"Why did God make this? Why does God do that? Why? Why?"

Can you tell I have an inquisitive 4 year old?? Lynsey started this line of questioning a few months back, and continues to question everything with, "Why did God make it so we have to go to bed?" and "Why did God make this pencil so it can break?" and endless other variations of this same question. I don't even remember answering that many of her questions with, "Because God made it that way", and certainly now I try to explain things a bit more thoroughly than that:). It really is remarkable how much she sees and how much responsibility she feels for her family. I had a bit of an incident the other day where I lost track of Adam (just pin me with Mother of the Year over here!). I thought he was in the backyard, but when I went to look for him, he was not. The gate was closed so he couldn't have gotten out that way. I checked the basement with no results, and ran upstairs to check that floor, still no Adam. Anyone that has ever lost track of a child for even a minute can imagine the panic I was feeling at this moment. Logically, I was sure he was in the house somewhere, but I couldn't find him . . . terrifying. While I was frantically checking upstairs, I suddenly remembered how much he likes to go into the garage, and at the same time, remembered that I had left the garage door to the outside open earlier for one reason or another. I flew downstairs to find him standing in the garage, the gaping door providing a perfect outlet to the unsupervised outside world. Needless to say, we have now taken some more precautions to make sure this doesn't happen again. Anyway, throughout this ordeal, Lynsey was worried right along with me, saying, "It's all my fault!" (she was with him in the backyard originally). I assured her several times that Adam was not her responsibility and that it wasn't her fault at all, but it opened my eyes to the burden that she feels. It makes me want to be so careful about how much she hears us talking about, and definitely be careful about what we say to her. She's such a sensitive spirit and I don't want her to feel unnecessary stress!

Yesterday, I was watching a friend's kids for her for a few hours in the afternoon (2 year old and almost 5 year old). Adam did his typical screaming when she brought them in, but recovered fairly quickly. The two year old was playing at the train table when Adam appeared, playing there as well. He was so happy, it looked like he was actually glad the other little boy was there! The little boy went to play with the car ramp, and lo and behold, Adam followed him there, playing not with him, but beside him. It may have been my imagination, but it definitely looked like he was happy the boy was there and was making an effort to be where this little boy was. This may not sound like much of a milestone, but it's one of the only times I've seen him really pay much attention at all to another kid, so it was exciting to see!

Nathan just gets easier all the time:). I love that I'm enjoying him so much more now! He has been sleeping really well at night - more often than not, he only wakes up once to eat now, and he goes to bed between 8 and 9pm and sleeps until around 7am give or take. He had a few 12.5 hour nights last week, once where he woke up twice to eat and one night it was only once! He usually has at least one super long nap during the day, often two. I hope this never changes, but I do realize that it easily could. He hardly ever cries now, and when he does it is usually because he's tired. He's had a few gassy days here and there, but nothing compared to how it used to be. He's such a little smiley-pants - love him!