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A few of my favorite things, these days...

1. Shea continues to be our super sleeper. Yay! She slept for 8 1/2 hours last night. Crazy! I'd even venture to say that might be TOO long for her to sleep. Anyway, we're loving our long nights of sleep.

2. Sometimes, when I sneak up on the boys while they're playing, I catch parts of the silliest (and, yet, quite serious) conversations. It cracks me up. Yesterday, they turned the couch into the Batmobile, the kitchen chairs into the Batcopter and the kitchen was the Batcave. They would run between them, shouting out, "To the Batcave, Batcopter, Batmobile, etc." Then, they would have in depth discussions about whether they were each Batman or Robin, Joker or Batgirl (yes, Batgirl)... and, eventually, the one of them would wind up in jail, which meant that all of the couch cushions would be thrown on him until he was "trapped." At one point, when they were busy driving in the Batmobile, I made the mistake of referring to them by Dex and Jax. They were quick to correct me with, "I'm not Dex/Jax! I'm Batman!!!" At that point, apparently, they were both Batman. Good enough for me!

3. Shea smiled. Two days ago, I got my first real, I'm-looking-at-my-Mommy smile. I loved it. We just sat there smiling at each other for a good 5-10 minutes. Then, later that day, it happened again. I LOVE THIS!


4. How the boys overuse the words "actually," "kinda," and "either."

ex. One of the boys says, "This juice is delicious!" I reply with, "I'm glad you like the lemonade." "It's not lemonade, either, Mommy! Actually, this is kinda juice."

3- I don't like breaking up the sibling rivalries and arguments over toys, etc., but I can't help but get a kick out of the dialogues preceding the fights.

"That's my tower!"
"No, I'm helping you!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!" (louder)
"Yes!" (matching volume)
"I SAID NO!"
"I SAYING YES!!!!!"
(Complete screaming) NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
(Equal intensity) YEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!

4- When the boys sing to themselves throughout the day. Sometimes, they're singing songs we all know and enjoy... other times, they're singing nonsense words to made-up melodies, but remarkably, they'll both be repeating the same refrains to the same tunes.

5- Equally enjoyable is how I'll overhear them making up stories. Most often, these stories involve Dexter, Jaxon and Batman... but the order of events is always different and the Batman's mode of transportation frequently changes.

5- Their focus and attention when doing puzzles. They'll go through ever jigsaw puzzle we own, filling the kitchen floor with puzzle after puzzle. Of course, at a certain point, they'll both start working on the same puzzle, and though this usually starts out well, it typically ends with fighting over pieces, etc. It's lovely.

6- How much they love anything they've heard D.R. talk about. Star Wars, Transformers, Batman. Any movie they've heard him reference, they want to know everything about. They will ask question after question, until they're filled with random facts about movies they've never even seen. I wonder if they would be quite so thrilled by these things if they could actually see the films. They might be bored out of their minds... or they could just love them even more!

7- Mostly, I continue to love the hugs and kisses, the cuddles and romps on the floor. I love how concerned the boys can be about my mood. If they sense I'm tired or unhappy, they'll rush over to me shouting in their most commanding voices and pointing their little fingers, "You be happy, Mommy! You be happy right now!" Yes, they are getting to be quite bossy. That will be our next big hurdle, I'm sure!

8- We've finally developed the ability to sit and play a boardgame. This has spurred the beginning of family game night. Sure, the games seem to take an interesting turn, at times, but it's so fun to be able to sit and enjoy something together!

9- How much the boys love stories. They've always enjoyed storybooks, but they ADORE having stories made up and told to them. I love watching their faces as they hang on each word, waiting for what's going to happen next. I love when they start giggling with excitement and anticipation when something too good to be true starts to happen. Too cute.

10- I love week-ends. The boys get so excited to have a Saturday morning with Daddy home. I love Sundays, after church, when we walk back to our car, hands linked together... our own little five-person-chain. These are moments I wish I could freeze.