NO! YES! NO! YES! Argh!

The Russell house has been a bit louder than usual these past few weeks.  Connor and Aidan have landed us smack dab in the middle of sibling rivalry H-E-double hockey sticks!  Y'all it is awful.  I have this secret dread that I've somehow caused it b/c of bad parenting or inconsistent discipline.  I really don't care that 'all brothers fight', which is usually what I get whenever I vent to friends about this.  I want a solution...NOW!  I'm a red-head and I think that I spotted some grey hairs last night!

From the moment they get up, whenever one says something, the other one says "NO" or "don't say that" or pushes the other away.  Connor gets so visibly angry at almost everything Aidan does and says; and, Aidan says,"No!" to almost everything that comes out of Connor's mouth. 

Connor seems to find endless fun in torturing his younger brother.  Like today, he noticed that Aidan was getting spooked by the thought of 'nightmares' and ghosts close to bedtime tonight--well, Connor wasted no time chanting about how there are nightmares down the hallway--so, I spent 30 minutes trying to unload the dishwater with a whining and clinging 2 yr old at my leg.  Or, knowing what Aidan's reaction would be, Connor will remind Aidan that he has to go to school on PDO days and then says, "Well, you have to...you gotta make do."  More whining.

Aidan, the instigator that he is combined with the desire to have anything of Connor's will see his older brother holding a toy and declare,"That mine!", then snatch and run.  What comes next comes close to breaking the sound barrier as both boys tear through the house, one chasing the other.  The end result is almost always a resnatch followed by wailing or the most avante garde worthy-of-academy-award-performance for any 4 yr old ever.
Oh, and the constant competition--this must be a guy thing cause I don't remember this one.  Connor's all,"well, Aidan, I can stay up at naptime, and you have to go to sleep" or "Aidan, I can run faster than you cause I'm bigger" or "I'm first to do [anything]". 

This mama is TIRED and FED UP!

Connor is fairly quick to forgive but r-e-a-l-l-y slow to apologize--usually, only to try and avoid punishment.  Aidan is a speedy apologizer but refuses to forgive, out of spite I think.  So, pretty much any quarreling situation is screwed from the start.

The only time that I've noticed these days when they do seem to play together without fighting is when they are plotting against me or encouraging each other to break a rule.  There is safety in numbers after all...

My gut feeling is that Aidan has taken his cues from Connor, although he has a stinker streak in him too.  I've made them each a 'kindness' star chart.  It seemed to really make a difference the first 10 minutes or so.  Then, Connor forgot about it in the midst of a project outside and I heard a hand slapping skin followed by Aidan screaming.  1...2...3...4...We are 2 days into this experiment, and do you know how many stickers they have?  2 each!  In 48 hours!  Ugh.  Are my expectations too high?

I don't think that I'm going to resolve this issue with a few stars, or even this year.  I'm hoping that the Lord will give wisdom, patience, and grace to deal with them without doing them bodily harm (you think I'm kidding?).  And, I pray that He will use these hard days to sharpen their characters and warm their hearts toward each other and to draw them closer to Himself.

Lord, thy will be done...and, give me strength!

Goal!!!!!!

So, I don't want the fall to get away from me before I mention our first experience with organized sports.  We signed Connor up for soccor this fall with a local city league.  At first, I'm pretty sure that we were more excited than he was about the whole thing.  Our little home-body was fairly slow to warm up to the idea, until he found out that daddy would be one of the coaches.  For me as a mama, this is truly the kind of thing that I'd been waiting for, so I was double-y glad and relieved that his fear of the unknown turned to excitement.

 The Cubs were not unlike the bad news bears in their abilities and in their desire to win.  It was comical to see how many clouds or butterflies were more interesting than the soccor ball whizzing past these kids on the field while the exasperated dads/coaches yelled,"go, kick the ball...go get the ball!" 

Connor really enjoyed the getting ready part for a practice or a game--for instance, the uniform (which consisted of a navy blue and white t-shirt, his own shorts, and shin-guards).  The shin-guards were his favorite--and, they were.very.cool.  He loved the high fives, the huddle cheers, and the end-of-quarter-water-breaks.

I guess it was merciful that he didn't care as much about the fact that they got creamed at about half their games.  It was really sweet how clueless they were.  Of course, their age-group division was without scoring and had no goalies, so the odds were that most of the kids had no idea how they were playing til they looked over at their cheering squad in the bleachers.  And, ours was full of "go get 'ems" and "good hussles" and the like (so, they won every game).

