A Million Questions Per Day

 At least that's how it feels most days. Liam wants to know EVERYTHING about EVERYTHING, which is so awesome and fun. Usually I love all the questions, but occasionally, when I'm describing in great detail what is happening in every picture of a book we've read about a thousand times, I feel like I'm out of answers. He really doesn't ever stop talking (unless it's to sing). We even hear him mumble in his sleep over the monitor. I know I can't keep up with everything that makes us laugh, but here are a few favorites from the past week or two.

 He LOVES the Christmas lights that Josh put on our house, and every time we back out of the driveway when they are on he says, "gweat job, Dad!"

  Generally, he is very tolerant when Cora cries in the car. Last night, however, we took the kids out to drive around and look at Christmas lights for a bit. Cora was tired and getting fussy, and Liam was busy trying to talk to us about all of the lights, stoplights, imaginary animals, the reindeer named Ralph from the Cat in the Hat, etc. So, when Cora's crying started to escalate he had finally had enough and shouted from the backseat, "MOMMY, PWEASE give Cowa she's paci! Pwease, pwease, pwease!!!" The desperation in his voice makes me laugh every time I think about it.

  Liam usually uses the correct pronoun, but he hasn't gotten the hang of "her" so every time he's talking about a female he says "she". My favorite use of "she" is when he asks, "what's she's name?" I'm in no hurry for him to outgrow this one.

  Ever since Liam started talking, I have taken time at bedtime (most nights) to ask him what he did that day and then I help him recount the events that took place. Lately he has started reciprocating by asking, "So Mom, what you do today?" He randomly asks this all throughout the day, and really likes going through everyone in the family. "What you do today, Dad? What Cowa do? What Jack do?"

  If you ask Liam how he is doing, he will usually respond with, "Doin' good! How 'bout you?" I get really tickled watching the reactions of people who don't know him well when he says this. I guess most people don't expect a two and a half year old boy to ask how they are doing.

  The other week I mentioned that he has started praying on his own. Usually he thanks Jesus for the first 3 or 4 things that pop into his head, but one night I guess he just couldn't think of anything so he prayed, "Gank you Jesus, for ... nofing. Amen." I shouldn't have, but it caught me so off guard that I busted out laughing. He was so pleased with my reaction that we have had many prayer times since where I have had to work on a little retraining ... trying to veer away from thanking Jesus for nothing.

  The poor buddy has had a cold/cough for the past week and has felt pretty miserable. The first day he woke up with the cough Josh asked if he wanted to be wrapped up in a blanket and he said, "I need a bwanket for my mouth."

After Josh and I read this post by Ann Voskamp a few months ago, we felt very challenged to start incorporating the reading of Scripture into as many mealtimes as we are able to. We don't always remember, but I would say that most days, at least once a day, the Bible is read aloud at our kitchen table. We keep a children's Bible story book in the kitchen that I read with Liam when Josh isn't with us; and then when he is home, he reads to us from a book of the Bible. We read through Daniel as a family, first, and are currently working our way through Luke. Liam is wonderful accountability at mealtimes. He always reminds me to give him his vitamin, and he always reminds us to read the Bible. Clearly, he knows what's good for him :) Anyway, he has become obsessed with the emotions of the people in the stories. Every time someone's name is mentioned he asks, "Is he a mad guy? Is he a happy guy?" Recently, as we read about Noah building the ark and warning others to repent, I was trying to explain to him what was going on. He put his little hands up to his mouth and fake shouted, "Hey guys, stop being mad guys now! And then they be happy, Mom?" This is his main concern in all Bible stories ... that the mad guys would start being happy.

  Cora is absolutely enthralled with her big brother. When he's in the room, it's as if no one else is. She follows his every move and gets SO excited when he comes within a couple feet of her. Lately he has taken to coming and sitting on my foot to play horsey when I'm nursing her. This little game is probably the highlight of her day. She quits eating (which is unfortunate) and laughs and laughs at him (which is awesome). Even though I know it's going to double the amount of time it takes to feed her, I never ask him to stop because it's so sweet!

  We love our Liam!