Some Stewart Sillies....and other stuff

The other day we were discussing spirits (I don't remember why) and Max piped up in the most matter-of-fact tone of voice, "Oh yeah.  Spirits are real.  I saw one once."  He sounded so sure of himself, I thought maybe he'd really been visited by a spirit so I asked, "When?!  Who was it?!" and he said, "Oh....um...I forgot." and that was that.

Today, both Deanna and I asked Max how his first day back to school was after Spring Break.  I specifically asked if he was excited to see his friend, C, as they are really good buds.  I guess he answered me the same way he answered Deanna (again very matter-of-factly), "Oh, I broke up with him.  He got a girlfriend, S, and I don't like her.  So I don't play on the playground with him unless he tells S 'Not today, S'".  Wow, the Kindergarten drama.

We've obviously been playing the game "Angry Birds" on my iPod too often lately.  Max and Ryann were creating "set ups" with their toys to mimic the game and were lobbing stuffed animals at other things to knock them over.

Ryann and I were playing with one of the educational backpacks she can check out at preschool.  She was in a silly mood so I got silly, too.  Adam was sitting on my lap and I suddenly sang out really loudly, to praise her on a pattern she'd created, "I loooOOOVE it!".  Adam clapped his hands over his ears and asked, complainingly, "Mo-om?!  Why did you yehw?....You yehwed right in my eaw!"

Something not so silly but totally wonderful - we are now realizing just how much Adam was missing out on in the world before his surgery and getting his glasses.  We used to hold this eye chart for him and ask which pictures he could recognize.  Each of the pictures are probably 4 inches across and we had to hold it no more than about 4 feet away from his face for him to recognize them.

Shortly after we got home from picking up Adam's new specs, Stu backed about 20 feet from Adam and held up the vision chart.  Adam could see them all!!!

There are other examples, too.  The other day, Adam was rootling around on the floor as he is wont to do and scooched up close to the stereo receiver.  He called out to Stu and I, "What do dese buttons do?!"  We think he'd never seen some of the smaller buttons on the receiver before.  I talked to my cousin today who reminded me how at least twice last summer and winter, Adam crawled into her lap and called her "Mom" thinking she was me.  At the time we thought it was cute and Brittany and I do look somewhat alike but, in hindsight, it was probably because he couldn't see clearly enough to differentiate between the two of us.  Before his eye surgery at the end of February, Adam even confused Stu and I several times!  At the time we thought it was just goofy two-year-old behavior but he hasn't done it since he got his glasses so, again, it must have been due to his poor vision.  Poor little guy.  The world must be amazing to him now!

Is that sisterly look priceless or what?

 One more Stewart story; a sweet one this time.  Ryann is now accompanying Stu, Max, and me to the sanctuary instead of going to the nursery in church on Sundays.  She became bored quickly this past Sunday and was so upset about being bored, began to cry.  Tears silently rolled down her cheeks and her shoulders heaved and she hiss-whispered, "I don't LIKE being five!  I don't LIKE growing up!"  I'm sure Max remembered his dismay at turning five and having to sit through the "boring" church service instead of playing in the nursery like he used to.  At least I'm assuming that's what he was thinking when he sidled past Stu, making his way to Ryann in the pew.  He wrapped his arms around her neck and patted her back, crooning, "It's ok Ryann.  We can have fun together here.  It will be ok."  Then he drew back and peered at her face, gently tucking her hair behind her ear.  She calmed down and Stu and I kept peeking at each other, smiling covertly at each other about our sweet kids.  We weren't the only ones to notice though.  During the time when we were greeting those around us, the man seated behind us commented, "That was really something special.  I never had that kind of relationship with my sister!"