messy, messy...

pb and j happiness...

"mama draw my hand"

"have to wash hand." i kept forgetting to trace his hand to send to one of the THOGL (the home of God's love) moms. she asked for handprints from all the THOGL adopted kids to put together as a gift for shr mama (one of nj's caretakers there, the mom of the house). it's a cute idea. they're having the annual THOGL picnic where they're presenting the gift. i wish we could go, but maybe another year when i'm healthy enough to travel. it would be so much fun to meet more families that all adopted from the same home.

"ducky!"

nj was having so much fun with the duck pillow. he rode around on his trike holding it (i'm not sure how he could see anything). my poor duck was being thrown around on the floor and on the couch. the reason i had it out was because we had ants in our bedroom the other night. my duck, which i named yiwu (yee-woo, it was on his tag), has been stolen by nj! we have to get him his own. he has a little doggy one, but i think my duck is much more big and fluffy. or maybe it's just something new to him. it was cute how much fun he was having with it, though. i had to ask him several times not to put the duck on the floor or he'll get dirty. after a while, i just took it back from him. i felt so bad, it looked like he was going to cry. i told him not to be sad because he has plenty of other toys to play with, he can play with ducky another time.

"we're not going to sam's club." nope, today it's wal-mart. where we can get meat to cook for dinner and find something in the "as seen on tv" section. he and baba, of coarse, went through the toy car aisle too.

"want to read the bible." i didn't think i'd hear this from him at two, but it's cute. he gets so excited when i sit down with him to read it. he likes to lean on me and sometimes climb on my lap. oh my, is he strong and heavy. it's painful even though he's not being rough. i hope it's sooner rather than later that i don't have to think twice about nj wanting to be close to me. i love having him close to me, it's sweet.

he got two stickers today for being a good boy. it's been a really long time since he's gotten any. just as i was thinking a while ago what a pleasant child we have, he started to not listen as well. but i think it's just his age and stage. we're finally adjusting to how he's changing. he's definitely got his opinions and demands now. well, it's about time to make a new little chart with some new goals on there. he's already mastered good eating, good sleeping, and going to the bathroom. hmm, what's next?

"i'm getting my books. lots of books."

nj disappeared into his room. i asked him what he was doing and he says he's getting his books. he always gets out his truck and car books. i walked over and see him on the floor with all his books.

"i like to watch the cars"

nj watched tv in the reflection of the glass during dinner. top gear was on and he was glued to watching the cars. so much that he wasn't eating. that's unusual for him, he's all about food... i had to remind him to finish up his dinner several times. as soon as he was done, he went to stand next to baba to watch. i told him to sit down, watch for a few minutes and then it was time for bed. he was narrating everything to baba, "motorcycle driving fast, blue car driving fast..." it made me laugh, as if baba really needed to be told what he was watching.

i sat down next to him with my laptop. nj leans over and says, "i want to see my girlfriend". oh really? and who's your girlfriend? when we ask him, he just smiles but doesn't say her name. how funny. so i pull up some photos of his girlfriend and he tells me all about each photo with her. he even asks to specifically see the photo of them holding hands. oh my. we have a little lover boy on our hands.

moving up at hope

nj moved up to the next class up at hope. the teacher said he was a good listener at story time. and to no surprise, he's at the table still eating his snacks. he asked to take them with him. in the car, he asked for his cake (cupcake) and then apple. my goodness. he didn't even get a proper lunch because of how much he ate from church. are we going to be tithing more because of how much this kid eats? :) outside, we ran into our old pastor and got to catch up with him a little. we really miss him he was such a big part of our first few years at hope and our adoption support. it was cute to see nj say hi to him and give him a hug.