Here's an Old One.

I began this a while back and never finished, so it's not exactly a masterpiece, but here you go anyway.

That Jesse...One of our favorite latest vocabulary additions is, "n'joo" (juice- well, Gatorade, technically), which he requests almost constantly. He's also into any and all foods of the pudding variety, which loosely extends as far as yogurt (much to our relief). He's also speaking in more complex sentences these days. Just a couple weeks ago we found novelty in his use of, "Move, Daddy. Move!" to get under the water from the shower head. These days he's dazzling us with lengthy stories about the violent movies Daddy lets him watch while Mommy's sleeping. I get to hear all about it, "And the plane, and then bang-bang, and then shoot, all the guys, and the bomb, and then BOOM! and then truck..." He's got lots to share on the subject, as this experience has happened more than once. He's also manifesting his interest in all things violent through playful expression. I was recently in the kitchen when I heard quiet sound effects coming from the living room where, quite contently, my son (not yet two at the time) was using my resin Willowtree figure and my porcelin angel as ruthless fighters from opposing Armies. It was moving, really. It wasn't long after that I was trying to escape up the stairs without being followed, when an angry and uninvited Jesse stormed off at my refusal to let him pass, and quickly returned with an empty water gun. He pointed it directly at my face and angrily yelled, "Bang-bang, Mama!" I know. It's extremely disturbing. But mothers of boys throughout the continental United States continue to assure me that he will not, in fact, grow up to be an evil mass murderer. There's something to pray about tonight.

Gabey, now six months old, is sitting up very well, and even beginning to crawl. His Grandma and Papa Watkins came out for a really fun visit, and Gabe pulled off his first crawl for them the night before they left. We're now all in a state of withdrawal from one another. Gabriel also continues to be the happiest, smiley-faced boy in the history of mankind. He even keeps a chipper mood after the rudest of awakenings (often brought on by his brother), which, for those of you who know anything about Jesse, is a stark contrast to any post-sleep experience with our first born.