Cute things

Last Friday I had a wonderful girls night out at a Thai restaurant in celebration of my friend Steph's birthday. It was so nice to get out, escape from the little ones for a few hours, to hang with old friends and meet new ones...all moms, all expats, living in the South of France. Topics of conversation are varied but inevitably include talking about our children. I love to hear about the things, good and bad, funny and not-so-funny that other children are doing. But I always love the opportunity to share my stories as well, and it's even better when there is such a receptive audience. I don't know a single parent that doesn't like to share things about their child with others. I clearly recall hearing all the funny things about my colleagues kids at work. I remember fondly, and still love to talk about many of the cute and funny things my nephews and niece did. And now that I am a Mommy, it is my turn to start sharing. I know that the things my boys do are MOST funny and adorable to me and Robert...but I know that there are many who will also get a good kick out of them. So...this blog post will be a work-in-process. I am going to attempt to update it on a somewhat frequent basis, as a means of documenting the things that just melt mine and Robert's hearts or make us pee our pants laughing!
A couple things stand out as a start.
Andrew soothing Ryan
First off, is the way Andrew reacts to Ryan crying. At the very beginning, Andrew was very distraught when Ryan cried and would demand that I help him right away. Then he started to get used to it and would talk to Ryan in a cute, soothing tone, "It's OK, you're fine, Mommy's coming, she's gonna give you a boob..." Then last night, Ryan was a little (OK, A LOT) miserable due to teething pain and Andrew told me that he just misses Daddy. He then proceeded to go to Ryan, every so tenderly stroke his head and in a very soothing tone stated, "It's OK little bear, Daddy will be home really soon". I know indeed that it is Andrew missing his Daddy very much, but so cute how he's already trying to help his little brother cope!
Late night reading
This Wednesday was a very windy and rainy day, so we didn't leave the house. Usually Andrew naps better when we do some kind of active activity in the morning but this Wednesday we were all fairly lazy and I suspected that his nap wasn't going to be a long one. But he ended up sleeping for nearly 4 hours!!! I went in twice to try and wake him a little, but I figured if he was still that "out", that he needed the sleep. The price came though when it came time to put him to bed. Intuitively, I knew he wouldn't be ready for his usual 8/8:30 bedtime so we stayed up later which allowed him the opportunity to talk to Daddy on the phone. I finished his bedtime story at 9:30, turned out his light and kissed him good night. I then got comfy on the couch and caught up with some tv shows. I kept hearing some noises here and there but I just remained on the couch. When I went to bed myself at 11:00, I passed by Andrew's room, only to find him absolutely buried in books all over his bed and his flash light shining on the one he was reading. I couldn't help but chuckle! I thought the morning drill for school was gonna be a nightmare the next day, but was wrong indeed...there was Andrew by my bedside at 6am, as per usual, ready to party and telling me it's time to get up!
Disciplining his tiger
This morning I overheard Andrew talking to his tiger. As a preface, I have given Andrew a couple time-outs in the past, proceeded by a little "talk" about why the behaviour was wrong, when he ran off from me in an unsafe place, i.e. parking lot. So, this morning, when I was just entering the living room, I observed Andrew talking to his giant tiger. The tiger was in his "cage" i.e. upside down laundry basket! He said to the tiger, "We need to have a little talk now. I really love you and I don't want you to be lost or hurt, so you can't run away, ok? Do you understand?"!!! I nearly burst into laughter but didn't want him to see me so I escaped to the bathroom to do so privately! But at least I am comforted by the fact that our "talks" are sinking in!
The ambulance sign
Andrew is VERY perceptive. He often points out things that I would never even notice. For example, the crocodile on the Lacoste store sign. Dolphins, killer whales, every billboard we pass for Marineland, he spots it from miles away. And as I presume most boys do, he always points out tractors, cranes and rescue vehicles (police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, etc.) He also happens to be peaking with the WHY? questions. All through tv shows and movies, it's constant: "why is it dark", "why are the animals talking", "why is she wearing that", "why is the monkey black"...it's endless. So anyway, this morning, he notices on the stove top that there is a "plus" sign (which is the heat control). He recognizes the plus sign as the red cross ambulance sign, so he asks me, "Why is there an ambulance sign on the stove?" to which I respond, "Because if you touch it, I will have to call the ambulance"!!! He accepted that answer immediately!