Jeepers Creepers!

I think the hormone and psychotherapy is finally paying off - I'm beginning to experience the delights of being a mom! Now whether or not Brahm and Oliver like being my kids is another question, but for now, things seem to be looking up.

Brooks snapped this shot of Oliver and I on the way to church last Sunday. I love how he digs on these bug-eye glasses I bought at a party supply store, so much so that he asked permission to wear them to Sunday School. I agreed that he could wear them before and after, but not during, and he seemed OK with that.

Oliver is a boy inclined to blurt out random questions when something is really weighing on his mind. Take that Sunday, for example. In testimony meeting during a quiet moment (of course), he turns to Brooks and asks in a fairly loud voice, "Dad, does General Grievous have a human brain?" Or last night before bed he walks into the kitchen wanting to know, "Are throw-ups toxic?" He also enjoys recounting information he has amassed during school. "Mom, starfish aren't really starfish. They are seastars. And did you know that if one of their legs gets cut off, they grow another one? But if they get cut in half, they die because their stomach is in the middle of their body and they need it to survive." He is a boy not unlike most other children, full of questions and wonder. I am grateful that I am beginning to be connected enough with myself that I notice.

Another thing I notice is how big my boys are getting. Brahm turned nine last week! When I tucked him into bed on his birthday eve he reminded me to put the streamers around his room for him to wake up to. I was surprised to hear him say this because I didn't know that ever really mattered to him. When he was very little, maybe two or three, I began the tradition of putting up crepe paper all around his bedroom and in the doorways of the house on the night before his birthday. Brooks and I would also buy a huge bouquet of balloons and set them loose in his room so that he could celebrate his special day from the moment he woke up. That was back in the day when we had hardly two dimes to rub together and I worried that I was spending too much on decorations. This year I almost didn't do it wondering if it would seem to juvenile to him now. That's why I was pleased to hear him remind me, especially since I had already bought all the supplies. Another reason I was pleased is because this (along with a few other birthday traditions) has been my way of showing Brahm I love him. For as handicapped as I've been in this area for both my boys, I decided that if I could make their birthdays memorable, then in this one way they would always remember how unfathomably wonderful they are to me.

Here's a clip of the boys shortly after waking up. Unless you're related, you will most likely find it uninteresting (except for Oliver's butt-scratching sequence). Note how Oliver decides an important part of the celebration will include Brahm getting to choose what color tee-shirt and pants Oliver is to wear that day...