like Tommy like Tio...(kinda)

The Momma in me just wanted to remember how Tommy said "Carolina" today:

As Tommy finished off his second banana in a matter of minutes, I said, "Wow, Tee! You're a good banana eater just like Popsy." Tommy retorted, "Yeah, me miss Popsy. And Gammy. Popsy puts grapes and 'nanas in his cereal!" "You're right, Tee. How do you know that, though?" "MOM! I been there! To Popsy's house. I see him put grapes and 'nanas in his cereal in da mornin'!" "Oh," I reply. "Where is Popsy's house?" Without hesitation, "Care-ah-fah-lina."

Sometimes, Moms just want to know what their kids actually know. Tommy knows. :)

**"Care-a-fa-lina" made me smile. One, because it's just such a stinkin' cute way of saying (North) Carolina but also because it so reminded me of the way my brother said North Carolina when he was Tommy's age...Payson's question at three was, "Mom, how far is it from North Care-ah-jah-bah-lina to da debil?"

Cutie Kiddo Comments

On Jan.5, 2012 I was reading a Fletcher fox book to Tommy in which the author mentioned the "bare trees" of winter. Tommy quickly said, "Uh, WHOA! I guess 'dem bears live in duh trees!" I replied, "No, it means no leaves on the trees. The trees are naked." Tommy quips, "Well, dem fox is naked! Him don't need clothes, though. Him a fox!"

Tommy still says one of my favorite Tommyisms..."preznint" for present. I also heard him say a Sarahism that brought me back to when she was three (seven years ago!)..."pregnick" for pregnant.

Fletcher, at age almost nine, still says one of my favorite Fletcherisms..."fravorite" for favorite. I love how the "r" enters at the beginning of the word instead of the middle.

Tommy loved to call out "rockycom" as we drove around town, and he spotted the "SErocks.com" car magnets Charlie passed out at church advertising the youth group.

On Jan.3, 2012 Tommy said what he has said to me every night for the last six to twelve months as I pull his bedroom door closed for the night, "Bugs-n-cake! Have a good date with Dad!" Umm, MELT me! What a sweet three year old! The "Have a good date with Dad!" comment is entirely a Tommyism. He started saying it because he knows that after the kids go to bed is my precious time with Daddy. I look forward to the evenings when I can hang out with Charlie. The kids know this and have been reminded on more than one occasion if they are lolly-gagging around with getting drinks of water, turning their fans on, getting the Bible story cd of their choice in the radio, "GUYS, you are interfering with my time with Daddy. Hurry up!" So sweet Tommy began following up his "Bugs-n-cake!" with "Have a good date with Dad!" Ohh, how precious his heart is!

The bugs and cake comment originated with Sarah and Fletcher at ages 5 and 3 when we read a book in which the Mommy told her little girl, "Love you like crazy cakes!" Sarah and Fletcher heard me say, "Don't let the bed bugs bite!" just like my Mom always said to me (and Gammy still says to her grandbabies). So after praying together and giving kisses and hugs, the kids and I would exchange, "Don't let the bed bugs bite! Love you like crazy cakes!" Well, after some time, the exchange had evolved into, "Bugs-n-cake!" Now, five years later, the kids and I still exchange "Bugs-n-cake" each night. Precious saying to a Momma's heart!

Tommy and his best friend, Reese

Tuesdays are fun days for the little boys and I because we drop the big kids off at their Options school and have time for just the three of us to be together. Often, we bring his best buddy, Reese, home with us for a playdate. Tommy often says, "Mom, Reesie my best fwend." "Yes, Tee, he is," I reply. The pictures above are from a playdate on January 3rd when the boys had gotten so hot and sweaty from jumping on the couch cushions that had, at one time, made up their fort but turned into their mosh pit. They came upstairs to the kitchen from the basement saying, "We are SO hot!" I told them they could always take their shirts off until they cooled down. Well, they thought that was a fabulous idea. I cracked up watching them sit on the stairs without their shirts "cooling off." Within two seconds of being bare-chested I heard Tommy say to Reese, "Youz lucky! Me wish I had brown skin like you!" Reese just looked at him blankly. Tommy quickly followed up those comments with this one, "You have man nipples. Me have baby nipples!" They then proceeded to pinch their nipples giggling together. So glad I was in the kitchen to hear that exchange!

