We have a new soccer tot and a new little slugger in our house.  Our 4 year old is the soccer tot and the two year old is the Little Slugger.

We decided to “invest” in activities for our children with some of our tax stimulation money.  They have each been to one session, but both appeared to really enjoy it.

Thanks to my wife for video taping the events so daddy could review after work!

The 2 year old was the example child for the coach.  He was the best at all the various drills they practiced and so she used him repeatedly as the example for the other kids.  He was very anxious to practice with his daddy when I got home!

He’s “The Natural”.

The 4 year old missed the first few sessions (long story) but he didn’t look like he had missed a beat.  He was the best (only) listener in the class and he was the only one to cheer on his teammates when they were running individual drills.

And, he was pretty darn good with the ball.  He excitedly showed me the video when I got home from work.  He explained every drill and walked me through each activity.  Everytime he touched the ball with his hands, he said, “I cheated there, dad”.

He’s the next Pele.

Every night after we tuck our two year old in to bed, he comes up with some excuse to come out of his room.  It’s generally something fairly believable such as “Water in cup” or “I need hug” (that one always works).  Anyway, our standard response is to get him what he needs and tell him to go back to bed.  He always whimpers back ”Cover me up” to which we respond “We will cover you up ONE more time tonight…but that’s it…so this time stay in bed”.

Well, last night, he cut out the meaningless rhetoric in the middle and simply cut to the chase.  When he came out, he said simply, “Cover me up ONE more time”!

What IS the matter with people?

For today’s episode of What IS The Matter With People, I have two incidents to report – both involving parents disciplining their children.

1.  A couple in North Carolina decided it was ok to tie their 13 year old kid to a tree because of his disobediant behavior.  Here is the article (thanks to my wife who pointed me to it). 

2.  A 27 year old man in California decided it was ok to take his 2 year old out of the car and beat him death because he was “trash” and filled with “demons”.  Authorities showed up and the man refused to stop beating his boy so he was shot and killed.  Here’s the article. 

So, tell me,

What IS the matter with people?

On the nights I put my boys to bed, I pray this prayer with them:

Dear Lord Jesus,

Thank you for this day.  Thank you so much for all your many many blessings.  Thank you so much for little (4yrold) and little (2yrold) and little (babydueinaugust).  We love our kids soooo much…help them to know how much we love them, Lord.  Help them to know how much you love them, Lord.  Help them to grow and meet their milestones, Lord, on time.  I pray that they would remain happy, healthy, and strong.  And, Lord, above everything else, I pray that they would learn to love you and follow you and know you as their personal Lord and Savior.  And help them to show others around them your love.  Lord, I pray that they would have a good night’s sleep tonight.  Help us to all get the rest that our bodies need.  Help our boys to know that they are safe in their beds tonight.  Amen

At some point during the prayer my 4 yr old always reminds me to pray for his uncle and for whoever else may be on his mind that day and I do that or I pause while he does it himself.  And, my 2 year old usually bows his head and prays “Jesus….food….Amen”.

When I tuck my 4 yr old in bed, I always ask him the following three questions:

Do you know I love you?

Are you going to sleep tight tonight?

Are you going to have sweet dreams?

When I tuck my 2 yr old in, I always say, “You know you got a daddy who loves you?….and, I mean, I love you biiiig time, dude”.

I don’t know why this has become our routine.  But, it has, and I think we all like it.  I know I do.

My two year old is so much fun.  I have two boys, 4 and 2, and they are both just a bundle of energy and joy.  The 2 year old in particular is at an age that is just so much fun right now.  My 4 year old was the same way at that age.

He is just learning so many new things right now.  Everything new thing he sees or hears, he says “Whassssssaaaatttt????”.  He is learning to say so many new words.  A few months ago, we were keeping track of the number of words he said…now we are trying to keep up with all the new words he is learning each day.  It is truly amazing how quickly he has gone from saying just a handful of words to now putting complete sentences together.

Another thing that is just hilarious to watch right now is his facial expressions.  He just cracks me up.  He will point at an outside grill or at a toaster or something such as that and say “Thasss Ott” (That’s hot).  But, the expression that goes with that is absolutely adorable.  He kind of crinkles his nose and nods his head in the direction he is pointing and give you a look that just says “I know you know this daddy, but just in case you didn’t, I wanted you to be aware that that grill can be a danger if exposed to your skin”.

He is also picking up lots of little fun phrases.  We take him to Dallas Mavericks games and the PA announcer loves to make a spectical of himself everytime a Mav goes to the foul line for a couple free throws.  He will say “Twwwooooooooooooooooooo shots”.  Well our son has picked that up and he will say that exactly the same way every time he tries to take a shot at his little plastic basketball goal.

He also has the ability to quickly recognize the Mavs logo and anything else basketball related.  Occassionally, I will wear a Mavs shirt or cap or something and he will automatically assume that means we are going to get on the “Lello choochoo for da bakabal gang” (Yellow train to go to the basketball game)  Unfortunately for him, the Mavs are done for the year…maybe I will have to stop wearing my Mavs gear until next season!

Oh, and one more cute thing about my son.  He has a blanket that he is completely attached to.  Our oldest son never got himself attached to anything quite like this.  But, our younger son somehow has gotten himself to a point that he cannot go to sleep without this little yellow blanket which he refers to by the name of “lello”.

(We have had episodes where the blanket has gotten dirty or wet and isn’t clean and dry by bedtime.  Believe me, that situation is disasterous and it is to be avoided at all costs.)

Anyway, he knows that he isn’t allowed to leave the house with that blanket.  So, whenever we get the kids ready to go in the morning for whatever the day has in store, he will walk his little blanket to the door, gently lay it down on the floor, waive at it, and say “Bye-bye Lello”.