleton dance. I really like it. You can see it when you're older. Older when you're 3, like me."

Baby Blues

I don't know how much longer Noah will request this, but I want to write it down so I don't forget that it was a constant at this age.

"I want milk. In a blue cup."

He always wanted to drink from the blue plastic cups. Sometimes it was an all-out tantrum if he didn't get his favorite color choice!

Sweet brothers

On another trip in the van (he has some classic moments as a commuter)...we were on our way to BECEP for preschool. Out of the blue he says, "I wish I could always be with Caleb. Caleb's so sweet." pause "His hair is so soft. It's like a pillow."

Give me a hand.

We went out to eat to celebrate Rachel's 9th birthday. We find Noah's lack of short-term memory to be a bit funny at times as he'll often ask us where we're going as we're in the van or where we just were. So this particular Sunday, as Noah was using the bathroom right before bed, he asked me, "Where'd we go again?"
Me: "Paradiso." Noah: "Oh yeah, I had chicken hands."

I laughed so hard. He had chicken fingers. He wanted chicken nuggets but they only had fingers. That led to a discussion of why they're called fingers and Paul described how they are thin and long like fingers. Apparently that whole image of a hand is what stuck in his brain.

She's so pretty!

Rachel put in a pretty ponytail holder and headband this morning and at breakfast Noah commented how pretty it was. She and Caleb left the table to go brush their teeth and Noah finished his cereal.

Noah: Mom, can you get me a cup of milk? Hurry, because I want to go downstairs.

Me: Why do you want to go downstairs?

Noah: Because Rachel's down there and she's so pretty I want to stand by her all day.