Forever in Our Hearts

On Christmas Eve at 4 pm Noah's godfather and one of our dearest friends, Mark Wald passed away after his 17 month battle with brain cancer. He was 49 years old. This picture is of Noah's baptism in 2004. Mark is standing next to Noah's godmother, Christelle Curilli.

I had been preparing Noah for this loss for months. On Christmas day I was putting Cole to bed and I realized I had not explained anything to him about Mark. So I explained that he had died. Cole asked me, "Where is Mark now?" I said, "Up in heaven with God and the angels." Cole said, "I like Mark better in his house."

Little Boy Wisdom #26: Give yourself time to adjust to change.

Ignorance is Bliss!

The other day, I had just finished fighting my way through snowy, rush hour traffic to get to Noah's school at 5:57pm. His after school program closes at 6:00. Eek! My heart is racing, I have Cole in my arms and I am running through the parking lot. In my head I have thoughts of lesson plans, errands, freezing cold, forgotten mittens, 'please Noah don't be mad!' Then, for one peaceful moment, I glanced down at Cole's face as the snow and other late parents whirled around us. There he was, with his tongue hanging way out, trying to catch snowflakes. So simple...so sweet.

Little Boy Wisdom #25: Don't pass up an opportunity to have fun!

Forgiveness

It's been kind of hard around here lately. Sibling rivalry has resulted in a "I wuv you" - "I don't like you anymore and your not allowed in my room for three weeks!" kind of relationship. All the screaming, name-calling, pushing, and crazy running around has got me frazzled and impatient. We've taken classes and stayed up late reading Glasser, Kurcinka, Sears, and countless articles on parenting. So I feel horrible every time I raise my voice and lose my patience. But at the end of the day (and usually several times during) they still say, "I love you Mama." And I am humbled.

Little Boy Wisdom #24: Forgive people for their faults and short comings. Most of all, forgive your parents for anything they did wrong. This parenting stuff is really, really hard!

Do What You Love!

Undaunted, Handyman Cole carries on with his work.

Little Boy Wisdom #23: Don't let the weather get you down.

Let it Snow!

It was only here for a day but Noah made the best of it!

Little Boy Wisdom #22: Work with what you are given.

Proper Grammar

It's no secret who Noah "voted" for! He made a sign for our yard because he thought we should stand up for what we believe in. As his fondness grew for this man, we thought he should watch him speak. As he listened to Barack give his acceptance speech, he replied to Kevin, "Daddy, Obama doesn't say 'gonna'!" Since Noah was very little, Kevin has pushed Noah to speak properly with no "gonna" - only "going to." Kevin smiled proudly.

Little Boy Wisdom #21: Proper grammar goes a long way!

Happiness is Halloween

Noah couldn't believe it was really Halloween! He said, "I'm so happy I could cry!" He hopped around and twitched his nose to his heart's content. Handy Manny has "a widdle code" so he wasn't quite so chipper.

Little Boy Wisdom #20: When you feel happy, show the world...twitch your nose, hop around, let it spread to others.

Empathy

When we got home from the pumpkin patch, after each boy had carefully picked out their own pumpkins, Cole promptly broke the stem off his. Noah calmly watched from across the room. After a bit of thought, he quietly said, "We could trade." And every day since, Noah has claimed the broken stem-pumpkin as his own as Cole happily fingers the curly stem of his newly acquired pumpkin, thanks to his sweet brother.

Little Boy Wisdom #19: Find in your heart the courage to see things from another's perspective.

Gone!

So last weekend we went to an apple orchard, picked apples with which we thought we'd make pies, burger toppings, fabulous lunches and snacks...umm...they were gone in two days!

Little Boy Wisdom #18: Be in the moment, enjoy the season!

Some "Handy" Advice...

Cole is taking his Halloween costume pretty seriously this year. It came in the mail last week and he has worn it for part of each day ever since. "Handy Manny" is a Disney character who fixes things and has good advice for all his friends. This weekend Noah got frustrated and started talking back to his Daddy. Cole quietly watched and said, "Noah you be nice to Daddy...he made that airplane for you." He was reminding Noah of a fun project he and his dad did together earlier in the weekend.

Little Boy Wisdom #17: When you feel mad, it helps to remember something nice about the person you are mad at.

Butterflies and Benefits

So here are the last of the 5 butterflies which grew and lived in our house for the past 4 weeks. We marveled at the perfection found in nature and sometimes...the imperfection. One butterfly came out of his cocoon with a deformed wing. Noah was very gentle with it and found a nice "home" on our sedum flower for it to live out its short life. The other four are making their way down to Mexico. Over the weekend, the boys also had a chance to "fish in the East Sea" and play with the tiger at the Benefit for Korean Children. Proceeds of the event go to Korean adoption facilities to help birth mothers, fosters mothers, and babies.

Little Boy Wisdom #16: Everyone needs a place to call home, no matter where you are born and no matter the size of your wings.

Godfather Mark

We haven't seen our friend Mark in a while... We truly miss him. Noah says he is, "half person, half angel." He asks me a lot if Mark is "still here?" Please pray for our dear, dear friend as he makes his way to heaven. He is "still here" but he is slowly losing the battle. Pray for his comfort and courage. (This picture is the summer of 2004.)

Little Boy Wisdom #15: Be like a child...have faith and believe in goodness.

Go-Togethers

Noah and Cole are working on being good to each other. Here they are practicing by playing a card game called "go-togethers."

I know we were meant to go together! Tonight as I put Noah to bed, I felt this weird wetness on my fingers. I looked down to see Noah licking them. I laughed and asked him why he was doing that. He said, "I swallowed you and you went down into my heart." I guess he was finding a way to take me with him for his long day at school tomorrow.

