Silent Night

Tonight on the way home from school, #2 serenaded me by singing "Silent Night." He was so proud when he finished and had a big smile on his face and twinkle in his eye. It was one of those moments where I wished time could stop and I could just cuddle him and give him a kiss. However, that is not the ideal situation when I'm driving in traffic on 1960, so I had to settle for seeing a glimpse of his sweet face in the rearview mirror.

#2 has such an independent spirit and is so smart and caring. I see his leadership qualities already, even though he is only three years old. He is the "boss" of the boys, and has no qualms about telling the others what to do or not do. Matt and I call him "El Jefe." He has even taken to threatening spankings if his brothers are not doing as he directs. I always remind him that he is not the mommy or daddy and cannot spank his brothers, but the hard thing about it is that he is usually right on track about what he is telling them to do! For example, when riding in the car, #2 will admonish #3, "We don't suck our thumbs. Take your thumb out." If #3 does not comply, he threatens, "#3, I'm going to give you a spanking. Take your thumb out now!" Matt and I crack up about it in the front for a few seconds before we correct him, and also ask #3 to remove his thumb yet again.

It has been said that your greatest strength is also your greatest weakness. One downside to his independent spirit is that he contradicts EVERYTHING, just for the sake of contradicting. We tend to butt heads about the smallest things, from which shirt to wear to whether I should have turned left instead of right (even if the place we are headed is to the right). I guess stubbornness runs in families, because I know I have a hard head, and Matt has a hard head as well, so our boys are doomed! :)