It was exactly how I pictured my first time as a soccor mom.  My bag was packed with brand new water bottles, my camera, and special surprise snacks for half-time.  At first, I was a little shy to cheer; but, it didn't take long for me to swell so with pride that I was belting out those "way to go Connor" cheers with no hesitation.  I'm not going to deny either that giant lump in my throat as I watched him go out there that first day in the blistering TX heat, my little brave man, and run his little heart out even though he was probably really scared b/c he didn't know any of the kids.  And, my heart leaped when I realized that he was quickly making friends and began to not only enjoy being out there with Richard, but also he really enjoyed that HE was out there.period.  He looked forward to going to games.  I could tell that he walked a little taller (and a little farther away from me) over the course of those short two months.    And, just to top off the whole experience (for mom and dad), he scored a goal--his only goal--the last second of the last play of the last game of the season!  GGOOAAALL!  I almost cried as a watched Richard pick him up and toss him into the air.

 

Playful is probably the best way to describe Aidan these days.  The child wakes up wanting to play and fights sleep at night trying to get in just one more moment of it.  And, he has a magnetic personality that is becoming evident more and more each day. 

Even when he's sad, he's charming me with his larger-than-life tears and quivering, sweet mouth.  If a boo-boo's to blame, I'll hear,"oiw, dat hut me!" and "right heaw, right heaw--kiz it!"  (and, my kisses are like magic these days and I love it)
And, injustice is a big one these days with our home of "brotherly love".   When Aidan's on the receiving end of said brotherly love, he'll burst into tears and run to find me and bury his head in my leg, hoping, my guess is, that I'll immediately realize that he is the only victim in the matter and deal with the obvious perpetrator. 

Connor, these days, is all about forts and clubhouses and getting them stocked just right and sealed off in just the right places.  Aidan is all about crashing and shooting and instigating.  I'll be minding my business in the kitchen and suddenly there comes a gasp so desperate followed by, "OHH NOO!  MY CLUBHOUSE!"  I'll come into the room and find Connor has thrown himself down onto the ground very dramatically while Aidan stands there holding a blanket that has been the wall of the latest fortress and saying,"heaw Connor!"...like, I think that this must be yours--not sure if that's to distract me from the fact that he was the one who just pulled it down b/c he thinks he'll get in trouble or if he's actually feeling regret for it and that's his attempt at reconciling.

 It is so cute to watch Aidan breaking his neck to keep up with Connor and so precious when he tries so hard to get Connor to play with him.  Although, b/c most games end like the forementioned clubhouse, Connor is a little wary--can't blame him there.  Their play is so different and not just b/c of the difference in ages.  Connor wants to control all the variables and dictate what comes next, while Aidan is a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants kind of boy.  Connor watches everything and hears everything.  Aidan watches Connor and sees everything that Connor does.  This pic below is of Connor in time-out.  Aidan just ignored my 'leave Connor alone and go play' orders.  He crept up to one very angry brother and slid down next to him while saying,"I in time out!"  He's showing signs of possessing a very empathetic side---and, as you can see, a very silly side too.

This was in the car on a trip home from Dallas.  It was naptime and we told the boys to close there eyes and go to sleep.  This was Aidan's effort.  Don't let the picture fool you--this was not just a ploy to get me to turn around and let my guard down so he could finish drawing his picture.  He has this face for 4-5 minutes til finally sleep came and he dropped the magna-doodle pen and closed his mouth. 

You can pretty much bet on finding Aidan wherever Connor is .  He loves and looks up to his brotherand this makes this mama very happy.  Sometimes I'll walk into a room where they're playing and I can tell by their giggles and knowing looks that they already have little secrets that only the two of them share.   

Here's a snuggle with grandma.  He looks so big there in her lap.  Big boy and sweet baby at the same time.  Our little Aid-ey.

The trip

Not sure where August went.  Our trip to the UK is almost a distant memory now.  We had a great time in Dublin, London, Oxford, and Edinburgh.  Of course, the boys posed some challenges for us.  Our flat in Oxford was a cool mile away from the college where we ate.  With only one stroller and a baby-backpack, that got old quickly, especially after it warmed up and I stopped putting Aidan in the backpack.  Our walks consisted of trying to figure out a way to distract Connor to avoid the endless whining about how tired his legs were or how he couldn't walk another step and had to rest.  Funny how, when he had an ice cream cone in his hands, his legs worked just fine. 

