Forgiveness: A Lesson That can Never be Taught too Early

Today was not one of those days that I would like to remember when it comes to my behavior. I had a bad "Mommy Moment" that resulted in me yelling at Levi during nap time (for not napping) and leaving his room to go scream at the top of my lungs. I am totally embarrassed to admit this, but it is crucial to the story.

You see after I did this, I felt horrible. I went to get Matthew to take over the situation because I knew I was in no emotional position to do so. He did and I was grateful he was here. After I had collected myself I went upstairs to make things right. However, when I got to Levi's room, he was asleep. I patiently waited until the end of nap time. When he awoke he came bounding down the stairs in his usual Levi-full-of-energy way and I asked him to sit on the couch in the play room so I could talk to him. I scooped him up in my lap and looked him straight in the eye and apologized for my behavior. What little he had done wrong did not excuse how I had reacted. I asked, "Will you forgive me?" to which he replied, "Will you forgive me?" I immediately said yes. He then said he forgave me. But he added, "You know, people shouldn't yell at other people. But, I love you anyway." And then proceeded to give me a big hug and kiss.

I was crying a bit because I was truly sorry for my behavior AND because I hope this is an indicator that we are raising a child who truly knows how to forgive and love those that have wronged him. He is only 3 and a half, but there are days when I feel he is wise beyond his years.

~~Funny Story~~

"I see Jesus!"

Sunday we went to Conner Prairie. We were around the barn area looking at the sheep and ponies in the fenced-in area around the barn. Suddenly Levi shouts, "I see Jesus!" I said, "What? Where?" Knowing full well the real Jesus was not hanging out at Conner Prairie, but curious as to whom he was referring to. He says, "Right there." and points to a CP worker with a staff trying unsuccessfully to round up the ponies into the barn. "That guy? Why do you think he is Jesus?" He replies, "Well, Jesus is our shepherd and that guy is a shepherd so he's Jesus ." I love three-year-old logic!

Good disguise Jesus...but the staff gave you away.

Levi-I'm not a baby, I'm a big boy-Ferris

I wanted to be fair and take a moment to blog about Levi. He is also growing faster than my mind can comprehend. He has completely left the toddler stage and is plowing full force into being a preschooler. As a matter of fact he will officially be in preschool starting in September.

Our latest adventure has been the beginning of Phonics-type lessons. We have that series "Your Baby can Read" and we are also working on the sounds letters make and putting them together. He is taking to it really well and watching him learn and put sounds together to make words is awesome. We do it every day unless he doesn't want to. I want this to be fun for him so I let him decide if we do it or not. We are also working on writing the letters of his name. He is getting better and better. We will branch out beyond that at some point, but I am in no hurry. I often struggle with the balance of learning all these skills and letting him just be three. He likes the one-on-one time that comes with it though, as well as learning new things. I guess with his personality, he would be the first to tell me he hated it.

He is still very aware of the baby in my belly. I think he is very excited about another sibling. He shows great care for my belly and talks to the baby a lot. He also makes sure to give the baby a hug before I get my hug. I am okay with that, he is more at my tummy's height than my arms. His favorite thing to do is to kiss my belly and immediately follow it with a razz-berry. I find it funny and think the baby can probably hear it and thinks..."man that brother of mine is weird!"

He is very caring towards Rachel as well...when he is not busy pestering her. For the most part, he helps her when she needs it and he will run and get things for her/me. She is learning that he hates when she repeats everything he says and so a fight can break out quickly when that game starts. They also love to sing together. Not the same tune mind you, but simultaneously. This happens most frequently in the car. There are times when I wish I had a fiberglass wall between myself and them. Their volume can wake the dead. Other times I love listening to them sing and imagine that one day they will be a family band. I hope that in the near future they will at least sing the same song at the same time...that will be easier to tolerate on a regular basis.

A few things about Levi

His favorite color: Green

His favorite game: Tickle and tackle (this is a Daddy/Levi game)

His favorite movie: Lord of the Beans

His favorite show: Little Einsteins

His favorite food: smoothies (milk and yogurt)

His favorite activity: riding his bike or swimming

His favorite toy: anything related to Cars (the movie) or Little Einsteins

We are taking him to his first movie theater experience this next week. Cars 2 is coming out and we thought it would be a perfect first movie for him. Hope he can make it through. I can't wait for his reaction to a screen that big!

Here are a few pictures from Conner Prairie.

It was such a beautiful day and the kids loved the animals!

Levi making a candle

Rachel: A big girl in the making.

**Injury Update**

After only 3 weeks Rachel's scar is looking great! We are diligent about sun screen and scar cream, but I think by the fall it will hardly be noticeable. By the time she is a teenager it will probably be hidden in her hair anyway.

