The Monitor

Nathan found the boys' old baby monitor in a drawer and asked if he could use it. He decided he'd use it to talk to us and Evan from around the house. He set up the receiver in the kitchen for Laura and I to hear, and proceeded to test out the transmitter from around the house. At first, he was frustrated that he couldn't hear us, but I explained the difference between the monitor concept and a "walkie-talkie". He especially enjoyed placing the receiver near Evan and bossing him around from anywhere in the house. Evan just got a kick out of hearing Nathan via the monitor. We decided it was time to put the monitor system away when the boys began using the receiver and transmitter in their daily hand-to-hand combat session. Evan got mad and threw the transmitter at Nathan, while Nathan swung the receiver around by it's cord like a bolo. For some reason, I just anticipate stitches down the road with those two. Anyway, the next day was Sunday ("Vineyard Day" to the boys - our church is The Lafayette Vineyard Church) and Nathan wanted to bring the monitor to church. Nathan, why would you want to bring the monitor with you to the Vineyard? "Because, Dad - that way, I can hear Evan call me from his class if he needs me." From my experience, if Evan wanted Nathan to hear him calling, the whole Children's wing would know it - no monitor needed!