Things I don't want to forget

Let’s be honest. As parents, there are moments we’d rather not remember. Like the times our kids have thrown up on us, or the bumps and bruises they’ve had, or teething, or the long, sleepless nights. But there are so many little moments that whiz by when your kids are young, and as precious as they are, many of those moments pass by so quickly that we forget about them. Here are a few of the things I don’t ever want to forget.

The curls. Oh, the curls.

• The way Reid snuggles his blankie (“bay-bwee”), plays with the tag and sucks his thumb when he’s sleepy.
• Colin’s crazy prayer requests. When I asked Colin what we should pray for the other night, his answer was, “that baby Reid won’t take my stuff. It’s MY stuff.”
• The way both kids eat a donut like it’s the last one they’ll ever eat (and then ask for more with their mouths still full).
  
• Colin’s amazing golden curls. He gets compliments everywhere we go.
• Reid's voracious appetite. He will eat and eat until his little belly pokes out.
• The way they both still run to me for cuddles when they fall and get "owies."
• The way Colin recently came to my bedside in the middle of the night to ask for help finding his stuffed puppy (which had fallen between his bed and the wall), and then, upon finding it, snuggled right back under his covers like a little angel and went right back to sleep.
• The way Reid smiles with his entire face. It's contagious.
• The way my boys light up at the end of the day when I pick them up at daycare.
• The love Colin and Reid have for each other, and the excitement on their faces when they see one another first thing in the morning and at the end of the day.
  

Life with a 1 year old and a 3 year old

I used to get a little annoyed when some of my favorite bloggers had more than one child and, as a result, stopped posting as frequently. Now I understand. I'm not sure what has changed, but suddenly with a 3 year old and an almost 17 month old, our lives have kicked into overdrive. Reid has entered into the dreaded climbing stage, where he can get himself into the most precarious situations without any idea how to get himself out of them. If you've raised a toddler, then you know exactly what I'm talking about. During this stage, you (the parent) are always a little afraid that someone might think you're abusing your child, but really he's just clumsy and always hurting himself. His antics are really starting to stress his momma out! In one of his most recent accidents, he managed to face-plant on the concrete slab in our backyard which skinned his nose and caused it to bleed everywhere. Good grief.

Colin, totally unaware of how delicate Reid is, is always wanting to play with him. Often, their "play" involves toys that can easily become weapons, or some sort of awkward wrestling/tickling combo. As you can imagine, this requires quite a bit of supervision. It seems crazy to think that eventually I won't have to hover over them as they play together, and I look forward to that day. For now, though, Momma's gotta make sure nobody is going to get hurt, and needs to be there with a kiss and a Bandaid when somebody does.

Speaking of play time, we've also been spending a lot of time outside now that the weather has gotten so nice and warm. Tee ball is their current favorite activity. Colin practices batting (left-handed, as he is a definite lefty) and Reid is the ball boy, dutifully retrieving balls and placing them carefully on the tee for his big brother. Besides the occasional bat-to-face injury, it's really very cute.

The best part of spending so much time watching my kids play is that I'm getting to see their relationship develop as brothers. Colin loves "his baby" so much and is constantly correcting him if he does something wrong. He also talks sweetly to him and consoles him when he cries. Reid is Colin's "yes man," responding to every single question he asks with a resounding "yeah." Colin has learned this and will use it to his benefit. He'll ask excitedly, "Reid, do you want to go outside?" Reid will quickly say, "yeah!" and Colin will explain to us that Baby Reid wants to go outside, so we should all go.

While parenting these two is honestly pretty challenging most days, it is so amazing to watch them learn and grow. There is never a dull moment, that's for sure.

Out of the Mouths of Babes

When my kids were babies, I remember thinking that I just couldn't wait for them to start talking. Well, start talking they did, and now they don't ever stop. As frustrating as it can be sometimes to hear "Mamamamama" every two minutes, the cute and crazy things my kids say make it completely worthwhile.

Reid, of course, is not speaking in sentences just yet, although he does throw a "Hey, Dada" in there every once in a while. He loves to repeat us, though, and he is picking up new words all the time. Just this morning at daycare, he said "babbeh-bah" (basketball). 

He also says "Eh-yee" (Ellie, our dog's name), "moh" (more, complete with the sign language for the word), "uh-oooh" (love you"), and "ni-ni" (night night). He melts me about six times a day, basically.

Colin is a perfect three year old. And by that I mean, he's a hot mess. He has moments of absolute sweetness where he'll ask me for a kiss, or climb up into my bed for a midnight cuddle and fall asleep in my arms. But, because he's three, he is also full of energy, curiosity, silliness, and occasionally toddler rage. As a result, he says the most ridiculous, adorable and hilarious things. Here are a few recent examples:

"Momma, I want to watch 'Dis pickle of me' [Despicable Me]."

[From the backseat of my car] "Reid, want to hold hands?"

"Can Reid step in the dog poop? Reid, come here... look at this poop."

"Where is my picnic basket?" [meaning his Easter basket]

Me: "Colin, do you have a girlfriend?"
Colin: "Mmhmm."
Me: "You do? Who?"
Colin: "Mommy!!!"

"This is my engine turtle!!" [holding a NINJA turtle toy]

"Mommmyyyyyy.... [coughs and moans]... I have snot. [dramatically tries to breathe through nose, can't, cries]"

"When I was little, I turned into a baby. But now I'm growing bigger."

[I tell Colin we're going to play the "quiet game."] "I don't LIKE to play the quiet game. I want to play a LOUD GAME."

[Colin and Daddy walk out of Colin's room, after unsuccessfully trying to go down for a nap] "Momma, I missed you. That hurt my heart."



Oh, these kids. I just love them to pieces.