From the Mouths of Babes

Some of the joy and the pain of the last few weeks has come from listening to my daughter talk about Arthur and other experiences she has had because of his birth and death.  Her toddler language and view of the world make everything so simple and concrete, which makes her statements at once beautiful and hard.

One of the cutest things she says right now is "Mommy hode you!" to ask to be picked up.  Oh, pronouns...  The other night when she was rehearsing what happened when Arthur was born, she said "Daddy hode you Arshur.  Mommy hode you Arshur.  Trying, Trying."  (Trying = Crying)  Then I started "trying" again...it was just so sweet coming out of her mouth.

When she talks about Arthur, at the end of the conversation I remind her that Arthur is in heaven with Jesus.  Her train of thought after that is as follows:  "Jeshus liyz!" (Jesus is alive!...we have learned this in her storybook Bible).  "Mud! Wash. See!"  (The story about Jesus that she remembers is of the blind man in John 9...my favorite!)  Lest I get too caught up in sentiment, we move from Arthur to washing mud off of eyes in about 5 seconds.  Hopefully some day I can explain to her why that story gives me so much hope.  You can read why here.

In the last week, we've visited with several friends who have babies.  I can tell by some things she says that she is confused about these babies vs. baby Arthur.  I don't know how to figure out what she is thinking or how to explain to her why these babies are alive and growing and baby Arthur is just a picture and a memory to her.  Heck, I don't know how to explain that to myself some days.

Post-Halloween, one of the great joys in her life has been repeatedly sorting, counting, and fingering the chocolate in her honeypot (she and her dad were Piglet and Pooh).  She gets to eat "one chock-it" after lunch most days, and one day, as she gleefully ate her piece, we started playing the toddler game of listing everyone who likes chocolate. 
"Lay-shea chock-it...mmm!" 
"Does Mommy like chocolate?"
"Yes!" 
"Does Grandma like chocolate?"
"Yes!  Daddy?"
"Daddy likes chocolate."
"Papa?"
Grandpa likes chocolate."
"Hannah?"
"Hannah likes chocolate."
"Arshur?"
It took me off guard so much I didn't know what to say.  I was touched that she would include Arthur as we listed our family.  When I told my husband, he laughed and reminded me how much Arthur would kick when I ate chocolate.  So, the answer is yes.  Arthur liked chocolate.

And now a purely sweet and funny one.  Our friends and church family have been so kind and have provided so much delicious food for us.  Like, I think I've cooked dinner twice in the last month.  One day last week, a day when we were eating off of a variety of yummy leftovers, the doorbell rang at about 5:30 in the evening.  It was an electrician here to check something for us.  Upon hearing the doorbell, my daughter ran toward the front door and crowed "Dinner!"  Pavlov, I guess :)