Pardon Me While I Brag on My Kids.....

Have I mentioned that I love having boys? I must admit, I am kind of (a lot) intimidated by the fact that we are raising future men and fathers. Will they be kind, polite, brave? Will they be hard workers? Will they be strong Christians, leaders?

But for now, they are boys. They love dirt, mud, animals, water, anything with wheels, climbing, building (and destroying) things.

It seems like they challenge my authority constantly at home, yet when we go out, they make me so proud. I don't worry about going to the store with them - they don't throw fits or beg for items. (But don't get me wrong - I'd still rather go shopping without them!) Taking them to a church potluck on my own (when Paul is working) is a breeze - they eat, they play, I get to socialize. I guess it goes to show that consistency with discipline does eventually pay off.

Jacob amazes me. Two months ago, he barely had 5 understandable words. Now we can understand almost everything he says (it's not perfect, but we can tell what it is). He even says, "I love you." (Ah Lahl Lou.) Talk about how to melt my heart! He is still 10x more snuggly than Nathan ever was, which sometimes is a pain (in the middle of the night, anyone?). But I guess I should enjoy it? He is starting to sing recognizable songs (Twinkle, Old McDonald, and B-I-B-L-E, mostly). He won't be 2 until later this month, and he's fully potty trained himself (my plan wasn't even to start until about now.) He's decided that boots and a hat are essential components of his wardrobe when he leaves the house, which thrills me, because it means he has identified with, and wants to be like his daddy.

Nathan has got a mind like a steel trap..... When he chooses to use it. He can sing songs word-for-word that he's only heard a couple times. Yet when it comes to the Alphabet, he claims he "doesn't know" on most of the letters. (Although it could be an audible vs. visual learning thing, I guess, because he can sing the whole song with no problem.) We started preschool with him, about an hour a day (depending on how many battles of wills we have), every day. He really seems to have it on numbers, but the letters are slow coming. He's writing his name now - every day it's a little faster and a little less coaching. His violin is coming along..... We're still not really pushing him. He's graduated to his real violin (he was learning posture on a toy), and is working on drawing the bow straight and crossing strings. I think he sometimes gets frustrated, wanting to play music, not realizing all this other stuff has to be perfected before you can make it sound like music.

When it comes down to it, I am very proud of my boys. Not because they're adorable (which they are), but because they're good boys. They're "all boy" boys. They are future men.