Romanisms

Oh my-little boys are so funny and sweet- and we have little boys coming out our ears! I have three grandsons. Roman, who is 5 years old in a week, Finn, who is 2 1/2 years old, and Oscar who is 2 weeks old. Yesterday a few of us where watching an animated movie with Roman, the 5 year old. The movie was called "Meet the Robinsons" Not a movie of our life, although that would have been a great comic tragedy worth viewing to be sure. This movie was about a little orphan boy who gets to go into the future and meet his adoptive family, then he comes back in time to when his birth Mother leaves him on the proverbial doorstep of the orphanage, looks around furtively and then walks away, disappearing into the night. (One of my favorite lines of Annie is when Miss Hannigan says, "Why anyone would want to be an orphan is beyond me." Thought that was appropriate here.)
All the sudden Roman stands up, with tears in his eyes and his bottom lip quivering, walks over to his Mom who is feeding Oscar, and squeaks out "why didn't his Mommy want him?" Then he burries his head in Whitney's shoulder. This simple question reduced his Mom, his Auntie Paige and his Grandmother-me- to instant tears. How sweet is that? Whitney explained to him that sometimes Mommies can't take care of their babies so they give them to other people who can't have children. OH, Ok! He was satisfied with that. Paige and I looked at each other and both of us said with our heads shaking..."NO BAMBI FOR THIS BOY!"
Roman has always had a soft heart. He gets it from his Great Grandpa Dooley, his Grandpa Stew, and his Uncle Kurt. Oh my, these men act so tough but they are soooo tender hearted. When Roman was only a year old, we had a doll that could laugh or cry when you pressed it's stomach. Roman would smile when it laughed but he got so upset every time it cried. Again with the quivering lip.
Even though he is tender hearted, he can come out with some zingers. Whitney asked him to do something and he wasn't finished eating and he looks at her, holds up his food and says,
"Right after I finish these bad boys."
He was outside playing in the snow before we took him and Finn sledding. Whitney comes out and in an exasperated tone says "Roman, didn't I tell you not to get wet?!"
Without missing a beat he tells her "I didn't have my listening ears on."
These little boys are a handful, but so entertaining! And so very easy to love.
Finn, who is 2 1/2 has what is called Verbal Apraxia. The best way to explain this in a nutshell is that his brain has a glitch that stops his mouth from saying what he's thinking. (ppfff... don't we all wish we had that at some point in our lives???) He knows everything and can communicate quite well but he has trouble verbalizing. He is in speech therapy and he is learning quickly. He learns new words everyday and is getting better at using his vocabulary, but his Finnisms are more in his actions. His expressions and actions with his arms and hands and little body are so comic! When he does learn a word, his use of it is hilarious. One of my favorites is he learned how to say "oh poop." He says it whenever anything goes awry. Drops his juice glass- OH POOP! You get the picture. Another word he knows (don't ask me how or why) is crack. Any time the word is used, for any reason, he has to point to his almost non existant back side and say "crack." He is so proud of himself. Dang that little boy can melt my heart so fast.
And Oscar is just new to the family. I am amazed at how one tiny little boy can wreak so much havoc and can completely exhaust 4 adults. Well to be fair he had the help of his brothers, but this has been a wild few weeks. I love watching Brad play with his boys. Dog pile is a favorite. And Whitney is an amazing Mom. Very patient. Well you would have to be, wouldn't you! And the best of all is Papa Stew. Stewart can play with those boys for hours. I seem to peter out after a half hour, but he can literally play with Roman and Finn all day, every day. It's part of the reason I married him. I knew he would be a great Dad. When we go to the lake in the summer people on the beach comment about what a great grandpa he is. He spoils the kids really bad. He makes me and Whit and Brad insane with his toy obsession. He thinks because he gets the toys from the second hand store it's ok. He did this to his own kids too and it nearly drove me insane. Even Roman will say "Papa, no more toys" It's a disease but I haven't found a Toys Anonymous anywhere.
People told me that being a Grandma was the best thing in the world. I remember thinking what's the big deal? It's just another person to worry about, and that is true, but it's also another person to love. And they love you back and they call you Brawma, or in Finns case he calls you Maam while he frantically runs around with his little thumb pumping his cheek with his hand in the "five" position...the sign for Grandmother. Melts my heart every time!! I love these little people!!!