My Faith and Joy… and Boys!

I am a wimp.  I do not like to be scared.  I do not enjoy horror movies, death-defying roller coasters, or any kind of sudden surprises.  I even hated hide-and-go-seek as a child, because I couldn’t stand waiting for someone to come around a corner at any moment and scream “Gotchya!” 

But I’m glad it doesn’t look like our daughters are going to take after my cowardliness.  They love fast rides in their daddy’s ATV, getting thrown into the air, and they especially relish being the target of a sudden and unexpected “Boo!”.  They shriek with startled delight and always come back for more.  I hope this bravery serves them well in life.  At least they’ll have more fun at Six Flags than I ever did! 

Here’s a video of the girls getting their wits scared out of them by their dad.  There’s a point in the video where I tried to take a picture of Becky, so you’ll see the video momentarily paused while I snapped the shot.  She was moving too fast, but here’s the image:

Looks like she’s enjoying the roller coaster of life! 

My mom and I have been having an ongoing debate over which child is more like me and which is like Jim, in terms of looks as well as personality.  Well, Mom, as of tonight, it’s crystal clear to me both girls are following in Jim’s footsteps in at least one important arena: their sense of humor.  I fed the girls black beans for dinner tonight and, as I expected, the “musical fruit” did its thing.  But I didn’t expect them to think it was so hilarious!  Becky and Susie kept bending over and erupting in giggles when they noisily “erupted” from their backsides.  All I could do was roll my eyes.  I’ve tried to teach them to be ladylike, but apparently Jim’s DNA is quite strong!

So strong, in fact, that they decided to dress like him today too.  Although they put a decidedly feminine touch on their wardrobe – they draped Jim’s dress shirts around them like shawls and admired each other as they pranced. 

Becky (on right): “Sister, those stripes are just your style!”

I always dreamed my children would rise above life’s obstacles…I just didn’t think they would have to climb on the furniture to do it.

Today, Susie decided that she’s part mountain goat, and views every object under twelve inches high as a mountain to be climbed – be it the shelf of a bookcase, toy structure, or her sister kneeling.  I guess I’m proud that she transforms potential obstacles into mere stair steps on her trip to the top, but I wish I could somehow pad the floor to cushion her landings.  Of course, if she never felt the impact of her actions, she wouldn’t learn any lessons…regarding her own limits, or the inevitability of gravity. 

She aims for the top, my little girl.  I just hope she knows what to do when she gets there!

P.S.  There’s no picture of Susie on top of the world accompanying this post because I figured it would send the wrong message to grin and say “Smile Susie!” while she was teetering on the edge of her makeshift stepladder as she tried to escape from her playzone.  I also couldn’t hold the camera steady and carry her to safety at the same time, so I sacrificed a good blog illustration for her safe return to earth.  I figured you’d all understand.

Instead, here’s a picture of her looking decidedly remorseful and repentant of her climbing behaviors:

Susie: “Oh no, Mama, I can’t believe I scared you like that.  I’ll never do it again.”

(Good thing I’m the one writing the captions.  She’s probably really thinking: “Man, I can’t believe I got caught!”)

One thing motherhood has taught me: How to get my priorities straight.

All these years I’ve been trying to lose weight and minimize the size of my thighs.  But now that both girls love to plop down into my lap at the same time when I’m sitting on the floor, I wouldn’t mind a little more girth.  More thighs = more room for the girls to sit side-by-side.  As the girls get bigger and bigger, I’ll just get wider and wider!

(Motherhood has also taught me how to justify eating half a bag of tortilla chips in one sitting.  Now if only I could come up with a reason for being in my pajamas at two o’clock this afternoon…)

I’ve been “baa-ing” and “neigh-ing” and “gobble gobble-ing” myself silly in an attempt to teach the girls what animals say.  “Silly” being the operative word.  Have you ever stopped to think about where we come up with animal sounds?  Other than the sounds emanating from the animals themselves.  I mean, who decided that a cat says “Meow?”  My cat makes noises more similar to a child whining than anything else.  And does a pig really say “Oink”?  That word is much too cute for the snorting, grunting, belching sound I’ve heard come out of pigs.  As I’m teaching the girls how to make different animal sounds, I feel almost fraudulent, as if I’m purposely teaching them the wrong language.  It’s as if someone has come to me requesting my help prior to a trip to France, and I tell them to greet the Frenchmen with a hearty “hola.”  I can just imagine a dog looking quizzically at the girls and thinking, “Why do these kids keep “arf-ing” at me?” 

It’s not like we can even agree on the sounds that animals make.  For those of you with way too much time on your hands, you can check out this fascinating multilingual list of animal sounds.  There are some significant similarities.  For instance, most every culture agrees that a bee “buzzes.”  However, the Germans and Japanese must have much more finely-tuned insect ears than the rest of us, since they interpret the noise as a “summ summ” and “boon boon,” respectively.  I think the next time I get dive-bombed by a bee, instead of flailing and running around in circles, I’m going to have to try to remain calm and listen very very closely, just to educate myself for the purpose of passing on the proper pronunciation to my girls. 

In the meantime, though, I’ll still “buzz” my way past bee illustrations in our story books.  After all, we’re not really trying to teach our kids how to communicate with animals by learning what sounds they make.  Isn’t the real purpose of having kids parrot back the noises simply to demonstrate how cute the kids can be?  Because even if the girls never engage in a meaningful conversation with a rabbit, they’ll bring a smile to your face with their bunny imitations!

Here’s a video clip of our current progress on the animal front.  We’re far from mastering any particular sound, but we sure have fun trying.  Be forewarned: Don’t watch the film if you’re prone to dizziness, as my poor videographer skills coupled with the girls’ constant motion makes for a wild ride.