Addie Girl: What She's Up To

It is funny how children pick up things that you have tried teaching them, but when they finally "get it" it takes a few days for you to realize it.  For example, we have been saying a rhyme that my mother taught us when we were little and that Faye reminded me of a few months back.  Addie loved doing the hand motions with me, but I didn't know she had picked up the rhyme until I was grocery shopping the other day and heard her saying the rhyme and doing the hand motions as loudly and sweetly as could be.  Music to a mother's ears!  Here is the rhyme:

Open, shut them (open the hands and then close them into two fists)
Open, shut them (same as above)
Let Jesus Christ come in (make one hand into the form of a cup and put the fingers of the other hand into the cup)
Seek and seek and seek and seek Him (pump your arms like you are power walking)
Right upon your knees (put both hands on your knees)
Open wide (stretch your arms out)
Your little heart (trace the shape of a heart over your heart)
And let Jesus Christ come in (same as the purple diections above)

Sometimes you don't even know where they pick up some of the songs they learn (which is why it is so important to be aware of what they are exposed to).  On the same shopping trip, she started singing "Twinkle, Twinkle".  I had no idea she even knew that song!  Her version was a bit cuter than the one we are all familiar with. It went like this...

Tinkle, tinkle whittal staw....... (unrecognizable)...... Up, up, up........ (unrecognizable)......... wike a ........ (unrecognizable)....... Tinkle, tinkle whittal staw.......... (unrecognizable).

She is now able to tell us what hurts.  The other night, she woke up crying around 10:30.  We thought maybe her belly hurt with some gas so we walked the house patting her back.  After she calmed down enough (20 minutes later), we asked her what hurt.  She pointed to her upper chest/throat area which told us that she had a bought of heart burn/acid reflux.  Definitely makes caring for her needs much easier.

She has recently begun enjoying the cartoon version of Ben-Hur.  However, she calls it "Jesus in the heart".  As a baby, we read a book called Baby Jesus over and over again.  Every time I refered to Jesus I would say, "This is Jesus!  Jesus loves you, and he wants to live in your heart!" When she saw the intro to the movie (which is the Christmas account) she shouted, "Geh-sa in the heart!" Geh-sa is Addie-ese for Jesus.  Later in the movie Jesus gives Judah Ben-Hur a drink of water.  "Sah-sa in the heart ... water!" I am still trying to explain the crucifixion scene to her so she understands it. 

She now can recite from memory two Bible verses.  We have added sign language to each word or phrase which helps her to learn the verses quickly (faster than I expected).  She knows Psalm 119:10 and Galatians 5:13b.

She has quite the personality.  She has a great sense of humor, one that I didn't expect a 2 1/2 year old to have.

She has been working hard on her obedience and is making great strides (so happy!).  The other night, Daddy had a late softball game, so Addie and I were home alone.  She was having a hard time falling asleep and when she called, "Mom-my!" as sweetly as she did, I had to let her come out to the livingroom to sit with me (I hear every noise and creak in the house when Brian isn't home at night so I welcomed the company).  We watched a couple of shows from Nick Jr. before I started dozing.  I told her that after the show we were watching (Ni Hao, Kai-lan) finished, she needed to go to bed.  I fell asleep, but woke up to my little person saying. "Night-night, Mommy!" as she trotted off to bed.  Yes, I'm feeling good! And I am one proud Mommy!