Dennis, Oliver, and Buttercup will be home in about 48 hours, which . . . feels about 48 hours too long for me to wait.
Don't get me wrong, I am having a great time with this little guy, who is determined to roll himself right off of that mat:
But I miss my Oliver and Buttercuppie!! I miss the noise, the chaos, the asking me 20 times in 1 hour to play Legos/Play Doh/push me on the swing/can we go swimming. Theodore agrees with me wholeheartedly! This morning he said, "gunhg, ga ga," which I'm pretty sure means, "Don't take this the wrong way Ma, but you're boring."
Have a safe trip, but hurry home! It's no fun dancing to Ghostbusters by myself!
Theodore is 3 months old today!! I know I sound like a broken record, but I can't believe the time is flying by so quickly. Three months! Already!
He's getting really chunky (wearing 9 month shirts!) and is looking more and more like his big brother every day. It's so neat how much they resemble each other! He's also doing all sorts of cute things, like laughing, trying to grab toys (and sometimes succeeding!), trying to sit up, and rolling. :-)
His favorites still include the skylight, ceiling fans, and being outside, but his #1 favorites are his big brother and sister. Right now they're out of town visiting Grandma and Grandpa, and Theodore is really missing them! He keeps looking around, and he's definitely not as happy as he is when they're at home. I had to buy him a new toy just to keep him entertained. ;-)
He's such a big little baby boy!
Buttercup's personality has always been almost the opposite of Oliver's, and lately we've really been noticing their differences. Where he's introverted and shy, she's social and outgoing. Where he's eager to please and obedient, she's strong-willed and defiant. And because of the latter, the disciplinary tricks that worked with Oliver don't always (okay, rarely) work on Buttercup.
For instance, there was a particular day when Oliver was 2-going-on-3 and he would not listen to me. I put him in time out, and he refused to sit in his chair. So I made him stay in time out until he finally stayed seated in his time out chair for 2 minutes. It took him a total of 15 minutes to get to that point, but he finally ended up sitting in his chair like I told him to, and to this day we rarely have trouble with him not sitting in his chair when he is put in time out.
Yesterday morning, I tried the same thing with Buttercup. She ended up being in the time out spot for 20 minutes, but still refused to sit in her chair. And the thing was, she didn't even care that she was in time out. She picked her nose, rearranged the door mat, played with the picture frames on the side table, opened the front closet door, etc. I reminded her several times that all she needed to do was sit in her chair for 2 minutes (I know she doesn't know how long 2 minutes is, so I told her to sit until I said it was okay to get up), and she would barely rest her bottom on the chair, then smirk at me and get up again. I finally got her out after 21 minutes of getting nowhere.
I admit, I get frustrated with not only trying to figure out the right way to discipline her without crushing her spirit, but also just trying to enjoy her for who she is. God made her the way she is for a reason, and I don't want to waste my time being frustrated with her! I want to want to be with her, have playdates at our house, and take her places, instead of thinking, "Oh, how long until she starts hitting, or biting, or beating up her friends." Not that I want to not discipline her when it's necessary, but I want to spend more time encouraging her and loving her than feeling irritated with her.
Well, God works in mysterious ways. ;-) This morning we had a visit from our good friends, and my friend gave me a new book of devotions and short readings since she knows that I don't have time every day to get into a deep Bible study. After I got the big kids in their room for nap/rest time, I sat on the couch with Theodore and read the first devotion aloud to him. It really spoke to my heart and I was just so thankful that God brought that friend into my life, and that she passed the book along to me on this particular day. God is so awesome and so good to me!!
Here's an excerpt:
Joy
Rejoice in Me Always. This is a moment-by-moment choice. It is possible to find Joy in Me even during the most difficult times. Because I am always near, I am constantly available to help you. I can even carry you through times of extreme adversity.
. . . when you remember that I am your perfect Betrothed and that you are promised to Me forever, you can rejoice in Me even though you face many problems.
It is in the present moment that you find Me ever near you.
. . . The soul-satisfaction you find in Me helps you relate well to other people. As you enjoy My abiding Presence, you can bless others with your gentleness.
(from Jesus Lives: Seeing His Love in Your Life by Sarah Young)
