Notes from the trenches: Spanish lessons, alligator games, and Bible stories with Michael

I've been meaning to blog forever... so much has been going on and I just couldn't manage to get around to it.

And then today I decided to totally redo the design. I wasn't pleased with the last version. I think this is my particular manifestation of the infamous Rappana rearranging gene. We'll see how long I keep this one...

Just a few brief stories, and then I really need to clean the kitchen. And I really need to get to bed before 11:30 tonight!

John Paul is enjoying the unadulterated adoration of his big brothers. Michael insists that we all call him "John PAOW," and Liam's pronunciation sounds mostly like "Pablo" these days. So Alex and I have generally taken to calling him Pablo.

I told Michael that JP's name in Spanish would be "Juan Pablo," and now he's very interested in everyone's Spanish names. He can also count to nine in Spanish, but he always skips siete, for some reason. Thank you, Little Pim.

Liam's current favorite game is talking about the alligators in the dining room (thank you Grandpa and Grandma for sparking his interest and telling us what alligators sound like). It goes something like this:
Liam (in a worried voice): Dators?
Ash: Are there alligators
Liam (still worried): Yeah
Ash: What do the alligators say?
Liam: RAWR
Ash: Oh dear!
Pablo: (laughs hysterically)
Liam (worried again): Yowd
Ash: Are they loud?
Liam: Yeah
repeat, multiple times per day

I love telling Michael Bible stories, and I love the questions and commentary he provides. Yesterday we were reading a children's book about the Last Supper, and it included the story of Peter walking on the water (because Jesus was sad and the Apostles were trying to cheer him up with stories about their time together). I was really trying to get Michael involved, so after I told him that Jesus could walk on water because he is God, I asked M if he could walk on water. "No!" he said, "I would sink and a shark would eat me! Or an alligator."

We are all about the aquatic predators in this house, apparently.

Okay, dishes are calling. Goodnight!