"Thank you"

Something really beautiful has started happening lately. I remember a while back, I read a facebook post from a friend about how her daughter asked for something with a "please" and then responded with a "Thank you, Mommy" after her need was met. I remember thinking that this little girl was so young to be saying things like that already and that this woman must be a really great mom (which, of course, she is).

Then, when a year passed, and then 18 months passed, my boys still weren't saying much at all. I've always known that boys' speech development tends to be more delayed than girls', but then I read that twins' speech development is also delayed because they have a language of their own with each other. I could see this in my boys for sure, so I wasn't really worried about their speech development too much. I was, however, concerned that they were still grunting and whining when they wanted something instead of saying "please" and that they couldn't say "thank you" to someone after they gave them a drink or a bite of their food. So, a few months ago, I really started trying to get them to say "thank you" after I handed them their drink. After we got that down, I worked on getting them to say "please" before I filled their drinks for them. I was so happy when I got them to do all of those things, and it made me feel a little better... about MYSELF as a parent, which is kind of silly.

Recently, though, something has happened that I didn't teach them. They now say "thank you" every time I do ANYTHING for them. They say it after I put them in the swing and when I take them out of the swing (if they have asked to be taken out). They say it after I wash their hands. They say it when I hand them a toy. They say it when I hug them. They say it AFTER EVERY DIAPER CHANGE. That's probably my favorite one. I absolutely love changing diapers now because I get to hear a cute little "thank youuuuuuuu" afterwards. Did I teach them to say thank you for every little thing? No. I think God knew I needed to hear it a little more often. It's not because I'm a good mom. It's because He's a good God, and He loves me a lot. Oh, and it's also because my kids are awesome.