Parent's Brag Thread

[Jade]

I thought it would be great to have a thread specifically for sharing things about our children that make us laugh, and the things they do that make us proud. Of course they don't have to do any thing to make us love them or proud of them in general, but sometimes they just add the icing on the cake.

(If you want to, add a picture of them too. )

[Jade]

My oldest child (Becky) is five years old and she's begining to be real helpful with her siblings (sometimes to the point of tattling, but she means well). And Rachel is my youngest and she's currently working on saying a few words here and there (beyond the usual Mama and daddy, that is) and today I heard her call for her Grandma Crow, saying merely, "Crow."
Today Becky was playing dress up, so I decided to dress up Rachel as well and take their picture.

[truthman]

That's way cool guys!

May I share as well?

Today, I was leading the hymn singing at the nursing home before the sermon and things were going fine. Until my youngest daughter, Delsea (2 years old), put on my wife's sunglasses and stuck her lips out like the Far Side characters used to do.

I started busting up while singing I Love to Tell the Story, and I couldn't stop. All the senior ladies thought I was crying. It was just awful and funny at the same time. I love her so much.

Bro. and Jade, can't wait to see you and the kids again!

truthman

[Jade]

That's way cool guys!

May I share as well?

Today, I was leading the hymn singing at the nursing home before the sermon and things were going fine. Until my youngest daughter, Delsea (2 years old), put on my wife's sunglasses and stuck her lips out like the Far Side characters used to do.

I started busting up while singing I Love to Tell the Story, and I couldn't stop. All the senior ladies thought I was crying. It was just awful and funny at the same time. I love her so much.

Bro. and Jade, can't wait to see you and the kids again!

truthman

That's what this thread is for!

Anyone who wants to join in, can.

[Rahab]

Bonjour Jade.....that is a refreshing thread. I love it!

My story happened a long time ago as my oldest daughter will be 20 in a few months.
Anyway, as we were stationned in Sicily, we would attend the catholic service at the Base Chapel as we were still catholics at the time. Meda was about 4 years old and the type of vivacious and chatty cute little critter who makes your heart melt no matter what type of mischief she may be up to.

We always sat on the far back pew with all the other parents of similar critters.... at the very crucial moment the priest was preparing to administer communion, while he held the cup and declared " This is my blood, take it in rememberance of me" Meda exclaimed from her piercing voice " No way Jose!". Some one hundred heads turned towards us to finaly explode in a general laugh. And Meda clapped her precious little hands, delighted to have captured the attention of such an illustruous audience.

Somehow her pursuing to highjack the attention in further masses (such as running up the aisle and hugging the chaplain's legs while calling him 'My Popeye" and he did look like Popeye) contributed to us deciding to switch to the protestant service which did offer a children's church ministry ! God works in mysterious ways!

[Middle Aged C]

Unfortunately, or fortunately, the parties involved are still undecided on this one, my children attended several funerals as young children.

At one, my oldest, now 16, then about 5, stood up on the pew at the back of the church, and declared loudly, "is God gonna raise him outta the box?"

And later, as we had to do that "prosessional in front of the casket" thing, gripped the casket peeked inside and yelled "ewwww! he's WHITE".

Thankfully, my daughter was endeared to this family and they were in much need of some levity that day.

I however, was again mortified when my daughter declared as we walked from the grave site to the car "Mom, this is gross, we're walking on dead people."

At another funeral, in the midst of tears (this was an actual family member, so we were on the front pew) my daughter declared "mom, i need a paper toilet" (translated, she needed a tissue)

My son, who was about 3 at the time and always starving, declared at the most quiet part of the service, "IIIIII'mmmmmm hhhhuuunnnnngggrrrryyyy". Thankfully, this was a more quiet statement and only heard by those of us in the first couple pews. (Family)

[truthman]

These are wonderful stories and it's encouraging to them!

truthman

[Esther]

I enjoy reading about other peoples' kids. Great thread, Jade! It just so happens that I have something I've wanted to post about but there really wasn't a place for it til now.

Up until a month ago, my oldest's life could easily be characterized in one word - anxiety. He gets that from me, unfortunately, and this has been an area he and I have prayed about a lot together and separately.

