Thursday, July 10, 2008

Rats!


What's the first movie you ever saw in a theater? Exactly. I have no idea either. I remember E.T. and Star Wars, but I'm pretty sure those weren't the first. Technically, Eli's first movie was The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe. But he was only a two months old, and spent the entire time sleeping or nursing.

We decided to try another movie while Wehrenberg runs its Summer Family Movie Series since its free. I figured he would make it through 20 minutes, and then we could leave and I wouldn't feel guilty about wasting $20. But he loved it. He watched the whole thing. Snacking on colored goldfish, sipping apple juice, and trying not to let the seat fold up on his 28 pound self. Our neighbors joined us for the adventure. Owen had a great time. Beckett sat, and then slept, content in his car seat. Owen's mom and I shared a few tears at the end, as Charlotte breathed her last breath (spiders do breathe, right?), the credits rolled, and we soaked in the moment that our boys had watched, and enjoyed, their very first movie.

I wondered what Eli would remember of the movie, and what parts he would re-tell to Joel. He loved to see the eggs hatch and baby geese come out. And it soon became clear that he had a favorite character. The innocent, friendly pig? Nope. The gentle, wise spider? Nope. The spunky, rebellious, messy rat? Yep, that would be it. He's been climbing up the couch, jumping into the cushions, and rolling around with his feet up, saying, "Looook, Mama, I'm Templeton!" You just never know what will make an impression. Rats!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Independence Day

Guess what we're celebrating? Independence Day. I know the official holiday has come and gone. But we're celebrating in the Lindsey household because it was the first official day of potty-training, and we did it. I'm fine with adding the "we" in there, even though it is Eli who actually does the pottying. There's enough teaching, prayer, and patience on the parent side of it to make it an accomplishment for the whole family.
We kind of worked in lots of elements that Eli is interested in. He's very practical, so I told him when he woke up that we were out of diapers. "That's okay Mama, you can just go to Target and get some more." Okay, really practical. He was outside swimming in his little pool when I told him that I need him to water some plants with his potty. He did. Twice. That's when I knew he had a decent handle on his bodily functions. So, on the 4th, he was standing in front of the toilet, and I'm trying to get him to pee. "Eli, go potty just like you did when you watered the plants." "I can't Mama." I picked a leaf off of some plants on the window sill, dropped it in the toilet, and told him that the leaf needed some water. (I was hoping he wouldn't get too practical again and tell me it was already in water.) Presto! He peed. And he was off to a great start, collecting truck stickers, peeing and pooping his way toward golf clubs "like Tiger has" and a fishing pole, "like George does". As in Curious George.
So Eli is happily strutting around, declaring to friends and strangers alike "I am big now! I wear big boy underwear," swinging his new (plastic) golf clubs and catching (plastic) fish with his (plastic) fishing pole. We have plenty of birthdays to upgrade to the real thing if he's still interested. Diaper free birthdays.