Sleeping, which was a huge dread for me with the boys, really worked out fine.  The jet-lag worked in our favor there--they were exhausted and usually slept beautifully.  Except for Oxford, the whole family slept in the same room.  In our Oxford flat, the boys had there own room.  It was sweet to wake up to their voices down the hallway greeting the day with each others' company.  Many times, I was able to creep close enough to peer in and see that Connor had climbed into Aidan's pack 'n play and watch them playing. 
We were really limited about toys, obviously, so the ones that we had were treasured (interesting, huh?).  Aidan fed his obsession with matchbox and hotwheel cars, and, Connor rediscovered how cool clubhouses could be using bedsheets and chairs. 

Also, books were a great source of joy for them.  Connor had memorized almost all the ones we had and would "read" them to Aidan while Aidan looked on so seriously and attentively. 



I was pleased that the two of them teamed up so well while we were away--I guess lack of any other options forced them into it.  Loud doesn't even begin to describe there play.  I was constantly telling them to keep it down--our walls seemed like paper and I was so afraid to to be known as the 'loud Americans' and since our family was the only one in our group with kids, I was

I loved moments like this.

especially sensitive to there volume whenever we were with the group.
The students seemed to either really love them or not really notice them.  We had two students who even babysat twice for us during our 5 weeks. 
Our days were mostly spent finding parks, museums, and gardens.  There were some really great playgrounds there.  The boys were able to make a few 'friends' with other kids while climbing up and down on the equipment and in the sandboxes.  This was really neat to me because, even the kids who spoke different languages, played exactly the same and didn't seem insecure about their differences--not sure what I expected, but I loved it.

At Blenheim Castle

Regrets from the trip:  definitely myself.  I worried about everything, were the boys going to sleep?, would there be anything that they would eat?, how would we get from point A to point B?, are the other professors annoyed by the kids presence on the trip?, how long could I keep the boys occupied at formal dinner before they started embarrassing us?, what were expectations there for children's behavior?, why are there so many 'do not walk on the grass' areas?, when is it okay for the boys to be boys?, what's too loud?, ....see what I mean?  Most days, I just tried to get the boys out to play and avoided the group for fear of disaster.  Finally, by the end, I really wanted to
go to college for supper, and the boys ended up under the tables and making sculptures out of three or four different place settings worth of silverware--much to the dismay of this severe, stern kitchen bosslady, who came by sometimes and just took all the silverware away from them without a word to me.  Supper was...stressful, to say the least.  I tried not to care and just roll with it some nights, but usually I left hall in a sweaty, stiff mess and just dared Richard to linger longer than I thought that he should--I was ready at that point for the kids to go.to.sleep.  And, with the mile-long walk back, our journey back to the flat didn't mark the end of the headache that had started back in the dining hall.  Before we'd even left the college grounds,
Connor would start in on how he couldn't possibly walk all.the.way.back. 
And, usually it would end in crying, yelling, or a combo of both.

Christ Church College--built in the 1500's.  Amazing!

 But, as I said before, my response to all that stress was a regret.  I think that if we are ever blessed to go again, I'll be much more prepared and adaptable--hopefully.

they loved hiding in the mazes

punting

Big Whitey

All in all, a great trip with great memories.  Some of the highlights:  riding in a double-decker bus for Connor, see double-decker buses for Aidan, playing in the botanical gardens' rose garden maze, walking in the Christ Church meadow, being inside Christ Church college (beautiful!), letting Connor and Aidan say 'hello' every.single.day to the large fish in the fountain (their favorite, a white carp they named Big Whitey), navigating the subway, Blenheim Palace playground, Meadow Lane adventure playground (gigantic sandbox for Aidan and an awesome zip-line ride for Connor), Indian food, cool air most of the time, inpromptu rain showers, amazing flowers, real life castles, taking a ride in a punting boat, getting to watch Richard be a great teacher close up, paninis (it was the little things that made our days), and seeing the excitement and adaptablity of Connor and Aidan in all the unfamiliar made me stop and enjoy too.

in the Botanical gardens--that tree was huge!

so sweet--I was so proud of Connor here.

