Who's Dat?

Matthew is still fascinated by his "Family Book."  We stopped by the adoption agency the other day and he had it with him.  I chatted with a social worker briefly, handed off some stuff for J. and started gathering the boys to leave.  "I have dis," announced Matthew, holding his book out to the social worker. 

"Oh," she said kindly, "how nice!"  We flipped through a few pages, and pointed out photos of interest. 

I pointed to a photo of J.  "Who's this?" I said to Matthew.  He peered up at the social worker through his eyelashes, smiling shyly.  We waited a few seconds, then said our goodbyes. 

As we walked out, Matthew turned and shouted, with a big smile on his face, "That's J!"

The only person Matthew appears to have any difficulty in recognizing in the book is . . . me!  As we looked through the book a few days ago, he pointed out the people in this photo:

"Dat's Maffew," he said.  "And dat's Didi kissing Maffew.  And dat's . . . Grandma Linda!"

"No, Matthew," I said, "that's mama!"

He looked at me suspiciously and then replied slowly, "Nooooo.  Dat's Grandma Linda."

A few pages later we reached this photo, from the finalization in court.  "Der's Maffew with Daddy!" he cried, pointing.  "And dat's the judge!  And Didi!  Oh, and Auntie Stephanie is dere, too!"

Oh well, it's close enough.

Dear Santa, Please Bring Me a Dictionary

Me:  Okay boys.  Daddy isn't going to be home before bedtime, so I'm really going to need your cooperation tonight.

Matthew:  What?  What's ka-nop-er-ation?

Enjoying the Weather

Snow.  It's cold.  It's wet.  And when you have two little boys, it's FUN!

We Couldn't Have That

This cold weather is a real drag.  I've been trying to remember how to keep kids busy when it is too cold to play outside and little by little it's coming back to me.  The biggest challenge is finding activities that interest both boys.  To that end, we've been doing LOTS of science experiments and art projects.  And from time to time, I choose an activity that I think will be fun for Cameron and then I spend an hour trying to keep Matthew away from said activity.  Shrinky Dinks, Perler beads and number mazes fall into this category. 

Most recently, I bought Cameron a beginner's needlepoint kit.  He was surprisingly enthusiastic about it and has spent quite a bit of time working on it over the past few days. 

Yesterday, I pulled out the beginner's needlepoint that I made when I was about his age.  "Ooooh!" he admired.  "You did a good job mommy!"  He flipped the frame over, where it is obvious that instead of threading the yarn under the stitches to secure it, I tied big knots.  Hey, it was a BEGINNER kit, okay? 

He didn't say anything but later, when it was time to end the blue yarn and start a new color he said, "Mommy?  Can you make sure that you do it right?  And cut the extra yarn really short so the end isn't sticking out.  Because when I have kids, I don't want them to look at this and think, 'Boy, Daddy didn't do a very good job on his needlepoint!'"

He did not learn this from me.

This morning, Matthew spilled a bowl of dry cereal on the floor.  "Uh-oh!" he cried.  "I spill da ce-we-al!  Dat's okay, I clean it up!"  And to my amazement, he went and got his broom and dustpan.  (Yes, we have child size cleaning tools, purchased when I optimistically imagined my children cheerily cleaning up their own messes.)

"Thank you, Matthew!" I said.  "I like it when you clean up your mess!"

"You welcome," he replied and he efficiently swept all the spilled cereal under the fridge.  "All done!"

Matthew's Favorite Book

For two years now, I've been planning to make Matthew a book of his adoption story.  I delayed and delayed, searching for just the right words, just the right pictures.  And then, a couple of weeks ago, I just decided to do it.  And I did.  All of a sudden, I knew what I wanted the book to say and I wrote it and ordered it! 

Yesterday, the finished product arrived in the mail.  Matthew and I sat down together on the couch to read it and he was fascinated.  He pointed to each picture, asking "Who's dat?" and delighting when the answer was "Baby Matthew!" 

When Cameron got home from school, Matthew hurried to get the book and show it to him.  "Family book," he explained.  "It about baby Matthew.  And it about J."  And it is -- it is the story of Matthew's birth, his adoption and his families. 

At bedtime, Matthew asked me to read "the J. book" and, when I finished, asked me to read it again. 

This morning, Matthew got the book down off the shelf, called for Cameron, and then both boys sat on my lap while I read the book.  This time, Matthew imitated himself in each photo.  "I looking at Daddy like this," he said, dropping his mouth open and staring up just like baby Matthew was doing in the photo.  "I sleeping, like this," he said, closing his eyes just like baby Matthew did. 

Cameron was also interested, excitedly saying, "I remember that!" as he looked at the photos of meeting Matthew at the hospital, bringing him home and going to court.  We read the book three times in a row. And I can't wait to read it again tonight!

And a Pony

Matthew's response to Santa in past years has ranged from complete indifference

 to sheer terror. 

This year, Matthew marched right up to Santa.  "And what do you want for Christmas, little boy?"

"I wanna Knuffle Bunny and a Lego set," Matthew answered with confidence.

"And how about you?" Santa asked Cameron. 

In line, Cameron had been overcome with nervousness.  "Help me remember what to say, Mommy," he had whispered to me, as he rehearsed.  "A Lego set.  The Empire Strikes Back movie.  A robot starter kit.  OK.  A Lego set.  The Empire Strikes Back.  Robot starter kit."  Now, faced with Santa himself, Cameron took a deep breath and went for it.  "I would like TWO Lego sets.  And The Empire Strikes Back.  And a robot kit."

Apparently Cameron is hoping that the big guy decides to break the "three presents from Santa" rule.