Inside the Mind of Luke

I haven't done a good job of recording some of the things our boys say.  Here are a few of my favorites of late from Luke.

This first conversation was while I was cutting his nails.  We were in close proximity to each other and he began sniffing the air around him.

Luke:  You smell like something.

Mom:  Is it a good smell?

Luke:  Umm no, I don't think so.  It's...."phleck" (yucky sound).

Mom:  Does dad smell good?

Luke:  He smells like you.
(Good to know we both stink!)

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This past Sunday evening, when Luke and I had a quiet moment together we had the following conversation about marriage.

Luke:  Mom, who am I going to marry? Maybe you...or something?
Mom:  No...I am married to your dad. You are going to marry a girl that you meet when
you are older. After your mission.
Luke (a little concerned):  I don't know who.
Mom:  No, you don't know who right now.
Luke:  I haven't met her?
Mom:  No, you haven't met her. You'll meet her later, when you are older.
(Much, much older!!)

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Luke loves his little brother, Porter.  One day after I told Porter "no" for doing something he shouldn't, Luke looked at me pointedly and said, "I have never gotten mad at Porter."

(Well, someone has to be the bad guy.)

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On a different day, also in reference to Porter, Luke said, "He's cute.  I want to keep him forever."

(Ditto, little buddy.)

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Not long after telling the boys about the newest addition coming to our family, Luke said to us, "When we have our baby, there is going to be 6 of us.  That's a lot."

(Yup, sure is.) 

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He later informed us that we can only have 2 more babies (after this one) because any more than that and  "they won't fit in our van."

(I laughed.  A lot.)

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A couple of weeks ago, Luke let me know about my growing belly by saying, "Your belly is getting huge."

(Hmm... I wonder what he will say 4 months from now.)

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There is a lot of curiosity about the baby in my belly.  Both boys are full of questions.  Here are a few from Luke:

"How does the baby eat?"

"Does he sleep?"

"Can you feel him?"

"Can he hear us?"

"Does he get cold?"

"Is it dark in your belly?"

"Can he see?"

"Is he moving right now?"

"How does he come out?"

(We addressed this last one a few months ago when he asked, but I guess he needed a refresher).

My favorite is when he learned that babies pee, he said, "He pees in your belly?  Eww."

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Conversations with Luke are interesting. When he has something on his mind, he'll ask. I love that about him. But when he's done, he's done. 

Maybe it's a girl thing, but I want to know more about what he is thinking.  I want to know more about what is bothering him.  I want to know more about the things he is wondering about.  I want to have the time to talk about the things on his mind and the time to come up with the right responses.  I want to have good teaching moments with him.  The problem...I have such a tiny window to get in what I want to say.  And it is often later that I think of the things I should have said.

On Sunday, for instance, I tried to continue talking to him about marriage, as it was obvious to me that he had concerns, but he was just done. Okay, not a big deal...we have years to talk about his marriage, right?  It's during other, sometimes more weighty, conversations that I really wonder what is going on in his head.  Is he "done" because he has quickly moved on and is no longer thinking about our conversation?  Are my answers sufficient enough to satisfy him, even when it feels like they are not?  Or is he continuing to work things out in his head?  Is this just the difference between boys and girls?

If anyone has any ideas on how to get boys to talk more, I'm all ears!