She accessorized herself.

Rachel has started that rapid transformation out of the baby/young toddler phase into the full blown toddler lurching towards preschooler. It seems from 18 months to 2 years they are changing almost daily.

For one, her vocabulary is unbelievable. She says so many little sentences and new words every day. Most people can understand more than half of what she says and we can understand almost all of what she says. I know this is common and it happened with Levi too, but it still amazes me. She repeats just about everything you say...both good and bad. As a matter of fact, when Levi calls for me from downstairs, she usually replies, "I comin" just like I would. When I have to count to Levi to do something for example "Levi, put on your shoes"....no action..."Levi, 1" Rachel will usually chime in and say "2". She is such a little mommy sometimes.

Her other new step vocally speaking is singing. She -like Levi- loves to sing and make up songs. Hers typically don't have easy to understand lyrics, but one day I caught her at Levi's piano, playing and singing into the microphone. Before I got the video camera out, she was singing, "I want you bad!" over and over again. Once I brought the camera out she started singing "Cheese!"

She is also now telling me when it is time to eat and what she wants. She is very good about saying please (peez) and thank you (ankyou) so it is hard to turn down her requests.

Another great phase she has finally entered is giving kisses more freely. Up until recently you kind of felt like you hit the lottery when she would give you an actual kiss on the lips. Now, there are days when she gives more than I can handle.

I am also amazed at how she gave up the pacifier. Pa-pa as it was known around here was a bedtime must. I had dwindled its use to nap and night time only, but it was a strict part of our ritual. If I didn't give her Pa-pa it was asked for by name...until one random night I asked, "Are you ready for Pa-pa?" She looked at me almost as if I had offended her and said, "No Pa-pa." and that was literally the last day it was ever used. I told Matthew that night that she had given it up and not to mention it again. It worked and she has been pacifier free since May 10th and there hasn't been a single struggle. I am grateful, because I truly wasn't sure how to wean her totally off it. She made it easy for me.

Now that Pa-pa is out of our lives, we are gearing up to move her to Levi's room. They are going to be sharing a room as we only have 3 bedrooms (the 4th is an office). I am nervous about this transition and am truly not looking forward to it. Levi wakes up earlier than Rachel and because he is older, he just plays in his room or something until I get up. I cannot do this with Rachel. I will be forced to get up when they do...I know I need to suck it up and just do it, but we have a good thing going right now and I know I will loose this gift in September anyway, but I just want to hold on to it while I still can. I think they will do fine sleeping in the same room, it is just the waking part I am unsure about. Time will tell...

Another task I am contemplating diving into this summer is potty training. She already asks to go potty and actually pees on the potty periodically, but to launch into it full force is not something I was sure I wanted to tackle this summer. I am trying to let her lead but it does get difficult when we are in a public place and Levi says he has to go potty, then she says she has to go potty. I want to encourage this, but it is cumbersome to get a diaper off a 20 mo. old and hold her on a potty and then redress her (and she didn't even pee!) all while 6-7 months prego. Levi is pretty self sufficient so taking him to the bathroom is easy. But if I truly train her, then maybe she will only say that when she truly has to go...or maybe not. Oh well, I am not going to worry about it until we get back from our weekend away. I am not going to put any effort into it and then leave her with someone else for a few days, she may totally regress. So I guess I have a little over a week to decide what I am going to do :)

In short, we are truly enjoying our daughter. She brings an extra element to our lives that I am not sure another boy could bring. I have said this before, but I will say it again. I feel very blessed to have been given both genders to raise. I love them both for very different reasons. I enjoy all the good and bad that comes with each gender. At this point I wouldn't say that either has been easier than the other. We will see if I feel the same after potty training is over. "They" say girls are easier. "They" also say that the second is usually easier than the first. We shall see. I hope "they" are right on both accounts.

To be fair, I am writing a post about Levi as well, I just felt like Rachel is changing so fast that I needed to write it all down. I love this age and know that it goes by super quick! She will be 2 just after the baby comes and I feel like that is just around the corner. The summer goes so fast and here we are almost mid-way through June.

Also, to clarify, I can't wait to have another of either gender in this house. I love having both genders and I don't have a preference as to what Ferris#3 is. Except that the double gender is going to be sharing a room and I think that 2 boys would be easier in that regard. Plus, if Rachel was the only girl than she and I could go have special girl time and her middle child thing would fall second to the fact that she was the only girl...superficial reasons, I know. That is why it truly doesn't matter if this baby is a boy or a girl. I just can't wait to find out!