Won't Be Long...

Before I'm protecting Matthew from the Michael-monster....






....instead of him protecting me!!



(Or trying to anyways!)



(Less than 5 days!)

Musicians

An almost-nightly ritual: guitar time with Daddy.



Michael gets to play with his own little ukulele, but most often likes to just go strum the big guitar with Dad.



Sometimes, I get in on the action too by dancing crazy, and it's fun to get a few smiles from Baby Michael when I do that :)

Na-Na?

What...you can't tell that I'm asking to go outside?

I mean, it makes perfect sense to me: Na-na=outside. You don't see it?

Well, I guess that is just one of the things parents and their kids get to have: their own secret language that makes sense them and is non-sense to the outside world.

Here's the brief evolution of the word: 99 is the number above our door. For months, Michael has been saying, "na-na" whenever we go into the door and we always say, "99, that's right...we live at 99!"

But now, he somehow has it in his brain that 99 is also the magic word to go through the door the other way, to the outside.

Since Michael's walking has been continuing to improve, we have been going outside a lot to get him to stretch his little legs. He has some new shoes which he likes and a growing sense of confidence and curiosity.

So, several times a day, pleading with me, he uses his little code-word, "na-na" to bring my attention to the door, indicating he wants to go outside.

Trouble is, when I open the door to go outside, and as I'm turning back to lock the door behind us, he's already got the gate open and is toddling down the walkway laughing and snorting with his arms up for added balance. It's funny, and scary at the same time! He's on the move!

And you would think even after a long walk to wherever he wants to go, that it's easy to get him back to 99...but no! He gets really sad whenever I bring him back in. In fact, if I set my keys down where he can reach them, he'll grab them and hold them up to the doorknob pleading and looking at me, "na-na? Na-na?" It's sad/cute/funny all at the same time.

I love our little prisoner!

It makes me think of Purgatory

One of the most misunderstood teachings in the Catholic faith is Purgatory.

What is it? Is it where you go after you die while God decides what to do with you?
Is it like hell, only temporary?
Is it a second chance?
How long is a person there?

Purgatory is a gift of God. Since only perfect people can dwell with God in Heaven, and very few people die having been TOTALLY perfected in this life, Purgatory is a place of purgation for people who are approaching full communion with God in Heaven, but have some imperfections that the love of God purifies away. Having been purified, they can enter fully into God's presence in Heaven, free from all imperfection and be with Him forever.

Some theologians talk about "suffering" in purgatory. In fact, when Catholics refer to three states of the Church, we talk about the Church Triumphant (those in Heaven), the Church Suffering (those in Purgatory) and the Church Militant (those of us soldiering on here on earth).

So why is there suffering if you have already "made the cut" so-to-speak? If you go to Purgatory, you are on your way to Heaven...there are just a few last minute imperfections to be purged away...why "suffering"?

I have heard explanations of it, but have actually seen these explanations played out in analogous form here at home.

Those in purgatory are "suffering" most keenly from being so near full communion with God, but not totally there...and they are aware, ever-more-so than when they were on earth, that there is not perfect union yet---and that it was their sins that they committed that are delaying their arrival in Heaven.

It's like at home when Michael Sr comes through the door from work. Baby Michael is thrilled and ecstatic! He gets a huge smile on his face, he yells, "HI!!" or just shrieks with joy. But almost instantly after that, he starts to cry. He reaches his little arms out towards his dad and whines.

Why is he whining?

Because he sees his goal: being in Daddy's arms, but isn't there at that moment, and every second that separates him from his all-time favorite place in the whole world, is sheer torture!

So much so, that even if he only has to crawl a few feet to get to his dad, he can't even pull himself together enough to do it. He puts his head on the ground and cries, waiting to be scooped up.

People in Purgatory can't get themselves the rest of the way home, anymore than we can do anything on earth to "earn" God's grace. God is the one who comes to us, who swoops down and scoops us up. Without Him, we are stuck like a little baby. We see what we want but we can't get ourselves there.

So, as baffling as it is to see Baby Michael go through his little routine of sheer joy and then flip-of-the-switch whining, it does make me laugh a little at the truth it is revealing. Our happiness lies in the presence of God, and anything that separates us is sheer torture for our soul. It's a good reminder to rid my life of things that keep me from Him now, and may keep me longer in Purgatory.