Little Boy Wisdom #14: Find a way to visualize the ones you love even when you can't be together.

The Verdict is IN!!

Okay, so we said we would get back to you on kiwi fruit...
It turns out Lois Ehlert did not have false advertising in her book,
"Eating the Alphabet." Kiwi fruits not only look good, they are "GREAT," according to Cole.
(Noah was pleased as well.)

Little Boy Wisdom #13: Sometimes you CAN judge a book
by its cover!

Bye Bye Butterfly!

Our state fair Painted Lady caterpillars, now butterflies, have come out of their cocoons and flown away. Cole did not want to get real close to them...Noah on the other hand, can't get close enough! He LOVES bugs and animals. Right now he claims he wants to be a vet and own a lizard. But he told his teacher while composing a "me poem" that he wants to "jump out of coast guard helicopters and save people." I guess you could say he is our extreme sporter!

Little Boy Wisdom #12: Hold precious things close, but don't be afraid to let them go.

"I love you stay home Mama."

Today I got to stay home with Cole. I am working part time now so I get the pleasure of spending two days a week at home. We had a great day. In the morning Noah was at kindergarten, so Cole and I had some alone time. He kept telling me spontaneously, "I love you Mama!" and he was particularly glad to be home with me. When Noah came home they were silly and sweet to each other. The time spent apart seems to be a good thing for them. They spent time hiding from Mama together, playing "smash, crash" and Noah allowed Cole to smoosh his face around while sitting on Noah's stomach and bouncing up and down. Crazy, brotherly love.

Little Boy Wisdom #11: Enjoy every moment with the ones you love and tell them that you love them often!

“Kind of Fun” Noah’s First Impression of Kindergarten

Noah’s first day of kindergarten!!! So far Noah says he has made four friends already. One boy named Drew that he already knew in preschool, two of course are girls, and one more boy. We are happy and excited to watch him grow and develop his friendships. He says he is “scared” to go tomorrow. The reality seems to have set in that he won’t be playing all day anymore.

Little Boy Wisdom #10: Create a safety net of friends, before you start a new journey.

"Advanced Pieces"

Noah loves to create. He has been making his "creations" since he could stack objects at one year old. Today as I made seating charts for my upcoming classes, he created a Lego big rig with ramps and everything. He was looking for a special piece he needed. Then I heard him say, "Here it is! The 'advanced pieces' always like to hide in the corners of the box." This kid really knows his Legos.

Little Boy Wisdom # 9: The hard things in life take time and sometimes you have to look extra hard to find just the right solution. The answer to your problem might be hiding in the corner somewhere.

A Note on "Whatbodies"

As we all prepare for our big transistion this school year (Noah starts kindergarten, Cole starts preschool, and I start teaching art in a brand new school), we're all just a little confused about who goes where and when. So Cole asks me, "Mama, whatbody is gonna watch me?" I just love that! He made up this word early this summer and it stuck. If he sees some strangers on the street he'll say, "Whatbodies are those?" He uses this word at least once a day.

By the way, the picture is of Noah's new backpack from his Boomie and he has just bestowed his little brother with his old "preschool backpack." They are singing a song about John Deere tractors to celebrate this rite of passage. And yes...Cole is nude except for the backpack. He has trouble keeping clothes on his little "whatbody" lately.

Little Boy Wisdom #8: Don't always trust the dictionary...for some things we just have better words!

Giggle Brothers

Noah likes to make Cole laugh. He'll do anything for the joy of Cole's laughter. Today he was jumping on the tractor backwards and sticking his tongue out. The harmonica works too for funny noises. I think it makes him proud to be the older brother and to know that Cole thinks he's funny. He always wants to fix things for Cole too. Which is hard because Cole wants to do everything himself...the whole two-year-old "I do it!" insistence. So it's good that laughter is where they meet in the middle and understand each other best. Especially when they dance around like crazy people in the middle of the living room all the while playing wacky instruments and doing weird things with their tongues.

Little Boy Wisdom #7: Make time to laugh, dance, and stick your tongue out. This technique works well with two-year olds and other kinds of difficult people.

Feed a Cole, Starve a fever!

Cole is feeling much better now! He hardly ate a thing while he was sick. So today he started out with a nutritious smoothie. He chose all the ingredients. He is very fond of blueberries lately. When we were reading the book, "Eating the Alphabet," by Lois Ehlert he told me I needed run out and get kiwi fruits for him because they are his "favorite." (He has actually never eaten them). He has always been fascinated by this book (from about 6 months old) which illustrates food starting with all 26 letters. It's like a catalogue for him of exciting new foods for him to try. We'll get back to you on what he really thinks of kiwis.

Little Boy Wisdom #6: Try new foods...it's fun and good for you!

Back to school...for Mama!

Well...the boys aren't sure if they really want their mama back at work. But they helped me move into my new school. Noah really enjoyed checking out the kindergarten rooms. Cole even made me "lunch" in the kindergarten kitchen.

Little Boy Wisdom #5: Be supportive of the people you love, even when they are doing something that makes you miss them.



Check out those big-boy muscles!!

"Hold Me"

Cole's not feeling that well today. He's got a fever of 103.5 degrees.
He just wants to be held by Mama.

Little Boy Wisdom #4: It's okay to ask for a hug when you need it.

Friendship

As the first day of Kindergarten approachs on September 3rd, I am having mama jitters. So today I read Noah some books about what it might be like. Afterward I asked Noah if he had any questions or things he was afraid of. He said, "No I'm not afraid at all! When I think of kindergarten, I just think...friendship!"

Little Boy Wisdom #3: Look forward to a new experience as an opportunity to make new friends.