As Silas and Timothy grew this year, they began to show us some of the unique ways that God has wired them. They are similar in many ways, but God sure did make them different! We've spent lots of time over the last year out at grocery stores, parks, and other various public places. As they began to talk more and more, we noticed that they would each ask their own question whenever we encountered some one new throughout our daily routine! Timothy would see someone he didn't know at the store and he would always ask me, "Who is that mom?" Silas had a very different question. He would always ask me, "Mom, what's he doing?" Thus we discovered a little bit about whats important to each of them. Our friends, Nancy and Joseph Lehman, helped us dub these characteristics in a really fun way. We often say that Timothy was made with facial recognition software and Silas was made with diagnostic software. When Lily joined the family this year it didn't take us long to realize that she had a software of her own as well. She came with motion detection!
This year a favorite Pops game was developed. Its really nothing special but the time that our kids get to spend with their father is extremely special to us all! The game is called "Escapee." It involves starting at the couch in one room with Pops and running throughout the house with uproarious amounts of giggling and laughter. Pops will then chase each boy while shouting, "Escapee! Escapee!" It usually ends with Pops bring the escapee "back to prison" which is really nothing more than the couch in another room. One day, the boys got to play escapee while using their blankets from their beds. They hid in their blankets and dragged them all over the house! It was even more fun than usual! When the game was over, Pops instructed the boys to bring their blankets back to their beds. Timo whimpered and said, "I can't Pops! Its too heavy for me!" Apparently that blanket must have gained all kinds of weight in no time!
Timothy also displayed a love for singing and chanting the strangest things! Shortly after bringing home his new sister from the hospital he came up with a little tune to sing to her when every he was excited to see her. He would simply shout "Lily-o-ah! Lily-o-ah!" and dance all around her! He also came up with little tunes to sing while taking a bath called "water in the well." I truly have no idea where he comes up with these things! He is constantly singing or chanting some kind of nonsense while he plays. Silas has gotten very used to it. Sometimes he joins in but for the most part he just lets his brother be himself!
The boys have also adopted favorite songs off our cds from Seeds Family Worship. Everyone in the family has chosen or been given a specific song. We sing these songs all day long too. We always sing them before naps and at bed time. Even though each of the boys has their own song they love to pick the "Lily Song" (Psalm 62:1-2) and the "Mommy Song" (Jeremiah 33:3) at nap time and night! The Silas song is Psalm 34:18. "The Lord is close to the broken hearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." He likes it especially because they shout the word CRUSHED! The Timothy song is 1 Timothy 4:12 and he chose it because it has his name in it of course! It reads, "Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young but set an example for all believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith, and in purity."
Winter 2010/11 was a big snowy winter! We came up with many favorites for playing in the snow! We really enjoyed painting the snow and helping out with the shoveling. For Christmas, the boys each received their very own shovels from Meme. They especially loved having Pops scoop up some snow in the shovel and having him fling it up high into the air so that it would fall right down on top of them! It always brought an uproarious amount of giggles and laughter!
This winter also brought the brand new experience of having a little sister! Lily was born in early December and she quickly became quite popular with the boys! Silas especially loved to see her first thing in the morning and loved to dance around her shouting "Little Sistery!" repeatedly. The boys especially enjoyed visiting us while we were still in the hospital after Lily's birth. There was a special bell that they got to ring to announce that they were now big brothers! The bell played a lovely little lullaby tune to "make all the babies fall asleep." The boys were also very excited to shake the doctors hand and thank him for helping their new baby sister come out of Mommy's belly.
Shortly after Lily was born we ended up spending some unexpected time in the hospital with Silas. Although the memories that we have from that time aren't exactly the warm and fuzzy type, we certainly learned a lot that has shaped our outlook on parenting God's children. Feel free to read our his and hers perspectives on the whole ordeal.
Nap time in the Carroll household is certainly a happy time of day. In fact we quickly adopted the term our cousins used for this daily ritual, "Happy Nappies." One day after waking up from their naps, the boys explained to me in their lovely little two year old voices that they were playing a game in which "We bow each other!" I was puzzled and a little bit concerned about what this might mean. Sean began to explain to the boys that we really shouldn't bow to anyone other than God. As he was doing so, we paused to try to get some more information about what this game was all about. We asked, "What does it mean to 'bow each other.'" The boys quickly and delightedly answered us by saying, "You go like this." *SWING ARM WILDLY AT BROTHER* "Bow!" We still laugh about that one anytime we think of it!
We started memorizing some Bible verses this year. Sean has put in effort to help the boys memorize by reciting verses with them at dinner. For a while, the boys had lots of fun practicing by standing up on top of the toy box and saying, "Everybody listen up!" followed by whatever verse they had on their mind at the time. One day while Uncle John was over, the boys were practicing in their usual fashion and Uncle John didn't miss a beat! He climbed right up on the toy box and recited a verse of his own! Way to go, Uncle John!
There have been so many new experiences and skills to master this year! From new trampolines to bigger kiddie pools, we have watched the boys take on new things and grow from timidity and fear into the little dare devils they are shaping up to be! They love jumping and doing mini tricks on the trampoline these days and they also love getting a running start before they dive into their kiddie pool! Our hope is that this love for life, and determination in new experiences continues for them both!
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| Photo by "Nana" Betsy Ambrose. Silas, just after turning 3 at Steamtown in PA. |
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| Photo by "Nana" Betsy Ambrose. Timothy, just after turning 3 at Steamtown in PA |
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