13, 11, 9, 7

Josiah calls me into his room and points out a mass of mutilated millipede in the corner.

“I killed it,” he says proudly.

“Um, great?” I say, as I watch millipede juice seep into the wood floor. “How did you kill it?”

“With the hammer,” he says matter-of-factly.

“With the hammer?” I sputter.

“Yeah, I went and got it from the storeroom. And don’t worry, Mom. I washed it off afterwards.”

This is the kid who used to scream as if a velociraptor was in the bathtub when he saw an ant floating around in there. So I guess this is a step in the right direction. Um, congratulations, Josiah, on your first kill. As Aslan told Peter after he took down the Wolf, Never forget to wipe your sword. No problem; Josiah’s already got that part covered.

Parenting is all about baby steps, People. Can I get an Amen? Baby steps.

I sure like these kids a whole lot. Here they are at ages 13, 11, 9, and 7.