"I'm not a big kid. I'm a Great Man!!!"

I've been meaning to get some of these stories on the blog for a while, but I've been lazy and forgetful. (How's that for being honest?) :)

Gideon is potty-trained. It's weird to think that it is actually the reality. We started hard-core working on it when we got over the jet-lag from our trip to Germany. And sometime these past two weeks, it's happened.

The other day I was telling him how proud I was that he was a big kid and he matter-of-factly stated, "I'm not a big kid. I'm a Great Man!!!"

So there you have it.

While we were potty-training, he earned stickers that went around a "game-board" (for lack of a better term) and everytime he got to specific spots he'd get a gift. Well... now he has taken to giving me "surprises" when I go to the bathroom. He tells me how proud he is of me and has me shut my eyes. Then he tells me to open them and hands me whatever he has seen laying around.

He also has a prescribed thing he says to me when I do my body test on the Wii Fit.

Gideon: Way to go, Momma! Good job! 2 pounds!

So today, when he did his body test he told me:

Gideon: Momma, say "Way to go, Gieon (his way of saying his name). 2 pounds!"

(and of course, I followed directions)

He is crazy about puzzles these days. The puzzles he works on are anywhere from 24 pieces to 60. He dumps them out of the box (which Naomi proceeds to steal) and gets to work. And when we let him work on puzzles at night after we send him off to his bedroom, he will work for HOURS. It's really neat to see the way his brain works and how focused he can be.

Lately he has been getting mini-marshmallows for completing his dinner. But instead of eating all of them, he reserves 2. One is "Daddy" and the other is "Gieon". They go on great adventures in one of his toy trucks. They go to church and work. (although this afternoon, Kleenexs took the place of the marshmallows... and Gideon informed me, "Ahshoos (tissues) are persons!")

Gideon has taken to spontaneously pray for things, mainly during our meal, but also at other times during the day. For a while his prayers went like this:

Dear God, thank you for my food and thank you for my tummy. In Jesus name, Amen.

But lately he's been throwing in other things. When Anne was here over Valentine's Day, Gideon lead the Brunch prayer:

Dear God, thank you for my food. Thank you for Daddy and Anne (pause) and Nanomi (this is how he pronounces his sister's name)... (pause) and Momma and me. Thank you food. In Jesus name, Amen.

At dinner last night he thanked God for our neighbor, Patrick, and Patrick's cop-car. And at Chick-fil-A for lunch today he thanked God for "the restaurant."

It is so precious to hear him thank God for everything. He is a thankful child to begin with, but that he knows that "every good and perfect gift" comes, ultimately, from God is a reminder to me.

And on to Naomi...
She is getting 3 teeth in currently to bring her grand total of teeth up to 8. Teething with her isn't TOO bad, but she has been a little restless at night.

Every day she tries new things. And right now, she tends to be a little clepto. She steals anything and FAST.

Gideon is still wanting her to play with him. And that's a great blessing, but she's starting to wear out her welcome b/c she keeps taking his cars out of the lines he's putting them in.

I've never seen a kid like Naomi. She was never one for rolling over much... she went straight to crawling and then jetted off to walking. But most of the time, you will find her laying on her back, rolling from side to side while looking at a book, or talking to a doll. It makes her look like she's a lot older than she is.

She LOVES looking at herself. And she has figured out that there are mirrors if she pulls up on my bathroom counters.

Apparently standing on a book that is all of 1/2 inch thick is Naomi's equivilant of climbing Mount Everest. She looks so proud when she climbs up on it and has a "I conquored the world!" look on her face.

No sippy cup I hand her is ever as wanted as the cup I hand Gideon. She will move heaven and earth to get G's cup and leave hers behind. (which is why I've been following both around with "snot cloths" for the past two days)

And despite her growth stats that I posted earlier... apparently she doesn't think I'm feeding her enough. If I don't clean up EVERY morsel of food from a meal, she comes back around for "seconds". When given the choice between drowing or pausing in her drinking of chocolate milk (barely a drop of choc. for those of you out there who are worried), Naomi will ALWAYS choose to continue drinking despite the fact that she is coughing and choking. But most amazing is how she cries when some food she is enjoying is gone.

In the whole time that Anne was with us, Naomi cried most when the ice cream she was sharing with me was gone. It took about 5 min. to get her to stop WAILING. (and this girl is LOUD) We just tell her she's being ridiculous and she needs to get over it. :)

These kids crack me up. And some days I feel like I'm about to crack... but I wouldn't have it any other way.

I'm the mother of two toddlers.