Just climbed 3/4 of the way up Arthur's Seat in Edinburgh (carrying Aidan in the baby backpack!).  Richard and Connor went ahead to the very top while Aidan and I watched from this landing.  Great view!

Connor's favorites

And now Connor, time for your list:

favorite foods:  mac and cheese, chocolate milk, chicken dunked in chick fil a polynesian sauce (but not the chick fil a nuggets--you say that they are too salty!), and a ham and cheese and ketsup sandwich (??).

favorite books:  (hard to narrow this one down to just a few) Rainbow Fish, Charlotte's Web, Owl at Home, Merry Christmas Amelia Bedelia, and The Jesus Storybook Bible especially the story of the crucifixtion and resurrection.

favorite games:  making clubhouses and forts usually loades with pillows and books and blankets and toys, hide-and-seek, playing on the backyard wood play set, and anything that involves you directing EVERY aspect of the game.

favorite friends:  Wes Snoden and Jaxson from preschool and Nate Polk from church.  Hopefully, you will continue those friendships after starting 'big' school next year when everybody goes in different directions.

favorite quiet time activity:  play-doh, scribbling with markers, watching videos....although, you and quiet are only synonymous either while sleeping or for short 15 seconds spells in between all your loudness.

favorite outfit:  your orange and grey striped shirt (short-sleeved), your green and white striped shirt (long-sleeves), your Thomas underpants, your long blue jeans, your socks with the brown stripe, and your red and black shoes.

favorite movies or shows:  Toy Story, Kipper, Phineus and Ferb, Cars, and Thomas.

tid bits:  I am reminded daily what a bright, thoughtful child you are--sometimes you use that knowhow to get into mischief or argue your plight.  You have very definite opinions and like things the way you like them. 

You enjoy being a big brother some of the time, but it "gets on your nerves" at others.  I can see that you are enjoying playing with Aidan more and more as Aidan gets older.  You don't like it now that Aidan can assert himself a little more.  And, y'all definitely have your share of swabbles.  You love to direct your play with him and you are usually okay if Aidan does exactly what you want him to do--you're not liking that now Aidan's coming up with his own opinions now too.  It's just one of those growing up lessons--can't always get what you want exactly when you want it.  I'm so proud of you b/c I'm seeing that you are really making a conscious effort these days to take turns and let bygones be bygones.  You are definitely growing into a mature little boy before ours eyes. 

You enjoy sameness, which I can definitely relate to--changing routines, or introducing new people or plans throws you off a bit, but you are becoming much more adaptable that way as you are getting older.  I see a lot of myself in you and the way you interact with your world.  You see beauty all around in nature, you love coolness (as you call it), your mind becomes consumed in the stories of your books and you replay it over and over again, you hold back and are guarded when you meet a new friend and want Mommy's familiar presence til you warm up...and then you're off with no trouble, you try to please me when you think I'm upset, you are already so trusting in God's sovereignty (I hope that only continues to build into thankfulness for it and for His grace), and you are extremely passionate (either with joy or with anger).

We love to see your bright and smiling face enjoying sweet play and hearing you tell us all the amazing adventures you find yourself in each day--you tell everything with such passion and excitement...it's infectious.  We love you with all our heart.  Our sweet big boy!

These are a few of my favorite things

Years from now you'll likely ask,"what was I like when I was little?"  It will be fun to look back at this.  Here are a few of your favorites right now:

