Unbalanced praises

Unbalanced because they are dedicated solely to Saul. Oh, what a clever and silly Saul he is! Yes, he and Yasha are naughty, yes, they occasionally break wine glasses, but look what else they do (mostly Saulie) with those glasses. Look how carefully he inserts a vitamin bottle into each one and replaces it in the cupboard...and he is trying to figure out how to open that Zicam! When I catch him on the counter, see how he beams at me, though he knows he is being naughty.

He has been so, so playful lately, so talkative and exuberant. He has been doubling up his words, hilariously, and making a song out of them, where he emphasizes the second word, i.e. with bottle and avocado and cereal: "Bah-doo, BAH-doo! Cadoh-CAH-doh! Ya-yohs, YA-yohs!" He speaks quickly, loudly and emphatically, with his sweet sing-song voice. (Yasha still sort of squawks haltingly, or says a word slowly and without much vigor, but with intelligent, sparkling eyes.) When Yasha climbs on the table for a dance, Saul turns disciplinarian: "No!! Okkkkayyy??? (answers himself) Okay. Yashie, NO! Doppitt!" (Stop it.) Often, he gives Hannah a piece of his mind as well. Even if she is not guilty of any crimes (she usually isn't), Saul orders-sings at her: "Hannah, NO! Hannah, NO! Hannah, NO!" and he is quite authoritative. (He is actually more authoritative, while remaining friendly, than I manage to be. I can't walk this line at all.) I should see in him a future bossy brat/bully, but I can't--he's too funny. 

He has an eye for beauty. When I open the blinds and he sees our flowering apple tree, he says, "Ohhhhhh, flou-wer!" When we have a vase of flowers somewhere, he can't keep his eyes or, alas, hands off them. And once--I couldn't believe he noticed this--when a vase of tulips cast delicate tulip-shaped shadows on the dining room wall, he ran to the wall and gently patted the shadow-tulips, repeating "flou-wer" in awed tones. Sweet Saul. I also get the "Mommy-MAH-mee!" song, by the way, but Daddy just gets the rat-tat-tat "Da-dee-da-dee-da-dee-da-dee-da-dee-da-dee..." with no beginning or end. And of course, by now both boys (esp. Saul) are expert at saying "Thank you!"--Saul sings the "classic" thank-you tune (low note, high note)--and Saul never misses an opportunity to say, "Bless you!" to my many allergic sneezes. Oh, well, his brother is starting to cry--it's feeding time!