Do you promise to tell the whole truth?

As dutiful parents Mark and I have attempted to teach our children morals.  Stealing is wrong, hitting is terrible, talking about farts at dinner, although funny, is not appropriate.  Recently we have noticed Jared trying to be sneaky: toys slipped in his pocket at nap time, sneaky extra blanket into bed and hiding it behind his bear, slipping toys into bed.  

Tonight I saw Jared sneaking out of Colton's room holding a diaper.  It was a clear sneak.  It didn't take a lot of Sherlock Holmes work to discover the diaper was hidden under his pillow.  Not what I was expecting.  

As we are getting ready for bed I remind Jared that in our family we don't keep secrets from each other.  I ask if there is any secret I need to know about.  Thankfully,  he spills the beans.  Curiosity gets the best of me, and I ask, "Why?"  

He wanted to wear a diaper.  It's been over a year and a half since he last wore a diaper.  So, I press on, "but why?"

He wants to see what it feels like.  So there I sit, feeling confused, but determined to be supportive.   I am trying to teach him to not keep secrets, so I can't very well ridicule this idea.  On the other hand, it's a little bit crazy.

We agreed, tomorrow he can try on a diaper, and he can always tell Mom and Dad everything, no matter how ridiculous it is.

Don't trust the eyes

It has been brought to my attention on numerous occasions that Colton has very nice, big, blue eyes.  We have sat along parade routes and had people in the parade stop to point this out.  Almost everywhere we go, someone will mention it.

  In the past several months, Colton has figured out how to use his eyes to get what he wants. It doesn't matter if we are getting groceries, picking up a prescription, or eating out, I almost always have a stranger (typically an older woman) tell me he was flirting with them.  This is typically followed up with such phrases like, "what a cutie" or "such a darling."  He will do it to people he knows.  I have seen him work his charm with my brother.  

I have word to describe all of Colton's victims: suckers.  Don't get me wrong, the kid is cute.  But he knows what he is doing.

The pictures below illustrate my point.  It is a time order of events.  First he pulls off the flower, then he turns on the charm.  

 Today hew as using his magic again.  We were outside and he pulled out his Little Tikes Car.  He got behind it and pushed it down the driveway.  He seemed to be impressed with the speed it gained going down the hill, because he quickly drug it back up the driveway to try again.  This time, I saw him push extra hard as it sailed down the drive.  It was no surprise it sailed right onto the road.  Colton stopped, looked at me, said "ah-oh," and smiled a very proud smile.  He can be such a stinker, but this sucker falls for those eyes everytime and I find it impossible to not smile back.  

Busy Weekend and Simple Pleasures

At bedtime, we always have a "talk" with Jared.  The "talk time" originated as a reward at age 3 for giving up his blankie.  Usually, we discuss the joys and concerns of our day.

This past weekend was very busy.  Friday night began with Mark and Jared going to see "The Living Bible" at church.  Apparently there were even live camels and sheep.  Jared was quite taken in with the resurrection.  As he explained to me, "God made Jesus stronger than a super hero, because he woke up after he died."  Saturday morning was a 3 year old birthday party at the park district gym.  Much running around, and loud screaming ensued.  In the afternoon/evening we celebrated my birthday at the Hofbrauhaus.  There was a German band playing many polkas and waltzes.  Much dancing and loud music ensued.  Jared was in his element. Sunday was a little more relaxed.  We did make it to the library and the park. 

At bedtime, I asked Jared if he had a good weekend.  We talked about how busy we were and I listed all the different things we did. I asked him which was his favorite.  He said, "Getting the big book."
 I said, "Oh, going to see the Living Bible?" 
He clarified, "No, getting the big book from the library."  Yes, the big Star Wars Lego book from the library.  Even though he doesn't know anything about Star Wars and occasionally will play with Legos, getting this book was the highlight of his weekend.  I guess it's the little things in life.  Next weekend I'll just give him a box of paperclips and some paper and call that good enough.