Aidan

• favorite food:  mac 'n cheese  (macck cheez)...you also love rice, orzo with pesto mixed in (you also call this rice), apples, pears, cheerios, cheddar cheese, toddle raviolis, dried cranberries, frozen waffles, scrambled eggs, bacon, can biscuits, and of course milk.
• favorite word:  Nooooo
• favorite book:  last week "the very hungry caterpillar", this week "love you forever" and "guess how much I miss you" read by grandma or "the night before Christmas" read by Aunt Gretta.  Your favorites change frequently, but you always want me to "sid douww" (sit down) and "ree book" while pointing very adamately on the couch cushions or the floor.
• favorite song:  "the wheels on the bus" and you signal to me to sing it for you by rolling your fists over and over each other.  You also love to listen to VeggieTales, which you "bohhh leyi" (bob and larry).
• favorite toy:  easy. cars and trucks.  You especially love the little hot wheel sized ones.  You sometimes walk around almost all day two-fisting them and scream like your life depended on it if one is taken away.  Sometimes you sit all by yourself for minutes on end just positioning or pushing your cars around on the coffee table or your play table. 
• frequent request:  "watsz tommy" as in watch Thomas the train on tv.  And when I say 'frequent', I mean like all the time.  When you ask, you smile while you say it--I wish that I could catch you on video asking me.  It's so cute.  When I tell you guys that we will watch Thomas, you throw your hands up in the air and roar,"Tommyeee" and run to the tv.
• favorite lovey:  you, lately, really love to snuggle one of two blankets--a soft yellow one (given by the Hoffmans) and a blue one that's soft quilted on one side and fuzzy, soft on the other.  You also love your pull-string musical puppy--although, you don't really care that it's musical; you just like to hug it.
• Newest craze:  anything related to Thomas the Train.  Grandma gave you "Toby the Tram" for our collection.  You have been soo crazy about this thing.  Several nights you even slept with it.  The train fascination has definitely struck you.

Tid bits:  You love to get dressed in the morning, but you hate having your diaper changed.  I suspect you're sure you don't have the time to spend on such things.  Sometimes during diaper changes, you insist to "go peep" (go pee pee) just like Connor.  We strip you down below the equator and stand you up on a small stool at the potty and wait.  And wait some more.  Until finally you announce, "aww duuhh" and you happily climb down.  The first time you were up there, you did a little dribble, but none since.  I'm not sure you even know how to make it happen yet.  You seem awfully amazed and tickled when it happens in the tub.  But, I'm all too happy to entertain this dress rehearsal of sorts.  It'll happen eventually.

You now really love your nursery teachers.  Miss Gloria and Miss Azalia light up with terrific smiles when you walk in pulling your 'cars' rolly backpack behind you.  A few weeks ago you handed your pack over to Miss Azalia and ran to Miss Gloria to give her a hug when at drop-off.  I was so shocked and so happy.  Happy to know that you are loved and that you love the ones who love you when I'm not around. 

In addition to all that sweetness, lately we've noticed an increasing aggressiveness from you.  Sometimes you just walk right up to Connor, reach out and pull a huge chunk of his hair.  Or grab his chest for a good, long pinch.  I'm guessing you're figuring he has it coming given past crimes, or even assuming future incidences.  Thankfully, for me, you hate time-out and nearly fall to pieces with even the slightest correction.  You are a star at apologizing.  "I saarreey" rolls right out and usually with a smile and hug. 

You're not the best, however, at accepting those apologies though.  At any injustice, ie. a swiped toy car, a speck of mac n cheese falling on the floor instead of  your mouth, or Connor beating you to me for 'mommy's home hugs' at the end of my work day, your sweet mouth turns stiff and the bottom lip is forced out to accommodate all the sobbing that will eventually ensue while you throw yourself down onto the ground in protest and desperation.  It's quite a sight to see. And hear.
The best of all.  The absolute best of all for me, as your mama, is to come up to you when you don't know I'm home and watch your face lift up from whatever car or truck or train that has your attention at the moment.  You see me, grin, and happily say,"Mommy!"  while you make a beeline to me with arms outstretched.  Then you let me hug you.  Afterward, you pull away a bit but don't take your eyes off my face while you say it again, this time almost in a whisper as if it's a secret between the two of us.

I love you too, sweet boy.  My sweet baby boy.                                        

Two

Aidan, yesterday you turned two.  No more one year old boy. 

I think that you sensed that it was your day.  You woke up so early--6:15am which is really unusual for you.  I'm hoping that we're not starting a trend. 

When I went to pick you up out of your crib--which, by the way, you don't seem in a hurry to lose..and, fine by me--you immediately began chanting, "more tommy, more tommy!" ...translated "more Thomas".  You love Thomas the Train, and we've let you and Connor both watch episodes of Thomas the Train while we ease into the day.

Everytime you see one of the engines or freight cars or such, you squeal with delight and point and shout until one of us acknowledges that we've seen it too.  You even get excited, no crazy excited, when you spot the pencil-size Thomas face on your very tiny toddler fork during a meal. 

Your morning routines are pretty predictable these days.  Get up, watch a little cartoon with Connor, drink you mi-mi (milk), and usually refuse whatever food I put in front of you (cheerios end up on the carpet or I find half-slobbered pieces of blueberry waffle all over the house where you've dropped it following Connor.