A "party in back" mullet became an "angry all over" look for Tommy

Charlie is often the one who takes Tommy for his hair cuts on their "dates" together while the big kids do school with me at home. The only thing I've ever asked is that Charlie tell the hair dresser NOT to cut his bangs straight across (my pet peeve!) He left yesterday as normal and I've said the "no straight across" bangs comment for so long I didn't even say anything to them about his hair as they departed on their date accompanied by Fletcher. I didn't think anything about it until Charlie came in first and got the video camera started before calling the boys in from the garage. Apparently, Charlie and Fletch had dibs on how nuts I was gonna go about Tommy's haircut. They knew I was going to HATE it. Charlie had NO idea this was what the hair dresser was going to do to Tommy's hair when he wrongly said, "Mohawk." How could he say, "Mohawk" if he didn't mean mohawk, you ask. GOOD question! Tommy's best buddy had a "FAUXhawk" awhile ago that Tommy thought was cool. Charlie actually said to the hair dresser, "Mohawk" not knowing what he really should have said was "Fauxhawk" (I wouldn't have even asked for that! and neither of us even had a clue that there was an actual hair cut called a Fauxhawk!) The hair dresser messed up in that when Charlie said, "Mohawk," and his very next statement was, "and when he doesn't want to spike it up he can just comb it over." She said, "Oh sure. He'll be able to do that." She then proceeded to buzz the side of his hair and Charlie said he flipped out inside but Tommy just sat perfectly still and called out, "DADDY!! You WANT me have NO hair?!!" The hair dresser thought that was a riot. I wanna know how she ever thought he was supposed to just "comb it over if he didn't want to wear it spiked"??!!! She might have TRIED to clarify with Charlie before taking our son's hair down to the BALD look! Charile has had the FUNNIEST reaction to Tommy's hair! We are both glad that in a SHORT while we can just buzz the center stripe off too and say bye-bye to the mohawk! :)

p.s. it is funny to be in public with Tommy now! the looks he gets are a riot!

Tommy, December 2011

A few weeks before Christmas Tommy said, "Mom, when I'z get big, me learn to rollerblade?" I said, "Sure, bud. You could even learn to rollerblade now." I knew it'd be fun to find some used rollerblades for both Tommy and Paris so they could join Sarah, Fletcher and myself when we have ours on to go on the bike path. Yay God, because our local Goodwill just happened to have two pairs of rollerblades...yes, one boy's pair and another girl's pair...and YES, Tommy and Paris' EXACT sizes!!!! Paris' pink rollerblades even look like pink Converse tennis shoes which she owns and loves. Both kiddos were thrilled with their "new" blades! The note from us on Tommy's gift said, "Because you are a big kid now!" He and Parie have been practicing and both are making progress.
"Blading" in his Superhero workout suit from Gammy!
Tommy also asked us for a real penguin. He often said, "Mom, I really want a penguin. But if I'z can't have a real one, can I please, PLEASE have a penguin dress-up?" Well, that was his gift from us! I found a fun one online, and he is thrilled with it. We love the way he imitates penguins' waddle holding his feet close together and wiggling his shoulders side-to-side. He's done it for months without a costume on, and now it is extra funny when he does it wearing his new dress-up.
A pretty "yummy" Tommy penguin! :)

Tommy Quotables, Dec.2011

Tommy's new friend, Cape, was a great playmate tonight. The boys played Hiden' where Tommy proceeded to count to five or nine and then call what sounded like, "chicken pie," but was really, "Peekin' pie." He was trying to imitate his older siblings who count out loud and then yell, "Apples, peaches, pumpkin pie, whose not ready, call an I!"

Tommy and Cape played, "Catchin' bad guys," in which they found the bad super heros and "caught" them with "nets." They kept bringing bad guys down to show me on the ends of their respective sticks.

After Sarah and Paris decorated bracelets, they decorated Cape and Tommy with war "paint" since they were playing "Mare-icans" (Native Americans) Warriors.

"Baf-tize"...apparently, Tommy thinks the word baptize is really "bath-tize," maybe because when he has seen people get baptized, they are dunked under water in what appears to him to be a large bath tub, hence the word "bath" with his three year old pronunciation "baf-" tize. :) love it!

Today I told Tommy to be brave like Superman when I went to brush his teeth and he was disappointed that the adult "spicy" toothpaste was on his brush instead of the milder kid version. "Mom, me want kid kind!" "Tommy, be brave like Superman." Tommy just looked at me seriously and stated emphatically, "Mom, me NOT Superman!"