He has been consciously trying to break away from "shyness" since he was about 7. There have been many things he has wanted to try but hasn't out of fear and that bugs him about himself. Last year in little league he really wanted to play something other than the outfield positions. I encouraged him to try out for pitching because I've seen how well he throws and I really thought he could hold his own. He didn't want to so that was that and I didn't bother him about it. He got "the gagging problem" (that's what he calls it; most people would probably call it extreme nausea) whenever he thought about it. Last season he would start getting worked up around noon on game days and refused to eat dinner until afterward. He even threw up in the parking lot one time because he was so nervous.

The anxiety showed in his performance on the team. None of the coaches thought his throwing was anything remarkable so I just thought, "Okay. Well, they're the coaches. They ought to know." I got the impression that my son was a source of frustration to them. I think they were sick of him. That's a hard pill for a mom to swallow, let me tell ya!

At the end of last season and at different times right up until we got a call from his coach this year, I had prayed that he would either choose not to play or get my middle son's coach from last year. His son was moving up to the level my oldest is in and the guy really lead his team well. He had a way of motivating the not-so-great players without making them feel like losers. I really didn't want to go through a repeat of last season and if my son wasn't going to enjoy it, I didn't want to put the whole family through that torture again. You can probably imagine my excitement and relief when this guy called and said Todd was on his team. (Unfortunately, he said, "If he's anything like his brother, I'm really excited about working with him." *gulp* Todd is almost the exact opposite of his brothers. The brother the coach was referring to is Mr. Congeniality and very enthusiastic at his practices and games.)

So anyway, this coach and his two assistant coaches have been practicing with these kids since the beginning of March. Even though the kids at this level should be well aware of how to do most things, the coaches started with the basics and have helped refine the skills of most of the kids quite a bit.

Tuesday night they had a scrimmage. While practicing the night before, the coach who focuses on pitching told Todd to let him know if he ever wants to pitch. No coach has ever told Todd anything like that before so when Todd told me he said that, I said, "Go for it! You'll never know how you're going to do if you don't try. Even if you bomb, at least you rose to the challenge."

That same coach came up to me before the scrimmage and wanted to give me a heads up on what he's doing with Todd. He said he told Todd he's going to ask him before every game if he wants to pitch. He told me some other things, including his opinion that Todd has something the rest of the team is lacking - he can pitch. I was greatly encouraged! I told him that I had encouraged Todd to give it a shot.

I don't know why I was surprised to see Todd walk to the pitcher's mound!! It had been raining and I was sitting in my car but when I saw him walk out there, I jumped out of the car and ran to the fence. He always looks for me when he's on the spot (usually that would be batting!).

The first batter walked up to the plate. Strike one! The next pitch was good and the batter hit it - right into the mit of the kid covering 2nd! Woo hoooo!!

And then I couldn't believe my eyes! He quickly struck the next two batters out!!! I mean, these weren't strikes because the kids happened to swing when they shouldn't have. He was throwing real pitches!!! The night before, Monday, at their first scrimmage, the team they played scored a couple or three runs in one inning because of walks. I think we were all surprised to see my "shy boy" take these kids out so fast!

The thing that almost made me bawl wasn't that Todd did well but that his coaches were all yelling their heads off in their booming male voices, cheering him on the whole time. No one has ever done that for him but family!

When I picked him up in the parking lot, the first thing he said when he got into the car - with a big grin on his face - was, "I'm still shaking!" I was so proud of him for getting out there even when he would've been more comfy letting someone else do it. This has been such a huge step forward for him, even if he had performed terribly.

Thanks for starting this thread, Jade!

[Middle Aged C]

This one is going in the book of classics.........

Youngest daughter has a school project. "What does your name mean?"

What does you name mean?
Who named you?
Why?
Are you named after anyone?
What's your name in other languages? ETC..................

After spending almost a week answering the "what does my name mean" question. She still wasn't getting the picture.

After my husband and I got home from work last night, she was in the room with us asking all of these questions, filling out the worksheet.

She got to the question "What does your name mean" and asked AGAIN.....

Without missing a beat, Dad answers, oh yeah! (Name) (we won't give her real name for security/embarrasement purposes ) anyway....

Dad answers, "Oh yeah! (Insert name) in Scottish means 'I have a cramp'"

To which youngest daughter replies, "Cool!" and proceeds to write that down on said worksheet.

Now let's stop right here for a moment and ask a couple questions. If someone told you your name meant "I have a cramp", would you not stop to question it? 2) Since when is "Scottish" a language!?

On with the story.........