When I change your diaper in the morning now, you insist on dressing for the day. "Shar! Shorr! Shorrtt!" is your plea for shorts and a shirt.  There's no lounging around in your pj's all morning for you. I think that you're trying to be ready so you don't miss anything.

So, after Thomas and milk and one ditched waffle, we made our way out the door and went to Walmart, so I could hunt supplies for your birthday cake and so Connor could pick out a birthday present for you.

The first lesson that I, as your mommy, learned about my new two year old came only a few hours into your day:  that is, NEVER take you to the toy aisle of any store. NEVER.  Once your keen eyes spotted Lightning McQueen and Mater you screamed over and over til you got your fingers on them.  And, then we made our way down the to the Thomas end of the aisle.  More squeals.  I let Connor pick out a car to give you and a few cars and one Thomas for me and your daddy to give you--I had a large cloth grocery bag that I used to conceal the gifts from your wanting eyes. 

You were fine...until it was time to make our way to check-out.  You were desperate to convince me to turn that buggy around and take you back to those precious toys.  Heads on either side of us turned to see what was making all that noise...and what a dreadful face you gave them.  Sooo pitiful.  As if you were being stripped of all hope of any more happiness in all the world.  And the squealing and anger toward me, the pusher of the buggy.  Angry squawks to turn that buggy around.  To go back right now! 

You fell asleep in the car on the way home.  At 11:15am.  Way earlier than usual (1pm), but remember, you had gotten up like 1 hour earlier than normal, not to mention the tantrum at the store, so you were wiped out.  

Daddy carried you, sweet and sweaty, to your crib and lay you down to nap.

Connor wrapped your gifts after lunch--well, I wrapped and he helped me tape them.  He was very excited to give you your presents later.  (secretly, I think that he also was excited to play with them, but his enthusiasm for your surprises was truly genuine).

I assembled your cake.  It was angel food (I told you it was the cake that angels ate and that's why I wanted to give it to y'all, b/c y'all are my little angels).   I cut the two rectangular cakes to look like a semi truck cab and trailer.  The cab was blue (I'd originally wanted red, but I couldn't get the icing any darker than pink).  The trailer was purple (I added a little blue to the pink icing from earlier).

Connor, of course, couldn't wait for you to wake from your nap.

We had an early supper--pizza from papa john's.  Connor was so sweet to you and you were so excited for the attention.  You didn't eat much;  you seemed a little out of sorts frankly.  You and Connor got down from the table and played while we finished up.

You were so tickled to see the cake.  You immediately pointed and said, "Truck!"  Connor, of course, snuck a few licks.  We sang 'Happy Birthday" and you were the center of our all of our attentions--a rare occasion all at once.  And you loved it!  You couldn't quite give a strong enough 'blow' to get the candles out, but you did reach up and squeeze one of your candles out with you fingers (that fearless curiosity of yours!).

Incidently, you got mad at Daddy for smearing the icing on the cab of the truck when he was stealing a lick--you yelled, "No!  My truck! My truck!"

By the end of it, you and Connor both had purple icing from fingertips to legs.  I saw you put your fingers to your lips a few times, but mostly you just enjoyed playing in it.  Such a sweet sight for a mama to see--her boys having fun and us all enjoying your birthday happy.

After all the icing had been washed off y'all's hands, faces, and all the other crevices, you fell asleep in my arms drinking milk.  I was glad that the earlier bedtime that night (8:15pm) provided a little more light than usual.  I watched your face and how you enjoyed our time with me holding you, rocking back and forth beside your crib.  Your hair fell over your forehead so sweetly and your eyelids fell so that I could see that your eyelashes almost matched the hair on your head.  You clung to me when I picked you up to transfer you to your bed.  I gave you your special blanket, the blue fuzzy on one side and smooth on the other side blanket.  You were out before I even left the room.

Two is looking pretty good so far.

The magic box

After good friends gave us some homemade treats in this box at Christmas last year, it has kept hidden leftover stocking candy, valentine's treats, school party goodies, sugary presents from Grandma, and extra birthday party favor candy, only to be doled out by Mama or Daddy...slowly.

One afternoon, when Connor was in the foulest mood and I was at the end of my patience, I remembered the box way up in the cabinet out of sight.  I announced that we had a 'magic box' with treats inside. 

