Colt came home from local kindergarten today and said, "Guess what?!  A kid bumped into me and said 'sorry,' so I said 'meiguanxi (that's ok)!' He is so proud when he uses Chinese correctly!  I am so proud too!

Note: This is way better than the other day when we asked him if he learned anything at his school.  His answer to that was, "I learn the SAME thing everyday, BLAH BLAH BLAH."  hahaha.

Colt was telling us that during lunch at school another little boy in his class threw up in his rice bowl. And then he sweetly said, "and Mom, I'm pretty much worried about him. . ."  Awwww.

I figured out why Colt likes the local school SO much that he wants to go even on the weekends and holidays - - He has 3 lovely Chinese teachers who always greet him with kisses and hugs, tell him how much they LOVE his hair and his eyes, and tell him how "beautiful" he is.  Oh my.  He is going to get the big head for sure!

I was talking to Colt about taking a trip to Washington DC where we would see the White House where the President lives. . . He was trying to figure out "president" when he is used to stories with words like "kings" and "rulers" and things like that. So he said, "Mom, does the PRESIDENT give you PRESENTS?" Not so much. --------------------------------------------------------------------- I was laying with Colt the other night talking about moving and how quickly he would make friends and learn the new language. I told him that by the time he turned six, he would probably be able to speak pretty well!! Colt threw his hands up and starting laughing!! He said, "Good one Mom! That's a good joke! hahahaha." Um, I was serious :)

Colt's prayer tonight: "Thank you God for hot lava, and storms that knock down trees so raccoons can live there."

While fishing tonight, Colt cautioned his cousin Sarah "not to YACK the line or she would lose the fish." I said, "I think you mean YANK not YACK." Colt said, "Sarah, don't YANK it either."

Colt had a little cough last week and we always encourage "coughing in his elbow" to prevent the spread of germs. He really wanted to go swimming, but he suddenly was terribly concerned. He said, "Mommy! I can't go swimming because I will DROWN in the deep end if I have to cough in my elbow and can't use my arms!" Oh Colt. . . he is such a strict rule follower :)

Today I was being silly with Colt, acting like I didn't know what anything was. . . He thought it was funny.  He also thought he was pretty smart telling what everything was that I "couldn't remember." Then he told me he needed to go poop, and explained THAT to me.  "That sounds like fun!" I (totally) jokingly said.  To which he laughed and replied, "No Mom.  It's not fun! That's silly." Then he came back out of the bathroom and said, "It's only fun for DADDY, because he gets to play the ipad while he goes to the bathroom." bahahahaha.  I laughed out loud.

"Mommy, when I grow up I want to be a Christian soldier, a policeman, AND an acrobat."

David was explaining to Colt that we were going to go out to dinner to wherever Mommy wanted to go because she was the "Queen" of this house (I know so sweet). Then he said Mommy was "Queen" because she gave birth to all 3 babies. . . etc. Colt was trying to understand what it meant "to give birth," and he said, "Well Dad, all that stuff that Mommy did, I DID THAT TOO for everyone!"

"Mom, I know how long we will be in China." Oh, really? How long? "40 days." Actually, it will be 3 years before we will come back to visit. "Yeah, 3 years. That's what I meant to say." Uh-huh.

Colt is always trying to give his toys away to his friends. If they like something, he will generally just say, "Oh you can have it." I really am proud of him, and we have constantly reminded him to hold the THINGS of this world lightly. . . and love God and people most of all. So I suppose that is why it warms my little heart. Well his friend Jack was over here and Colt told Jack that he was going to get him a surprise. Well, Jack was super excited!! After Jack left, Colt told me that he wanted to save his money in his piggy bank and buy Jack an ipod (because Jack liked our ipod)!! Wow. Sweet kid. Good heart. Love him.

Today is Valentine's Day and - in an attempt to dress the kids in "valentine colors" - I had picked out a white shirt for Colt to wear under his red sweater. But Colt thought otherwise and said,"Um, no Mom. I DO NOT DO WHITE." Oh really? Thanks for the update. Probably not a bad idea for a 4 year old boy anyways. . .

Colt and I were playing soccer in the living room. He was wearing green, which being from WV made me think of Marshall the Thundering Herd. This is what I told him when he asked what team he could be, but he could NOT remember the name. Too long I suppose. . . he kept calling himself "the lightning nerd herd" for the longest time :)

Colt is really into Star Wars right now. Here is a tidbit you may not have known about Star Wars: "Mom, no star wars toot. Because they are really awesome. They have humans inside of them that toot, but they don't toot. Because they are really awesome."

Colt informed me on the way to preschool this morning that he was "growing up." When I asked in what ways he said, "Well I can get dressed by myself, and brush my teeth, and eat my food by myself . . . even when it's a little hot!" I confirmed the sad truth that he IS indeed growing up. . . and told him how sad I was because I wanted him to stay little so I could hold him forever! He replied with such comforting words, "It's ok Mom. I will visit you, but I'm still growing up."