Married

This morning Aidyn proudly announced to us that she was married. Tracy asked "What do you do when you are married?" Aidyn said, "You dance with the King." Okay?  Take that how you will.

Dear Aidyn, Love Mommy

Dear Aidyn,
I love you so much and I have really been noticing what a wonderful person you are. Specifically I have been watching you with Kassandra. Kassandra has changed dramatically from the little girl she was when she came to our house and I can take no credit because I know the true medicine for Kassandra's life was YOU. You are much too little to realize what a profound and life-changing difference you have made in her life and yet I think you do understand that you are helping her.
The way you supportively sit by while your mama holds another child who is sick and the way you comfort her by gently touching her little leg in my lap shows your wonderful compassion. I have been so impressed with your sharing with Kassandra what it's like to have a Daddy, like when you've said, "Oh, don't worry Kassie, Daddy always comes home," and "Daddy doesn't hurt you." I love how gently you correct her when she calls blue "green" or a square "a circle" and can truly see your teacher's heart. I love how you have helped Kassandra love church and praying and learning Bible verses and loving Jesus like you do. I love how you've shared your love for music--teaching her everything from the Alphabet Song to Light of Salvation--and your love for books--freely sharing even your most beloved volumes with her.
Although you still have trouble sharing your toys with Kassandra just as any three-year-old would, you have so generously shared your Mommy and Daddy with her and in this you have shared with her the best gift you could ever have shared. I have so enjoyed coming to this realization and wanted to share it with you here because I know that you do not yet understand. But someday I will tell you this in person and hopefully you will know that you have made a difference just by being wonderful you.
Love,
Mommy

Movie Theater

Lately we've been playing "Movie Theater" in the living room, complete with all the lights off and popcorn, candy, and soda! The kids love it and it gives us a chance to wind down as a family in the evening. Our first movie showing was Earth from Disney which, it turns out, is just the Planet Earth footage repackaged for kids without the graphic predator scenes. The girls liked watching "the movie about animal families" and Aidyn asked some good questions and made some good comments throughout. Here's a list of her thoughts on the movie:

• "Ohhhhhhh! Look at the snow waterfall!" (it was the ice cap home of the polar bears)
• "Does the baby reindeer cry?" (asked after seeing the scene of him being hunted by wolves)
• "Someone broke it!" (upon noticing a river through the ice)
• "Caterpillar's food is leaves." (this was right after the predator scene and I think she noticed it doesn't eat other animals)
• "What are the things that are mean to the little lion king? Oh yeah, hyenas." (not sure what made her think of this)
• "Do the animals cry in the big animals' bellies?" (another predator reference--this one is also a reference to the fable about The Wolf and the Seven Little Kids which we had just recently read)

I Am a Giant

Aidyn, at Perkins, playing with her food:
"I am a giant! Fe fi fo yum! My fruit is little yummy guys."

There's a Bee In There!!

After driving nine hours back from visiting Nana and Papa last weekend, Aidyn must have had some ringing in her ears for the first time in her life. She came out to the living room near tears and said, "That sound in my ear! There's a bee in there!"

These Toilets Are Not American?

Aidyn is terrified of the toilets that flush themselves. She is always scared that they're going to flush while she's still going potty, so she always checks before she will go on any public toilet whether it is self-flushing or not. Recently we were at a Perkins that had traditional toilets and she asked me, "Do these ones flush by themselves?" When I told her that they did not she replied, "These toilets are not American?" It took me a minute to understand what she meant but once I got it I replied (while trying to keep myself from laughing), "No honey, these toilets are not automatic."

Dotty Skin

Aidyn recently discovered that when she's cold some changes take place on her skin. "Daddy! My legs are all dotty!" If you think about it, dotty actually makes more sense than goosebumps.

I Remem--What's That Word?

Aidyn has such a wonderful grasp on the English language. Sometimes it cracks me up. This past weekend she was testing the difference between remembered and reminded. "Mom. You forgot to find my penguino* before bed. But I remem--what's that word? Oh yeah, I reminded you."


*Aidyn refers to her stuffed penguin in Spanish only. Who knows.

Not Come Hering

Aidyn sometimes gets upset when she tries to boss Kassandra around and Kassandra doesn't want to listen. A few days ago it was this: "Mooooooooommmmmmm, Kassie's not come hering!"

Birthday

Aidyn has learned her birthday and will proudly proclaim that it is "February twenty-fifth!" Followed almost immediately by: "Is it February yet?"