Martinez Family Journal

I see a note tucked away on a dog eared piece of paper reminding me to blog this neat memory from one evening when it was too chaotic to do it. Drew noticed that I was having a stressed late afternoon and evening - sometimes so because John is late getting home on time - so no sooner had we all sit down to eat, when he hopped up and went right over to me. He rubbed my back! I am always touched by his spontaneous displays of love. They come regularly. He has a really huge heart, and always notices when I am stressed and asks what he can do – even when my tone of voice is not pleasant to be aorund. What character this child has.

I asked Matty this evening who loved him and he shouted out mischieviously, "No one does!" - a saying Finn taught him. But this time he added, Mommy does, Daddy does, and he added "Finn and Blue do," and I added "Rory does."

Mary

This was my first night putting Matt to bed since getting back from my conference, and we had just finished his bedtime book. Moments before, I had turned off the light, and laid down with Matt to cuddle for a couple minutes like we always do. Mary had just come home from "Mom's Night Out," and Matt was keen to involve her. Mary popped into the room, and Matt asked her to cuddle with him. Mary said we would all cuddle together, but Matt shot back, "No, Daddy will leave." Can you believe it?!? I was gone for four nights, but Matt's shoved me aside to get with Mommy who was gone for two hours! Where is the justice in that?

Maybe he is trying to make up for saying "Daddy" long before he said "Mommy," eh?

John

John was gone to palm Springs on a conference trip. Matt is toilet training. Rory is having a very bad allergic reaction to some environmental allergen, and his poor tummy is all red, so he was prescribed an antihistamine bath. We prepared it, and I was running the water and Matty said to him "Want some colors, Oh-wy (Rory)?" Matty gets these fizzy color tablets in his bath water, for fun - they fizz and create a stream of color given off. Very cool. I was tickled he offered the same to his dog.

Yesterday, Drew came upstairs when I was reading the mail on my bed, and saw the MOPS magazine for moms. It has motherly advice from one mom to the next. This article he noticed had to do with disciplining 3 year olds. He read it to me, and said "Mom, I think you ought to read this for Matt. I have noticed lately he does not mind what I say." Drew often will ask Matty if he wants a time out if Matty is not behaving in the way Drew knows he needs to (or the way *Drew* would prefer him to). But, we are teaching him to let us know instead of trying to take it into his own hands.