I overheard this exchange between Tommy and his new friend, Cape, whom we all fell in love with tonight when he played at our house. They were playing, "Native Americans," which Tommy just calls, "Mare-icans!" with much gusto. As the two little friends ran down the stairs into the basement taking their make-shift weapons with them into their couch-cushion tepees, Tommy declares, "Me have a spear-it!" Cape asked, "A what? A spirit?" Tommy replies with much emphasis, "Spear-it. Me have a SPEAR-it! A pokey thing." Cape seemed slightly distressed in his confusion about Tommy's comments so I say, "Tommy, you mean a spear. You have a spear." Tommy says very matter-of-factly, "MOM, I just said that! A spear-it!"

First snow PLAY day, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011

Of course, we had to make snow cream! Fletch was the only one who didn't want any. He is the least of the sweet tooths in our family. He and Charlie definitely prefer salty to sweet foods. Those crazy boys. Tommy also weirds me out that he often doesn't want and turns down chocolate items. Not sure he is my kid after all! Unfortunately, Tommy is still obsessed with sausage, hot dogs (uggh!) and pizza. How embarassingly American poor food choices! Poor fourth child.

Sweet Tommy said to me after tasting the snow cream for the first time this year, "Ohhh, THANK you, Mommy! Make snow cream. You good cooker!"

Tommy also had another quotable that day that melted me. He saw Noah attempting to sign "more" while he was eating lunch and said, "That's like our friend. (pause) Our cousin. When I play wid' her. 'Cuz her like me. (pause) Her L-O-V-E me!" (I knew exactly what he was talking about but asked him to clarify just to make sure..."Which friend? Which cousin?") Tommy said, "Jew-ya. Ummm, no Samanth-ya." He remembered correctly that it was Manfers who would sign "more" when she wanted him to continue the game he was doing as he interacted with her this summer.

A few Tommy comments...

Tommy really wanted to play with Noah in the leaves today (Oct. 17, 2011), or more specifically, throw leaves all over Noah. I found some quotes I'd written down that Tommy said about Noah earlier this year and wanted to record them on the blog. On June 14th Tommy said, "Now him not grumpy. Now him smile to me!" And on May 8th he said, "Noah is so cute- so, So, SO cute!" I agree TeeTom!

Tommy after church on Oct.9th:
Some other quotes I want to remember: On May 9th Tommy said about Snow White, "Her have a cape! Her fly? Her fly her have a cape!" and about Sarah's room, "Me love her room new!" Reminds me of the quote my mom has told me that I said as a little girl, "Look at my new brand shoes!"

On June 14, 2011 while I was prepping the blender for smoothies Tommy said, "Now me hide. Now me cover my ears. That loud!"

I love that although I first heard Tommy call a fish "schiff" back in July 2011, he still (yay!!) calls them "schiffies" to this day (Oct.17th, 2011).

I LOVE how Tommy prays! He remembers to pray for people that we love daily. He requests to be the one to get to pray at mealtimes and bedtime and is the first to raise his little hand up if I ask who wants to pray before we eat. He has prayed every night for Gammy's ribs to heal and for her to feel better. He prays every night that we won't be grumpy the next day (ha! I think this is hilarious!) He also prays for his Popsy's salvation when we see punchbuggie cars when we are out driving around. This melts me. I've heard him pray on more than one occasion as a beetle drives by, "Please God, save my Popsy. PLEASE God let Popsy have his faith in You!" I love that Popsy's namesake is fervently crying out for his salvation. Precious.

My New Favorite Tommy word...

"Schiffy"....I LOVE that Tommy calls a fishy, "schiffy." ADORABLE!! I refuse to point it out to Fletcher and Paris in fear that somehow Tommy will be corrected or put on the spot to say it and figure out that he is switching the "f" and "sh" sounds. Ohhh, how I love when he talks about schiffies. A few days ago, he was calling out from his top bunk and asking, "Where's my schiffy? I can't find my schiffy. My schiffy fell down!" I kept asking him questions about the situation just so I could hear him tell me more about his schiffy!

Tommy's Superhero Antics

This morning Tommy rediscovered some Spiderman sunglasses given to him by Gammy last summer. He was thrilled with the discovery and quickly donned his glasses, Superman dress-up, and his Spiderman jacket on top. He had said an hour before as I was dressing him for the day (taking off his beloved Batman jammies), "Hey, wait. Me spin real fast me be Green Lantern! Member, Mom, him spin and spin like this!" (Tommy proceeds to twirl in a circle with both arms straight out like he saw the superhero do in the ten second clip of the new movie's preview.) Then he stops suddenly and quips, "Why him no have no cape?"

