Children are both generous with compliments, and completely honest. At times, it seems like these should be at odds with each other…

Every parent smiles when their children compliment them. They may be “only” children, and our children at that, but sometimes, they’re the only ones around who are handing out the compliments, so they’re appreciated.

I hear, “Mommy, you look pretty,” fairly often. Not saying I am, but the children are kind, and so they tell me that from time to time. With the girls, all I have to do is wear a skirt or dress…or have on some funky earrings…or the color pink…or paint my nails…and the compliments roll in. What can I say? They like their “fancies” and so they’re quick to comment on anything that fits that bill.

Turkey is a little more reserved on the complimenting, but he still gives them out from time to time. He also for some reason really likes when I wear dresses, so that’s usually when he’ll say something. He’ll make his wife very happy someday if he continues on that path!

Moose is a bit different, though. Unprompted/spontaneous speech is still occasionally difficult for him–he works best with a script. So when he talks spontaneously, you really listen. That’s why, when he says to me, “Mommy, you look so pretty!” it really touches my heart, (all right, makes me cry), because it’s such a big deal that he could say that without any kind of prompting. I know then, to him, anyway, that I really am “so pretty”–he wouldn’t have said so if he didn’t mean it!