Paul, Tough as Nails, Sweet as Sugar

Paul turned 18 months-old on Saturday! On Sunday, he was kicked out of church nursery for biting another toddler. Not a good way to celebrate your half birthday, Buddy.

When he's not using his teeth to tell us how he feels though, he is the sweetest little guy. He helps me with chores, takes a tiger ice pack to his brother when he gets "hurt", and gives the best slobbery kisses.

His new heart-melting trick is to grab hands and bow his head randomly throughout every meal. We have become super spiritual around the dinner table now, praying 5-10 times whenever we eat! I've asked him to do this to me all day to remind me to pray without ceasing.

He hasn't always been as enthusiastic about prayer though. In May, Jon was praying for my aunt Jeanie's birthday before lunch, and a hungry impatient Paul decided Daddy had prayed long enough, so he interrupted with a loud "Amen." Basically his first word!

His nicknames have evolved from Paulie, Pollywog, and Paulie-Love, to Paulzilla, and now Pauldozer. This kid is a maniac!

Pauldozer picked out his own shirt today.

When it was just the 4 of us, sometimes if no one else wanted to get out of bed in the morning or things weren't moving quite at my speed, I would pray for a family member more like me.

Lord help us, He gave us one in Paul!

Isaiah and Jon are cautious, thorough, careful Thinkers. Paul and I are driven, assertive, somewhat reckless Doers.

The kid has more grit than a bag of cement. Often, we ask 'How did he get there?!' 'How did he do that?!' The answer is usually that he decided that's what he wanted, and it was as good as done. If there's a wall between him and what he wants, he'll just plow right through it.

Isaiah is just now starting to tell us, "I can do it myself." That will probably be Paul's first complete sentence. Speaking of speaking, at this age, Isaiah used about 3 times as many words as Paul is using now. Alternatively, Paul is attempting feats and stunts that Zy has yet to tackle even with a 2 year head start.

Don't be confused by their differences however, they can both be stubborn as mules, just in different ways. Isaiah can be insistent about which underwear he must wear Right Now. Whereas, Paul is determined he will climb on top of the refrigerator by his next birthday and probably take on Mt. Everest before college.

Anyway, these boys are about as opposite as night and day, or at least as opposite as Jon and me. Angie, probably falls somewhere in the middle, and pretty much just thinks we're all crazy!

To sum up; if you want a job done well, call Jon and Isaiah. If you need it done quickly Paul and I are at your service!  

What? Isn't this how everyone shops for groceries?

 

He LOVES to climb!

Do these glasses make my head look big? :)