"MOM"

Oh how I loved when my kids learned to say my name. For us, Momma wasn't the first word or even the 3rd or 4th. Dada was at least word 2 or 3. And for a very long time it settled into Chris as "Daddy" and I as "Momma" I wasn't mad at that. Momma is sweet, and something I can't remember ever calling my mom, so it felt new, and my own.

Nathan still calls me Momma, and I love it as much as the first time he said it. He doesn't whine it, he only calls me when he needs me, and sometimes he uses it in a sentence with I love you and my heart aches.

However, last weekend Marisa started calling me "Mom" noooowwwwwww you may be thinking, big deal, it's still precious. NOT when she says it. I give her a snack and a drink and begin my trek back to the kitchen for Nates when I hear "Mom?"
"Yes, Marisa" I call back.
"Where are you?"
"Right here" I answer
"Why?"
Oh my, and it goes on. Mom is said in our house about 50 times an hour. I think now that it's a shorter word, she says it more. I really can't be out of her sight for 2 seconds before she is calling me, and she sort of sounds like a parrot. Mom, mom, mom, mom.

Plus, and most important, "Mom" makes me feel old.

In favor of naked time and gratuitous praise

Today, while spending his quality time with a book on the toilet, Nathan called out to me....

"Momma!"

"yes Nate"

"I love you" he said

Wow, I thought, where did that come from? "I love you too" I yelled back.

"You're my best friend" he yelled back at me. "I like it when you play planes with me. Oh, and Momma.... You Rock Dude!"

Aww Nate.

So I walked over to the bathroom, and said in my sweetest voice.... "I love you too buddy, you are my best friend too and I think YOU rock."

He was quiet for a second and said. "Momma, will you wipe my butt?"

and back to reality.

Mosquitos are really good at their job!

One night, while trying to relax (on the only night Chris reads stories to Nate-Monday) Nate came in the room to show me his mosquito bites that he got during water play at school.

"Wow, mosquitos are really good at their jobs!" he said. And when I think about it, he's really right! Mosquitos don't really have a lot to do, they aren't a part of that birds and bees equation, aren't needed for pollination, all they are is food for spiders and the only job they have is to bite people so they can get bigger and live longer, hence a bigger meal for a spider.


It's amazing how incredibly insightful a 4 year old can be, if you actually listen to what he is saying (which sometimes, I am guilty of really not listening).


Last night on our way home from visiting Nana and Papa at the lake, I glanced in the back seat to notice that Nate was NAKED except his pants. He had taken off his shirt, socks and shoes and was sitting there just like normal with no shirt on. Nate, I asked. "why are not wearing your shirt?"

"Because I wanted to" he said. Ok, makes sense to me, why didn't I think of that? (This is also the reason he is currently running around the house with no pants on).

This morning I reminded Nate that he would be going to a new classroom at school tomorrow, and that it might make him sad at first, but that he will really like playing with his new teachers and learning new things.

He said, "Don't worry Mama, I won't be sad, I will be happy about my new class. I have to do new things because I keep getting bigger" and again, he's right. Bigger= Older in his world. Like when we went to the park the other day and another child called Marisa a baby. Big Brother Nate got all up in his face and said... "She's NOT a BABY, she's a BIG GURL!" Which once again he's right, Marisa is certainly a BIG girl now. Or at least she thinks she is.