Time for some boy stories

As I settle down on the computer with a glass of water and a peach ring gummy, James is in the kitchen with Jason babbling away. He gets so talkative late at night, especially when Nathan is already asleep. This happens occasionally because James is more of a night owl. I think every word that comes from his mouth in times like this is adorable...just the sound of his voice is darling.
Jason and I often tell each other funny or cute things the boys said to us that day after they've gone asleep. They are often so little that only Jason and I would gush over them, but there are some really cute things that they've said lately that should be recorded before I forget them.
First, James, since his voice is in the background. One of his favorite things to say is "I'm really brave" (but it sounds more like "I'm weawy bave" --yes, he probably needs speech therapy). He says it several times a day. After the last storms we asked if he was scared and he said "No, I'm really brave". Same at night, or when he's telling us about trolls, or when he's talking about scary things. He's really into that.
He can be a pretty good helper too. The other day Jason asked him to put away some toys and he said "Okay, thank you". He's done that to me too if I give him something to throw away. He just grabs it says "thank you".
He has the funniest voice and way of talking. I can tell he concentrates really hard, and it comes about a bit mechanical. He talks with his hands a lot too if he's really into it. Lately he's been saying "Well, yes", or "oh, well, yes" with a dramatic pause. You'd have to hear it to appreciate it. It's so cute. Some other funny things he says is "what in the heck", "dangit", and "nasty". He takes great joy in telling us we smell nasty. The other day he said "Daddy's socks smell like the zoo!" I think Jason had used that phrase after a morning of basketball.
It's scary how much the boys pick up on what we say--like the what in the heck phrase.
Oh, one more sweet thing about James. He loves to pick flowers for me. The main flower around is a clover, so every time he sees one he has to pick it and give it to me. It melts my heart. Now when he sees them growing in the ground before he even picks it he says "look, there's a surprise for you mom!" as if they were grown just for me! It's nice to have an admirer.
Nathan has also repeated some funny phrases of mine. The other day he pretended to be talking on the cell phone and he said "Why doesn't anyone call me? I think my phone must be dead". That made me feel depressed that he's heard that phrase enough to repeat it word for word!
Okay, this next little tidbit requires some background information. Yesterday (Sunday) I wanted to have some friends from church over. I told Jason that and he said, "well, that sounds nice, but what would we make, because if I seem to remember we couldn't find any food yesterday for lunch" (which was true). I got a little defensive and said I went grocery shopping (true, but a very quick, non thorough trip). Later I told him I was going to bake a focaccia for the main dish (found out later we were even out of flour--but I found some in the food storage of the owners of the house). Anyway, when I told him I was making focaccia he said, "Isn't that bread?" I don't think he meant it offensively but I was in a bad mood and I took it as insulting my ideas so I snapped "You're being rude about the food I want to make". (I know, I'm ridiculously sensitive sometimes). This morning one of the first things Nathan said to me after he woke up was "Is daddy rude of food?" I had to laugh out loud and explain he wasn't, but it was a good reminder of how the kids pick up on anything between us, including contention. Side note, Jason is a wonderful, sweet, and patient husband, and it's usually me that over reacts to innocent comments. But the phrase "rude of food" is going to stick with me for a while as a reminder.
Nathan is such a sweetie too. On Saturday when I was putting on some sparkly earrings he asked "Are you getting beautiful?". Jason told me that he was showing Nathan our wedding pictures he asked "Is mom the most beautiful-est?" He asks me often, "Mom, do you like beautiful things?" or, "What about gorgeous things?"
Today we went to a park and Nathan wanted to bring his favorite blanket as of late. It's a very soft chenille blanket and we spread it out on the grass to lie down for a few minutes. Nathan was feeling very affectionate at the time and said "I love you mom. I love my blanket. But I love you the mostest!"
I feel very lucky to have these two little guys! Every day there are a hundred things they do to make me laugh or smile.