Blane: 2 1/2

I wonder every single day how I got here. My little baby is already two and half years old! Scott could tell you how I cry about this almost every night. I LOVE having little babies in the house. I love carrying sippy cups in my purse and I love that goldfish and animal crackers are a staple on my grocery list. I just don't want them to get bigger or more independent. I have to remind myself everyday that God has big plans for my life and for theirs. As much as I want to freeze time or wish they could stay this age forever, I don't want to miss out on the BIG plans that God has for them, or for me. I have to remind myself that I was created for a purpose, to do great things for HIM.

Sweet little Blane. He inspires me to take it all in. To not miss the birds chirping, the ants building, the flowers blooming. Because of Blane I take much more delight in trips to the mailbox, watering the plants, feeding the dogs. 'Chores' are super fun when Blane is involved! Blane is very independent now and learning responsibility can never be taught too early. Thus, the "chore chart"! He thinks it's so fun to have his own chores, and the rewards that come with a job well done! Blane's chores include: watering plants, feeding and watering the dogs, reciting his memory verse, peeing or pooping on the potty, and picking up his toys. Hopefully he's starting to learn what it means to serve his family!

Blane is becoming very imaginative and loves to pretend play. Most recently he created some imaginary friends/animals that he takes care of. He will often come to me, hand held out straight, palm cupped and say, "See my baby frog?" He'll hand it to me so that I can see it too. Of course, it's all imaginary, but it's so sweet! He'll carry his friend with him wherever he's going, even if it's to lay in bed to watch a show. Or Blane might say to me, "Mommy, my baby's going to sleep, do you love him?" He can be very sneaky with his friend too. "Mommy, my baby frog needs a SunChip." Ha, right! He's also very artistic and loves to draw, paint, color, and play with playdough. He loves to show me his drawings and will ask me, "It's beautiful, mommy?"

I mentioned in my last post how much Blane loves his Easter book, aka the "bad people" book. Part of the story mentions that 'bad people took Jesus away' and thus, the bad people book. Blane still loves to pretend he's a 'bad people' although I try to correct him. We noticed over the past month that he has the ENTIRE story memorized and can recite it word for word to us. It's so amazing what these little minds soak up! He KNOWS the easter story! Yea! Hopefully over the years that knowledge will seep deep into his heart! Blane is still trying to understand what happened to Pappaw, and he will often tell me that the 'bad people' came and took Pappaw away like they took Jesus away. That's so tough to explain to a 2 yr old! But I try to reassure him that bad people didn't take Pappaw away.

One morning on the Today show, there was a featured segment on an over sized but very real rabbit (bunny as I called it). Blane was so intrigued by the bunny that he decided that he needed one of his own. JuneBug, our dog, is now the new official bunny. Blane loves to refer to her as his bunny. "Mommy, here's JuneBug. She's my bunny."

Blane is still really skilled at music, sports, and has a keen sense for attention to detail. Anything, and I mean anything, can be used as an instrument. Baseball, football, and golf continue to be favorites! He actually has a very good "arm" and can throw a ball very accurately! And after family movie night with Peter Pan, he also loves playing swords. That could have been a bad idea!

Blane loves to identify letters that he knows, and can pretty much recognize about a fourth of the alphabet. He also knows his left from his right and can count to 15 without messing up. Trucks continue to be a favorite and he can identify and name almost any truck that we see on the road!

This month Blane had an owie on the outside of his thigh. He told me last night that he wanted to "Put my owie on the fan (ceiling) and it can go round and round." Funny little guy!

When Blane hears Gavin crying to get out of bed, "Mommy, you stay here, I go get baby." Then I hear, "Baby!!! It's ok baby!! I'm coming baby!!!!!"

Blane continues to do GREAT in his big boy bed! He loves it! Even better is the fact that he won't get out of his bed until we come to get him. Wonder when he'll figure that out?! He usually plays for about an hour after we put him to bed - my favorite thing to do at night is to listen to what he talks about in the monitor. He'll talk about mommy, daddy, Gavin, all the grandparents, etc. Sometime he pretends to be playing baseball with daddy. Or he will recount stories, especially the one of him coming downstairs in the morning and scaring me.

I just love my boys. I love Blane's heart. I love it when he tells me, "Best Mommy!" He is definitely a people pleaser and I hope that he can use that quality to serve others and to please God above all. I like to check on him at night and pray for him. I especially pray that God is chasing after his little heart, and sealing him for the day of redemption.