I Think He Loves Me!

Yikealo has been a very loving little boy from day one, but lately he's been especially so. For a "words of affirmation" person like myself, that's a great trait to experience in one's child, I must say! Here are a few examples of the sweetness:

• "Mama, you're as pretty as a flower." (This sort of melted away what had been a rather grumpy mood on my part.)
• When I told him, "I'm so glad that you're my little boy" he responded, "Well, I'm so glad that you're my lovely Mama!"
• Today, while I was snuggling him in the rocking chair after his nap he said, "Mom, sometimes your son just needs to spend some time with you." Yeah, buddy, I feel the same way about needing time with you.
• "You are the best Mama in the whole wide world."
• Several times he has handed me a fistful of crumpled, dead leaves, proclaiming with a sweet smile, "Mama, look! I brought you some pretty leaves, because I thought they would make you smile!" Ah yes, what a good reminder that beauty can be found nearly anywhere, if only I look for it...

He's also been a bit obsessed with wanting to marry me lately. We're trying to explain that that's not possible, but he's not totally convinced. The other day I was commenting on how big he is getting and teasing him that he should stay little. He replied that he was going to get as big as Daddy and then he could marry me. I said that no, I was already married to Daddy, so I couldn't marry him. He dropped it for awhile, but the next morning, we had this conversation:

Y: "Mom, why can you not be married to me AND Daddy?"
Me: "Because you just can't be married to more than one person. That's the law."
Y: "Well, I am going to grow bigger than Daddy, AND I am going to be a garbage man. Then you will want to marry me!"
Me: "No, actually, I love being married to Daddy, and honestly, I really don't think I want to marry a garbage man."
Y: "Why??" (Obviously, to a 4 year old boy, being a garbage man must be the pinnacle of success!)
Me: "Because Daddy's not a garbage man, and besides, a garbage man might be kind of stinky."
Y: "What if I am a garbage man AND a dumpster man?"
Me: "Then I will still stay married to Daddy."
Y: "Mom, then how about this: what if I just marry whoever God tells me to marry?"
Me: "That is your best idea yet. That is a very good decision."

As I was typing this, I overheard the following the kitchen:
Y: "Dad, who do you love best: me or Mama?"
David: "Why would you ask that? Do you think that I SHOULD love one of you more?"
Y: "No, you should love both of us. Is that right?"
David: "Do you think that God loves one of us more than the other?"
Y: "I think that He loves both of us the same."
David: "That's right. A Daddy is supposed to be a picture of God for his family, so I really can't love you or Mama more than the other. I love you both very very much."

At this point, I decided to insert myself into the conversation:
Me: "Hey, Yikealo, who do you love best? Mama or Daddy?"
Y: (grinning) "Why do you ask?"
Me: "I'm just curious."
Y: "Both, of course!"
Me: "That was a very good answer!"