It's also a good reminder to pray for those who have died. Our prayers help them so their union with God can be hastened and they can dwell forever in the arms of our Father.

Good Check Up for Both Boys

Matthew and Michael both had check-ups today, and both of them are doing great!

Matthew is, as usual, just a big boy....but his heartrate is good and he moved head-down...which is good because that's normal, but now I have a foot in my rib constantly...again.

He is in the 57th percentile for weight, 75th percentile for head circumfrence and 27th percentile for height. So he's a chubby little guy with a big head, I guess.

Michael had a good check up too, although the doctor was a little concerned about his lack of ability to walk more than a few steps or stand more than a few seconds. I guess I'm not all that concerned about it, especially considering his proportions...I guess he is just out of balance! He's trying a bit more each day. She said I just need to keep encouraging him and talking him out on lots of walks...which we have been doing, so I think it's just a matter of time before he decides he wants to walk more.

Anyways, our little boys are doing great as we get ready for our next big adventure: Matthew!

Bonus Post: "Done!!"

Had to share this...I'm still chuckling about it.

Today, Michael ate a good dinner of sausage, cheesy potatoes and corn.

He scarfed everything down pretty quickly and had cleared his plate in about 15 minutes.

After he was through eating, he tore off his bib, held it off to the side and high above his head.

He let it go, looked straight at me, and with a big smile on his face announced loudly, definitively, and with perfect clarity and pronunciation:

"Done!!!"

I burst out laughing.

Amused at my reaction, he repeated again, just as clearly, "Done!!"

I wonder how long he had been practicing that in his head. I mean, it was perfectly timed, executed and stated....and he knew it. The look on his face was beaming and confident, knowing his performance just scored a perfect 10.0.

What is happening to my little boy? When did he grow up so fast?

Distinctions

As Michael's vocabulary grows, it is fun to see him confidently yell out names of things he knows.

We have several toy duckies around: in his room, in the tub, a stuffed animal duck, and a baby chair with ducks on it. I'm constantly hearing him proclaim, "Ducky!" As he looks at me for me to yell in confirmation, "That's right! Ducky!"

Today at the park, a black bird was his object of interest. He yelled insistently, "Ducky! Ducky!" Amused by his enthusiasm, but not wanting him to be in fourth grade and calling every winged creature "Ducky" I thought it best to make sure to get him started out right: "Actually, that's a birdie!"

He looked at me, pointed with one hand, and pulled me with another, and continued to scream triumphantly, "Ducky! Ducky!"

Knowing any explanation would be too much for him to understand, but still feeling like I should explain how things really are, I said, "That's a birdie! Duckies are yellow." I thought distinguishing by color would be the most age-appropriate approach.

However, as soon as I said it, I realized that this would not prove to be helpful later on. How many ducks actually are yellow? Not any duck I've seen in recent memory. Maybe baby ducks are yellow, but full-grown ducks? In my memory, they are either mottled brown, or the boy ducks are gray with a green head.

I began to realize what a monumental task learning is for a little kid! Keeping the names of things straight must get pretty confusing, when distinctions seem so clear to older kids and grown-ups, but seem so hard to pick up for the littles ones.


As Michael ate lunch, it happened again (no, I wasn't serving duck for lunch). A dog barked next door and Michael yelled what I thought sounded exactly like "Ducky!" He beamed with pride at how quickly he identified that creature. I was on the verge of saying, "That's not a ducky...that's a doggie!" Until I realized that "ducky" and "doggie" are virtually identical in sound. Maybe he thought, all the times I was saying "doggie" that I was applying the same term as what I use to describe a duck. Was he trying to figure out what makes those two things both the same word, but the black bird something altogether different?

Then, I considered that maybe he wasn't confusing the sound, but to a 15 month old, how you say "ducky" and how you say "doggie" are is the same to the ear of a grown-up.

Then, a profound respect grew for kids who, typically by their second birthday, get it. They will be able to look at a duck and call it a duck, and look at a black bird and not call it a duck. And similarly, look at a dog, and know it's a dog and nothing like a duck or a black bird. Amazing.