David ...

1. David (4 1/2 years old) unknowingly created (and often uses!) a new helpful word: "butcept." Here is an example of its usage in context: "I have used all the crayons butcept the green one." Why choose between "but" and "except" when you can combine them?!?

2. Depends or Pretends? In a conversation about what time we eat breakfast, David explained, "What time I eat breakfast pretends when I get up." :-)

3. David and K'nex are a fabulous fit! He discovered them today -- and he did a super job following the directions, choosing the pieces, putting them together and making his "Spy Plane!" How cool is that?! I see hours of wonderful afternoon "quiet time!" Fantastic! :-)














4. "I not matter." David's got it figured out - "I not matter." What he means is "It doesn't matter to me." But there is some real wisdom in his statement, "I not matter." I pray this becomes a selfless statement from his heart (and mine!) - that he doesn't matter in comparison to God's glory or to the needs/preferences of others.

95

Our church has an annual "Reformation Party." In preparation for the party, at church tonight Daniel and David were learning about Martin Luther and his 95 Theses.

As the boys ate their snack at home after church, Joseph and I were asking the boys what they learned. David described Martin Luther hammering a piece of paper on a door. Joseph asked him, "Do you know what the piece of paper was called? (pause) It has a number. Do you remember the number?"

David grinned and replied, "It is the same number as Lightening McQueen!" :-)

Sports Pictures

Joseph's dad took some fall sports pictures of the boys:



Daniel is playing soccer with other 6/7-year-olds. Go Fireflies!





















David is a 4-year-old fan of the Steelers!

One of Joshua's first words is "football!" :-)

David makes us smile!

David makes us smile!

1. Today I was helping David clean his room. I asked him to hand me the box for dinosaurs. He smiled a smirky little grin, and he very slowly and deliberately replied in his cute 4-year-old voice, "With pleasure!" :-)

2. When a person wants another person to do something for him, most people say, "Could you please ..." For example, "Could you please help me?" Not David. He says, "May I please you ..." "May I please you help me?" :-)

3. David and Daniel have jobs/chores in our home. Yesterday Daniel cleaned the bathroom, and today he needed to empty all the trash cans, bake brownies, and fold socks/underwear. Sometimes the socks are wearisome for him. Today we made a race - I needed to clean the kitchen and he needed to do socks. Competition always motivates him! "I don't get distracted," I challenged him.

In the middle of our race, Daniel was doing things like asking me to come see his piles and stacks, luring me away from the kitchen. When the timer for his brownies beeped, I taunted him that he better come check his brownies so they don't burn. Reluctantly he came to the kitchen and we checked the doneness of the brownies.

While Daniel came to the kitchen, sneaky little David hid Daniel's basket of socks!!! It was HILARIOUS! We all laughed and laughed. The socks were no where to be found! Thanks for helping me, David! :-) We finally discovered the basket in David and Daniel's closet.

Quotables

1. David (4 1/2 years old) was laying down for nap time: "Mom, I want to go to sleep, but I can't because my eyes make decisions [to stay open!]."

2. Joshua (15 months) walked up to me this morning and told me "stinkies, stinkies." And he was right -- he had stinkies! Wow!!! His other words are variations of Mama, Daddy, Daniel, David, football, drink, goldfish, and this. When he wants to eat something, he points at it earnestly and sticks his tongue in and out, in and out, in and out.

3. After lunch today, I was extra sore and stiff as I tried to stand up - not unusual at 36 weeks pregnant. I said, "Oh, owww, my back is really hurting."
Joseph, concerned, asked, "What would you like me to do?"
Daniel (6 years old) casually replied, "She's okay. She just needs to walk it off."
Thanks, son - I'm feelin' the love! :-)

Quiet or Silent?

David (4) likes little special stuffed animals - a dinosaur, a raccoon, a skunk, a dog, etc. He call them his babies, and sometimes they come with us in the car, or some days he shares them with me, and most often they stay in his bed with him.

David and Daniel (6) share a room. When they go to bed, Joseph tells them if they should be "quiet" or "silent." Quiet means they can talk quietly for a while. Silent is pretty self-explanatory.

David was in bed by himself without Daniel Saturday night (Daniel was up playing a game with his cousins). David came out of his room and sweetly asked, "Mom, is it quiet or silent?"

"Well," I said, a little puzzled, "I guess it can be quiet, but who are you going to talk to?"

With a big smile, he said, "My babies!" :-)

Of course!!!

Quotables

Daniel (4 1/2 years old) commented tonight while eating a McDonald's Sundae, "Ice cream is the best thing in the world, (reflective pause), except for Jesus!" :-)

David (almost 3), was talking about food he likes, including "maca-cheese 'n roni." :-)

"Dig"

I generally pick out our boys clothes, but today I went in David's room (he'll be three-years-old in April) and found that he had sorted through his shirt drawer to find just the right one - messing up all the piles in the process.

I called him into his room and said firmly, "David, you cannot dig through this drawer."

His quick response, "But Mom, I'm an excavator!" :-)

"What this one about?"

Here's a guessing game. What is David (2 1/2 years old) talking about when he says, "What this one about?" A book? A movie? Nope!

Here's a hint - the answer is something like sour apple, root beer, watermelon, etc.

He's asking about ... a sucker! When he gets a sucker from the bank, he asks, "What this one about?" Translation = "What flavor is this?" ;-)

Ready, set, go!

Tonight at dinner, David asked if he could pray. Joseph said sure, and David folded his hands, bowed his head, and said in one breath, "Ready, Set, go! Dear God ...." :-)

Not me!

