M-O-M

The boys have been into coloring and writing lately.  They love thinking of their favorite characters from movies, TV or books and then finding coloring pages of them online.  We print them out and they color away.

When they finish a creation, they determine who will be the lucky recipient of their masterpiece: a Cruella DeVille for Grandma; a Diego for Uncle Tim; a Dora for Daddy. 

It is really cool to see their skills developing as they experiment with more and more art projects.  Lucas is a total rock star when it comes to cutting with kid scissors.  He loves to cut out the character and glue it onto a piece of construction paper. 

Ethan is getting much better at using various colors on different parts of a picture rather than just scribbling on the whole thing with one marker.  He also LOVES writing his name on everything he makes.

I’ve enjoyed watching them grow as little artists, but today Ethan really touched my heart.  He told me he was going to color me a picture.  After several minutes of concentrated work, I was presented with this:

I was then told, “I made it all your favorite color!  I wanted to make you smile.”  No problem there – I smiled as big as I ever have, and could actually feel my heart warming.

Then on the back, he wrote this:

M-O-M.  It was like the first day I heard him say ‘Mama.’”  How surprisingly incredible to have your child actually write your name for the first time. In a strange way, it is like a confirmation of your bond, of your relationship.  Their conscious decision to label you theirs.  I love it.