And it Came to Pass...

Back Story: Every night before bed, David pulls out Lincoln's book of Mormon and the ritual is as follows.

David shows the book of Mormon to Lincoln: "What is this Lincoln?"
Lincoln points: "Das Book of Mormon."

David opens the book to the picture of Jesus: "Who is this Lincoln?"
Lincoln points: "Das Jesus"
David: "That's right! Does Jesus love you?"
Lincoln (matter of factly): "Yep"
David: "Does Jesus love Mommy?"
Lincoln (same matter of fact tone): "Yep"
David: "Is Jesus your friend?"
Lincoln (again): "Yep"

David turns to the picture of Joseph Smith: "Who is this Lincoln?"
Lincoln points: "Das Joseph Smiff"
David: "That's right."

David turns to the picture of Moroni: "Who is this Lincoln?"
Lincoln points: "Das Mormoni"
David: "That's right"

David proceeds to open the book to start reading where we left off the night before. He gently puts his finger to his lips and says, "we have to be reverent" and proceeds reading. Often, the verse begins with the phrase "And it came to pass..."

Every night, as soon as David begins reading, Lincoln dives onto his bed and starts bouncing and rolling around. It appears as if he's not listening at all. Sometimes I wonder if anything is sinking in...

Now Story: The other day, Lincoln got hold of my glasses case. He opened it, turned it toward me, and said, "Who is dis Mommy?" I was not sure where he was going with this, so I said, "I don't know." Lincoln replied, "Das Jesus Mommy." Suddenly I understood the game.

Next, Linc said, "Who's dis mommy?" I replied by saying, "That's Joseph Smith."
"Das right Mommy. Who is dis Mommy?"
"That's Moroni"
"Das right Mommy." Next, Linc gently put a finger to his lips and said "shhhhh Mommy. Hab a be webrent (Have to be reverent)"

I was beaming inside with joy and pride, but what came next was the icing on the cake. He turned the glasses case toward him, like a book, and said, "And it came to pass..." I was so proud! He continued with phrases like "Hab a be nice (have to be nice)" and "Pway wif fwiends (play with friends)" and "Be safe."

All this time, I was not sure if reading the scriptures was making any impact on him at all. Now I know he IS getting SOMETHING out of it. I am a happy mommy.

I also have to post about a sweet little moment we had the other night while praying.
While saying our prayer together the other night, I was prompting Lincoln on what to say. Part of the prayer goes as follows.
S: Please bless the prophet...
L: Bless it frofet
S: President..... (Thomas S. Monson was to follow. We did not get that far. As soon as I said, "President" Lincoln said....)
L: Birthday!
L: Birthday Cake!
L: Presents!
At that point, I realized that he thought I said "present" rather than "president." I didn't have the heart to squash his excitement.

Oops.

Today after church, I went to find David to get the keys to his car. I needed the checkbook in his car to pay for some food storage I ordered from our preparedness expert. I walked outside with Lincoln's hand in mine.

When we reached David's car, I asked Lincoln to stay on the grass where it was safe instead of following me into the parking lot. I quickly opened the car door, reached under the driver's seat, grasped the checkbook, and stood up to make sure Lincoln was where I left him. Indeed, he stayed where I asked him to stay. However, there was something "off" when I looked at him. I was shocked to see that his pants and undies were around his ankles and he was answering the call of nature right there on the church lawn. My shock quickly turned to embarrassment as I looked around to find members of our ward pointing their fingers with mouths gaped open.

I ran over to Lincoln to try to fix what was happening, but what could I do? It just kept coming and coming! He must have really had to go. The long duration of his potty break just gave the opportunity for more passers by to gaze on while I stood, embarrassed, and giggling, waiting for this to be over. After what seemed like a few minutes (I am sure it was just a few seconds), he appeared to be finished. I quickly helped him pull his pants up and we loaded in the van. I laughed and giggled all the way home. He's so sweet. I know he was doing his best not to pee in his pants. Thanks bud. I love you.

Farms and Parks

While I was in Northern Utah for work, my mom and I decided to take Linc to Wheeler Farm. I remember doing dance recitals there when I was really young, but I don't think I had ever been to the farm part. I knew Linc would love it since he has a new fascination with farms. His two favorite story books are about farms.



I love baby goats.


This tree house was awesome. I was coveting it for our yard. I know Linc would keep occupied for hours with something like this.




Lincoln loves pigs.

... and tractors.

After Wheeler Farm, we took Lincoln to a really cool park in Bountiful. Parks come in as a close 2nd to farms in Lincoln's book. He is really good at climbing things and walking across these creepy contraptions. He called this one the troll bridge. (Thanks Dora.) He is much braver than I. I was freaking out with my arms out ready to catch him if he started to fall. Our whole time there, he never even bobbled on the bridge. He walked across with confidence every time.


Yeah for farms and parks!

I Love to See the Temple

David and I were planning on going to the temple for a couple of weeks. As I was getting dressed, I casually asked David when our recommends expire. He looked and found that they expired 10 days previous. Instead of bagging the whole idea, we decided to take a family trip to the temple. We loved it.






Another bit of info...
While potty training, Lincoln earns candy for going poop on the potty. Each time, he gets 3 smarties. Without fail, Lincoln offers to share his candy with David and I. It's so sweet that he thinks to share something he earned for himself with others. I am so happy that he is willing to share his treats with us. I hope he keeps that sense of kindness throughout his life.