Vivid Imaginations

The boys have been playing so creatively lately! But I have to admit, this is not at all up my alley. I much prefer an activity like going on a walk or reading books. I know it is so good for them to use their imaginations, so I am so glad both Calvin and Jack enjoy using theirs despite my own lack of one. 

The fire truck

The fire truck is a permanent fixture these days,  upgraded recently with the addition of the vacuum attachment hose and a yellow "fireman's coat."  The fire hats have also undergone some needed repair, but the bucket that Dan and Luke are sitting in has to be the most exciting addition.  I love the buy-in that Cal and Jack have....Jack is so excited to be on the road to a fire that he has to yell and can't sit still. Calvin intently makes his "VRRRR" fire truck noises perched in the driver seat....I mean, where else would Calvin be?

 I kind of feel like Luke and I have similar roles in this scenario...

It's Broken!

Jack in particular has been fixing things since he "helped" Daddy fix the garage door and the sink.  Here was tonight's scenario. "The door is broken, mommy!!" (Me: Do you need to fix it?) "Uhh-huh." followed by a scampering to the door with Cal in his wake. 

At one point Jack came over to me to say that he was scared of the door because he thought it would fall down. I love that little guy's imagination!

Calvin really did have something to fix later when he drew all over the kitchen wall with a (thankfully washable) orange crayon.  He worked like a dog to scrub it off with the sponge, and it worked. At the beginning he kept saying, "This won't take long." But after a while he changed his tune to, "This is going to take a long time." 

Stories

Cal and Jack have always loved stories, and lately it has escalated to storytelling. They often ask me to tell them stories during the day. Jack takes them so seriously that he'll now randomly stop while eating to exclaim, "Look! A monster,"  pointing into the backyard. I guess I need to be careful about my story material (I thought orange and purple monster were benign enough!). Maybe they are getting it from books, though.  Cookie monster is certainly a favorite of both.

The flip side of all of this is that I think Jack has been having a few nightmares that are just as vivid. He was hysterical in the middle of the night the other day, and I didn't figure out what the problem was until the morning when he kept asking about Daddy being stuck in a truck in the ditch. When Dan came home that morning, he clung to Dan for a while and kept asking if he got out of the ditch. Sweet buddy. I am not sure if this is related, but he has been wanting to sleep on the floor. Here he is with his gear as I found him after nap.

Luke (mostly) enjoyed his first story time with the big guys tonight. Franklin Goes to the Hospital, One Bear at Bedtime, and Bible Story: The Healing at the Beautiful Gate.  So fun for me to have all three boys on my lap!

Calvin and Jack enjoyed having Luke there, too. They are such good brothers! I think they love Luke as much as I do.