Church Etiquette

It's advent. A time for lovely, peaceful church services. A time to drop your kids off in nursery so you can can sing "Joy to the World" and gaze at the advent candles. This morning proved to stray from that word picture just a tad. We were asked to light the candles and do a reading, so dude came to the service with us and had to sit there (as much as a 21 month old sits) for the first 15 minutes.

It started with him walking down a separate aisle from us to greet those at the end. When he found us he started grunting and pointing at everything in clear sight. Then the organ started. That provided the background noise so dude could start singing and talking in his own language at the loudest possible decibel. Then it started smelling like something only a 21 month old could produce with his own devices. When I went to check his "diap" as we call it, he started shouting "Poopy! Poopy! Poopy!" Yes, he's getting to the point of potty training as he announces every time he even lets one rip these days. No poop followed, so that was a blessing. Then a fun couple sat behind us who apparently looked like his Nanna, so he played hide and go seek, calling her Nanna all the while, and saying "Boo" over and over. He saw my hair as an obstacle, so he proceeded to lift my hair up and pull it so he could see the pseudo Nanna through it.

I'm happy to report that the reading and lighting of the candles was flawless. He stuck his entire fist in his mouth and stared out at the crowd without a peep. What can we say. Church etiquette will come with time.