Dad has now snuck through the house to inform the other children what's going on. Said children are now rolling on the floor with laughter and of course, playing along. I, in the meantime, am making mashed potatoes, trying desperately to hold my riotous laughter down to snickers. Oldest daughter comes into the kitchen to get a drink of water, starts laughing again, and is now choking on the water. More riotous laughter ensues. Youngest daughter asks, "why is everyone laughing?" To which we reply, because (eldest daughter) is choking!" She then makes a comment on how aweful it is to have such a horrible meaning to her name. Which only causes me to laugh harder and eldest daughter to choke more.

Let's pause again for anotherquestion....... 1) would you not question why on earth your own mother was laughing at the fact that one of her children is CHOKING! (Poor youngest daughter is clueless at this point)

We proceed with dinner, where everyone, except youngest daughter, breaks into ocassional snickers. How everyone didn't just fall on the ground dying as youngest daughter continues to make comments on the "meaning" of her name is just beyond my comprehension.

After dinner, youngest daughter disappears to, we find out later, write the mandatory paper regarding this name project.

It is now that I will share with you all the beginning of this paper......

Title: Question
Body:
Have you ever had a pain in your side? Well, my name is (insert name) and in Scottish, it means, I have a cramp..................

How we all survived the side splitting laughter and the aftereffects of not breathing for so long, I'll never know!

We did, at some point, tell her the truth, to which see did not see the humor. Dad did explain to her, that it WAS funny, maybe not tonight, but next week, you'll think it's as funny as we do! (We'll see)

Oh, and by the way youngest daughter.................. Scottish people speak ENGLISH! not Scottish!

[TCapp]

My 4-year-old (eldest) is really proud that she knows how to read.

My 2-year-old son is starting to say more (coherent) words.

My 3-month-old is just plain cute! Go, Benny! :heartbeat:

[elysian]

He has managed to stay out of correctional facilities so far, (he will be 13 in June) and for that I am grateful.

Seriously, in many ways my son Stephan is a lot like me but he is different in many important ways. He has a very high IQ (130-140 range) but unlike me he is very extraverted and social. Like my parents he seems to know someone everywhere he goes. If I had my choice I would never leave the house and would do all my communicating online. He also has a gift for reading people's emotions that I do not share. I am better with the concrete and tangible (I write far better than I speak because in writing I can revise and I can better visualize the words) while he is better with abstract ideas (math and science) than I am. He does not need to visualize his words for his thoughts to make sense to him.

His sensitivity has been valuable in many ways for me because he provides a "buffer" in social situations that I am awkward in such as meeting new people or going to events, places where there are crowds. He remembers people's names even if he has only met them once and hasn't seen them in years. I am fortunate to remember faces and I don't associate names with faces until I've been around that person for awhile.

He has a talent for playing with electronics, and I don't mean just playing video games. He has assembled stereos, set-ups for all kinds of networking with computers/TV's, games, etc. mostly from used gadgets he buys- and they work. He has come up with a lighting control for his stereo that synchronizes the lights in his room with the stereo among other odd things.

What really impresses me about him is his willingness to help others- often when we go to church he helps the custodian- he picks up trash and helps in the kitchen, setting out the pastries and goodies and making coffee. I am looking forward to sending him on his first mission trip this summer- our middle school kids help in all sorts of ways. Last year they built wheelchair ramps for disabled people in Southeast Ohio, this year they are going to Kentucky to do odd jobs for the poor and elderly- basically painting and cleaning.

He has a great sense of justice and is always defending people who are smaller or weaker than him, which is why he is so willing to help especially with the elderly or disabled.

[themuzicman]

My 15 year old is VERY extroverted... And verbal. She knows no strangers, just friends she hasn't met, yet.

However, she's also has a VERY strong sense of right and wrong.

When she was about 8 or 9, a couple of people who smoked were at our house, and had gone outside smoke a cigarette, and she followed them out the door, and read them the riot act about why smoking is bad for you and why they should stop.

My guess is that will serve her very well throughout high school.

Michael

[Jade]

My 15 year old is VERY extroverted... And verbal.

Guess the apple don't fall far from the tree.

But seriously, thanks to themuzicman and all the others for all the responses here. I love reading the stories. Keep them coming!

[themuzicman]

(Believe it or not, in real life, I'm a quiet introvert, especially around people I don't know very well.)

[The Laughing Man]

My son loves music (esp. Veggietales songs) and is even learning a few songs. One unusual one is "Into the West" from Return of the King. He likes to sing it with his daddy. In fact, he knows where the music is from: the movies with "my precious." That's what he calls Gollum.