Marshall

I felt like I should do a little post just about Marshall. Peter and I were talking yesterday about what a tender little heart he has and how sweet he is. He is only 4, so he doesn't have a lot to give in terms of material things, but he is often so generous and thoughtful with the things he has to offer.

For example, he will often offer to let either me or Peter sleep with his little stuffed giraffe that he sleeps with at night. He likes it, so he offers it to us so that we can like it, too.

Another thing is that I often tease the kids about not wanting them to get bigger and grow older. So when we talk about upcoming birthdays, I'll tell them that they're turning a year younger instead of a year older, and then the next year they'll turn even younger until they're 0 again. I'm obviously teasing and I'll agree at the end of the conversation that they can turn a year older, after all. But sometimes, even out of the blue, Marshall will say, "You can call me 0, Mom." He offers to let me say that he's getting younger because he thinks it will make me happy. So sweet.

And he is very patient with me. I am often forgetful and he is quick to forgive me and move on, even if it makes him a little sad at first. Yesterday I forgot to bring in his homework that we did for preschool. We had done it the night before, but I just forgot as we were getting ready to go. I remembered when I saw another kid with their homework. I told him that I forgot and I was sorry. His eyes started welling up a little bit with tears, but he still said, "That's OK, Mom." I know he was so disappointed not to be able to give it to his teachers, but he put on a brave face for me. Luckily I remembered to bring it when I picked him up, which cheered him up some. And then today was show and tell, and, of course, I forgot to bring in his toy. Again, he started to get sad, but told me it was OK. Luckily we had a stretchy Christmas tree toy in the car that he was able to bring it to show. It was much lamer than the Nerf gun that he said he wanted to bring, but he had a really good attitude and went with it.

I'm so proud of how sweet, smart, and kind he is. His teacher at preschool told me a couple of months ago that there is a kid in the class that had a hard time adjusting, and Marshall went out of his way to try to make him feel welcome and happy. He would sit by him and tell him what a good job he was doing on his projects and give him kisses. How many 4-year-olds are that perceptive to other people's feelings? I think he really has a gift for that.

Yesterday I was working really hard in the kitchen to clean and reorganize a few things and wore myself out a bit. I told the kids I needed to lay down for a few minutes. He said, "That's OK, Mom. We'll go to the basement and be quiet so you can rest." And he did. He encouraged the other kids to go down with him and they let me rest.

Thanks, Marshall! I love you, sweet boy.

And, sort of unrelated, but the kid is amazing at puzzles! He can do a 100-piece puzzle by himself, and a 200-piece one almost by himself, too. He loves it and has an amazing level of discipline and concentration. He really is a great kid and I'm excited to see how he develops his talents.