He is also making us smile with his claims of, "Hey, that not ah-pwo-pwee-it!" Apparently, he thinks he has become quite the authority on what is and isn't appropriate. (NOT!) That boy is always hearing how his attempts to joke his older siblings aren't appropriate. Like Dana always told us at our family dinners growing up, "Why is it that conversations at the Thompson table always end up below the waist?!"

What I do want to remember...

How Tommy asks as we are driving down Parker Road, "Us go home now?" Yes, buddy, we are going home. "Us play monkeys?" (meaning, "Can we play monkeys when we get home, Mom?") When I say, "Yes, you can play monkeys when we get home, bud." I hear from the bench behind me, "Yay!! Pairwis, us play monkeys, Yes!" Ohhh, these are the things I want to remember.

Tommy in an ultra-serious (very rare, indeed!) stance as a football toting astronaut. He loves his new dress-up, although his expression doesn't show it!
This astronaut apparently rides space shuttles and horses! Nice boots, bud!

What I don't mind forgetting is that this precious, dress-up loving three year old has been pooping in his underwear for three weeks straight. I have had to clean poop-filled underwear daily for weeks on end. I've never put him in pull-ups, and we've not gone back to diapers because he's three; he GETS it...he just has some phobia/fear about pooping in the potty....I dunno. He pees just great. I think he's had like two accidents ever type thing with the pee-pee potty training. He has only pooped in the potty a few times and other than those times, he's gone right in his underwear like it is a diaper! Argh! YUCK! I have a strong feeling that I'm the idiot here. My "Mommy stubbornness" might be losing on this battle. All I know is that I'm NOT winning...I'm still cleaning poopy underwear and poopy three year old legs after many weeks!

More Matching Brothers Pictures

Tommy newly three years old and Noah newly seven months old:

These expressions are ones I see a lot from both boys. One thing I've been meaning to jot down for memories' sake is Tommy's quote about Noah when he was about four months old and really drooling...."Mom, me press right here, him DRIP on me!" It was as if Tom thought that pushing his brother in a certain spot caused him to drip (Tommy's word). He still doesn't know that "drip" is really called drool. I don't want to tell him! His word for it is so much cuter!

Two Year Old Tee-Tommy

We just love this little guy who...
says, "Pray me, Mom." (how he asks me to pray for him at nap and bedtime)

says, "Me no cry-nin, Mom." (as he aggressively wipes both eyes with one hand covering each eye and with his fingertips starting at his forehead, he quickly pulls his fingers straight down from his forehead to his chin swiping away any remaining tears...ADORABLE!)

says, "Eight o'clock!" ANYtime someone asks what time it is...apparently, it is ALWAYS eight o'clock in Tommy time.

says, "Him fly?" about any and every character in Star Wars or any and every Superhero we see. "Him no cape!" as his response to me when I inform him that one of the characters he's inquired about doesn't fly. And, "Him CAPE!" when he's confused about why I've said a character doesn't fly and yet he observes that the character does have a cape on as part of his wardrobe.

says, "Two!" holding up both pointer fingers straight to the sky when someone asks him how old he is. (my favorite! please don't outgrow this!)

said, "Touchy down! Touchy down!" and danced around the den victoriously when the Redskins scored during a game in November.

asked, "You pray-nin?" when he attended service with me and observed my eyes closed. Then said, "Oh!" and clapped his hands tightly together and squinted his eyes closed bowing his head, then looked left sideways out of the corners of his eyes to see if I was still "pray-nin."

says, "YAY!!! God's food!" when it is time for Communion during our church service. (totally Tommy-made-up phrase because no one has ever called it that!)

reminds us, "say 'Yay God!" because we often forget or at least don't start our meals with our family tradition of saying "Yay God!" for each person as they tell us about that day's blessings and problems. Tommy NEVER forgets "Yay God!" time during meals. He is quick to remind us that it is time to go around the table proclaiming our "Yay God" for that day.

declared that the tiny baby koala bear was riding the Daddy Koala's back...Tommy didn't know that most babies ride with their moms...he LOVES his Daddy soooo much, he simply assumed that baby koalas would be riding their Daddies' backs like he enjoys doing.