Ears perked.  "What's in there, Mama?"

"Ohh, very special treasures!  BUT, these are only for sweet, obedient, helpful, and kind children."

I felt a little bit guilty about that, but, like I said, I was out of patience.

He asked, "Am I a very sweet and kind boy?"  His hands were out, all ready to receive--and, in that moment, he looked almost angelic.

My heart melts.  My mind was saying, 'at least make him work for it...get him to clean up the endless piles of cars on the floor.'

But no. 

"Of course you are sweetie!" with a big kiss on his cute cheek, as I untied the bow.   His face lit up and he jumped up into my arms giving me a huge huge.  "Thank you Mama!"

There we were.  Connor munching on a chocolate valentine heart while I stood beside him at the counter, so happy to be able to give him such pleasure. 

I don't know--maybe my motherly instincts didn't totally miss that day. Surely, along with the sugar in him tummy, the take away of that moment will remind Connor later of another unearned gift.


In Matthew, Jesus said,"be like these children: full of trust in God.  They are the most important in the kingdom." The children ran and jumped into Jesus' arms with no worry about how good they were, or how important they were, or even how nice and kind they were. 

God's love is a gift.  All you have to do is reach out and take it.

Maybe someday he'll remember moments like that--when he was rewarded for doing absolutely nothing--and think of God's amazing gift of his son for us, one also unearned.  The biggest and most special gift of all.

Told ya so

My prediction about not keeping this blog account going was pretty accurate.  Let's see--I've skipped three or four very exciting trips by grandparents and to grandparents, one very bodatious and expensive trip to Disney World, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, Richard's birthday, a tortuous family ordeal that left Richard and the boys fending for themselves, Connor's fourth birthday, and lots of Aidan's drool and sweet smiles.

Two peas in a pod.

A special birthday for Mama from her three best boys!

Connor insisted on being a Christmas tree for Halloween.  We even had battery-powered lights :)

Aidan finally likes to 'read' books and loves Aunt Gretta!

Connor never tires of...well, he never tires!  Pop pop is raising the bar here :)

I never tire of that look.

Since I'm sure that Connor won't remember this trip, here's our proof to him that it happened...and, it was a blast!

A rare hand-holding moment (Connor, no doubt, is trying to stay on the 'nice' list).

Connor got a bike with training wheels for Christmas---he's riding like a pro now and it's impossible to keep up with him most of the time!

Two handsome, hard-working guys!

Bubble-land.  Need I say more?

Aidan is finally consistently sleeping through the night now---or else, I would've never jeopardized this naptime to snap this precious shot.

Mid-morning and just after supper in the evenings are such blessings these days .  That's the magical-brother's-play-together-time without fighting...well, without fighting a lot...most of the time....

Aidan's personality is really starting to shine and he's become quite the sweetheart and fun-loving little man.

Love this picture of Connor.  It was shot by Richard who took Connor to a snake roundup near Waco.  Yes, I said snake roundup.

Aidan loves a chair!

Cousin time with Vincent at the stick sculpture in Cameron Park.

Love.

Blurry picture, but a sweet and very four Connor eating pizza and enjoying a giant chocolate cupcake.

That blue ring pop made Aidan look cyanotic.  He's really hamming it up for the camera--he made this face at least four times on demand for me to snap the shot.

More cousin time with Andrew and Hunter.

Our first 100 degree day was in May this year--yuck!  Pool splashing fun for all (whether you like it or not!).

End of year program at Connor's preschool.  I can't even put into words how proud a mama I was watching him sing those sweet songs and make the little hand gestures and even singing in Spanish.  He's changed so much and grown up so much this past year.  My little man.

My little man throwing a very babyish tantrum.  I believe this one involved not getting either tv time or a third snack for the day or something equally ridiculous (but, obviously, very important to him!).

I think I can. I think I can.  And, he almost can. (he can ride the scooter solo now).  Go Aidan, go!

I love watching them when they don't know I'm there.  I pray every day that they will grow up loving God and loving each other.  The loving each other part is much easier to imagine during moments like this....but, during less-lovely moments, I know that despite THEIR love, GOD loves them and will, I pray, mold their hearts into tenderhearted and kind souls who will support and love one another, forgive one another, and protect one another all the days of their lives.