My husband is a master at making our girls laugh! I love watching them together.
Something that happened on our trip last week reminded of how important it is for laughter to be part of the training/disciplining/parenting equation.
The girls were really good; but Mckayla went through a few times where she was rather indignant and whiny about what she wanted. At one point, Paul turned around to sternly correct her. She got the picture and everything settled down. A few seconds later, I heard her giggle. I looked at Paul and realized that he was making silly faces at her. She laughed and he laughed and after a couple minutes it was done.
But it stuck in my mind. I have to remember to do that more.
The night she discovered Hope’s sparkly pink Toms.
A few explanations: the girls LOVE when Paul comes in and sticks his feet in the tub during their bathtime. They splash him and wash his feet. (he does his share of splashing them!)
Mckayla took advantage of the opportunity to try out some new kicks.
They creep through the house, quiet and trembling. I watch from my place at the sink as they hurry into their room and close the door. After a few minutes, the door swings open and four little girls come running out, screaming, “A giant! The giant’s here!” Laughing, giggling, and talking over each other, they come to me and try to explain their game.
A few weeks ago, we found an adorable old book at Salvation Army called The Giant’s Shoe. The girls know it so well that they go around quoting it.
Also a few weeks ago, my husband decided in the middle of dinner to demonstrate the height of Goliath with a tape measurer. (Goliath had been the topic of many of their conversations that week)
Maybe these explain all the giant talk in our house lately???
One giant game I’m particularly fond of is the one that requires they hide between the piano and the wall, covered in blankets and completely quiet. They stay there a long time!! It’s amazing what kids do to entertain themselves.
Hope and Sophia think it’s great fun, but every now and then Gracie runs into the kitchen because she’s truly frightened herself. Mckayla just follows them wherever they go and laughs.
One day Gracie was talking about how much they eat and so I asked her, “Gracie, what do giants eat?”
The answer: “Lions!” In her most dramatic voice.
That night I asked her again to see if she would say it again, but this time she replied, “Five pizzas!” Again, dramatic voice.
Another time I asked her, “Gracie are you scared of giants?”
“No, they’re not sca-wy. Giant’s are nice, just big.”
Well, the giant in the book ran away in a torrent of tears, but from the sounds in the hallway, I’m pretty sure ours is still sticking around. = )
For a long time I have wanted to have a place where I could write down all the ridiculous things that are said in our house on any given day. My sister gets a great kick out of some of the things she overhears during our phone conversations. We’ll see if I can remember to record them as they come.
For today, here is your first edition of What the fly on the wall heard:
“Can you please get me that can of chickpeas that you put up on the piano, Sophia?” (Christie)
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(Hope, teaching kindergarten to Sophia and Gracie; just after she taught them how to spell “owl”) “And the way you spell ‘ouch’ is O-W-L-T-H.”
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(Gracie, on the way home from getting vaccines) “I’m going to tell Daddy the doctuhs huht me!”
My husband is a master at making our girls laugh! I love watching them together.
small steps, big picture 