The Words of a Four Year Old

I had to write this down before I forget about it.

Clayton came into my room to wake me up this morning, which is how we usually get started these days.  Mama is a tired lady.  Anyway, I rolled over and told him that I couldn't wake up until I had a nice big hug from my big man.  He told me no, he wanted to give the new baby a big hug.  Ahhhhh, so sweet.  So he proceeds to wrap his arms around my ever growing belly and hug the new baby.  What a sweetheart!

Then I asked if he was ready for the new baby to come out and live with us.  Won't it be fun to have another little brother?  I can tell the wheels are spinning.

Clayton: Mama, your belly is big because the baby is in there.

Me: Yes, that's right.

Clayton: When the baby comes, then your belly will get flat?

Ha!  I wish, but you know, I go with it.

Me: Yep, it will get flat.

Clayton (with great glee): Ohhh, flat like our flat tire!

Yes, Clayton.  My belly will probably look more like a flat tire than anything else.  Thanks for pointing that out.  It's actually a pretty good description of what I'm sure I'll look like.  You've got to love the mind of a four year old. 

I constantly wonder how much of this whole pregnancy Clayton comprehends.  He talks about the baby a lot, and he knows the baby is in my tummy.  He knows it will eventually come out.  It will be a boy, and he and Eli are going to share a room, and the baby will cry and need to have lots of diaper changes, and Mama will need lots of help, etc.  That's all he really needs to know, but it's still so fascinating to hear the little things, like understanding that my belly is big because there's a baby in there, and one day it won't be quite as big (I hope) because the baby will be out.  That takes just a little bit of thought, and the fact that he's thinking through some of this stuff is really fun for me.  I know he will be a great big brother again, and I think he's honestly a little excited about having another person in our family.  Clayton's most recent name suggestion: Roar.  We'll have to think about that one.

A little tire background:
We recently had a flat tire which was the HIGHLIGHT of Clayton's life thus far. It was definitely NOT the highlight of my life, as Ryan was out of town, I was 7.5 months pregnant with two small children, it was a million degrees, I didn't know if we could make it to the tire store, we did, they didn't have the size we needed in stock, had to have the spare put on, had to go somewhere else, blah, blah, blah... I digress.  Clayton is obsessed with tires, flats, and air pressure. I have no idea where it came from, but for the last year or so tires, and their health, have become a huge part of his life, and nothing brought my little man more joy than seeing a flat tire on our van, having to have the spare on for a day, and then getting a brand new tire to replace it.  It's like the ultimate "circle of life" experience for Clayton.