Joseph was reading to David and Daniel about Jesus' empty tomb. To review the story, Joseph asked David (age 2 1/2), "Who rolled away the stone from in front of the tomb?" David replied quickly with urgency, "Not me! Not me! I not do it!" He's pretty convincing! ;-)

Nicknames

Last winter when Daniel was 3 1/2 and David was 1 1/2, a high school girl at church often called Daniel "Dan the Man," and he called her "Anna Banana." In response, we were explaining to Daniel the idea of nicknames. He replied, "David's nickname is 'no!'" ;-)

Be Careful, David! - Tongue Troubles!

* Warning - injury pictures!*

Because of David, I know how to get to the Emergency Room (actually I had directions in my daytimer before we needed them!! Thanks, Lord!!), the pediatric dentist, and the urgent care! Yikes!

In a period of 2-3 months, David had several accidents.

First, David bit through his tongue so that the tip was dangling off!! At about 9:00 pm after Sunday night small groups, David was sitting on the couch watching football while I got the boys' rooms ready for bed. Joseph was at work for the night.

I heard a "thump" and then a cry, so I came quickly. David was face down on the floor in a little pool of blood!!! Apparently he fell off the couch! I grabbed the first thing I could find for him to suck on to stop the bleeding -- a dirty dish cloth!! Ahhh! (Note to self, take an extra 2 seconds to grab a clean one!) The second thing I got him was a frozen teething ring ... which he kept in his mouth for the next 16 hours!!! Literally!

I called for Daniel and we quickly went next door to the Kleitz's house. They kept Daniel until Aunt Loretta could arrive. David and I headed to the ER.

At the ER, David was a TROOPER! He repeatedly opened his mouth and stuck out his dangling tongue so the doctors could examine it. By midnight, the ER determined that they didn't want to try to stitch David's tongue without sedating him, and they didn't want to sedate him. Instead they sent us home and referred us to a pediatric oral surgeon/dentist to give him stitches in the morning.

Aunt Loretta took Daniel to her house. David and I slept together in the living room chair for a few hours, and he continuously held the no-longer-frozen teething ring in his mouth! Perhaps the pressure made it feel better? Perhaps he was too scared to move it? Regardless, it brought him comfort and we got a little sleep.

In the morning, we headed to the oral surgeon, but unfortunately we miscommunicated. I thought the dr. said to be there first thing. The dentist thought that first thing they were calling me to set up a time to come in. They were gracious and agreed to work us in. So, we spent 5 hours there! But again, thank the Lord, David did very well!

At this point, David hadn't eaten or had anything to drink since the night before - and the dentist didn't want anything in his stomach in case he needed to be put under for stitches. By late morning, David began asking for apple juice, but he was pretty okay when I explained that the dr. said he couldn't have any yet.

When David did finally see the dentist (15 hours after the accident!), he was pretty amazed with David's willing cooperation! Thank you, Lord, for helping David stay relaxed and compliant!

At about 2:00, they were able to put in two stitches, without sedating David, and secure the tongue tip back in place.

The three pictures below are 1) the tongue before stitches, 2) David outside the dentist with his trusty teething ring, and 3) the tongue after stitches!

I think I'll have to write about the other injuries another time! Whew! This was enough for one post!

David's 2nd Birthday

-Jess -

Our second son David is two years old! We love that God made him and put him in our family! What a gift he is to us. We had a great week celebrating his birthday, and David now thinks all cake anywhere is for him because he's two. Here are some other fun facts about David.

* David really likes to be with his brother Daniel. They are quite a little pair, and are usually very caring of each other! That sure makes our job as parents easier at this point! :-)

* David is a great eater - he generally likes anything put in front of him, and he usually eats a lot of it! A few unique favorites are blueberries and cucumbers, along with more common preferences of apples, raisins, cheese, and of course, ice cream and cookies.

* David's favorite color is blue. In fact, his only color is blue! He points to all colors of things and asks if they are "bue."

* David is learning cool words like "both" and "whole." Which kind of ice cream would you like? "Both!" Would you like your pizza cut up? "No, whole."

* David likes to drink [decaf!!!!] iced tea. "Mo tea peese!"

* David likes to climb up and jump off pretty much everything!

* David's favorite song is "ho-y" (Holy, Holy, Holy), which we usually sing at his request before bedtime and naps.

* "Ewwwwww! Ucky!" is what David says about his stinky diapers - as well as any food that doesn't taste good to him!

* David likes to play with bikes and motorcycles - and to look at pictures of them in his books. "Mo-mo-mo-mo!" is the sound a motorcycle makes!

* David is sweet with babies. At his cousins' house, the Bitners, David routinely pushes Abi's and Elli's babies around in their stroller.

* David prefers to wear "shotes" (shorts), and especially "bue shotes" (blue shorts) every day. And he really likes his "choo choo" sandals (with Thomas the Train on them).

* Daniel says that his brother David likes "balls, guitars and swimming pools."

David is certainly a pleasant tough little fellow, who for the most part, goes with the flow. He looks a lot like his dad and his pappap (his dad's dad), although he is named after his mom's dad! :-) What a blessing he is to our family!

Daily Life - March 2008

-Jessica-

Allow me to introduce you to the honorable "Sir Daniel," a knight at Rachel Kimbell's princess birthday party. What a valiant dragon-slaying guy!

Bikers? Swimmers? Skiers? Soccer players? Basketball guys? Football men? Runners? I never know until a given minute which sport they are pusuing, but they definitely love their athletic outfits!! They would wear a "sports" outfit everyday and everywhere if they could!