Today

William is struggling with arguing. Oh! It seems sometimes like I can't even tell him to go pee without him opposing it (even absent-mindedly). By the time it was bedtime I had had enough and I scolded him quite a bit. After that, it was a blur of bathtime, trimming nails, cleaning ears, brushing teeth, etc., and after it all, after prayer and lights out, as I sat in the rocking chair with Neva, I realized I didn't want to end the day without connecting with him. When I laid Neva down, fast asleep, Barrett was already asleep after a long day. I climbed the ladder up to William, and he was still awake, his big, bright eyes peering over the blanket that he holds to his nose. 

"I want to tell you four things that made me very proud of you today," I said to him. "One, you obeyed me at the park. You stayed by me and you listened to me and you ate your food when I told you to." I held up a second finger. "Two, you played so nicely with your friends at the park. You took turns and you were kind and you had fun with them. Three, you spoke very nicely to Miss Marge and Miss Dolores today. You answered their questions very nicely and you spoke loudly and respectfully. Four, you played very creatively with your car today. You made up lots of fun stories and used your imagination. And five," I said, holding up a bonus fifth finger, "you rode your scooter very well today. You were going so fast! And those are things that made me so proud of you today."

By the time I got to number 5, his eyes were glowing with pride. It took him a second and then he replied, holding his fingers up just like I had done, "Mom, one... you beed good at the parking lot. Two... you, you, you..." *long pause* "you eated good at the table. Three, you..." *another very long pause* "were very kind, and five," he added, skipping a number, "you were very good!" He was so eager to compliment me back.

Man, I love my kids!

Barrett always wants to be held these days, and lately, only MOM will do. I refuse, I absolutely refuse to let myself be frustrated or annoyed with his constant requests. Sometimes I have to tell him no, because I simply can't, but if I possibly can, I am going to hold that chubby little perfect boy (or at least let him ride ("ride your back, mom?") in the carrier) as long as he wants me to.

Neva is perfect. She is just so snuggly, happy, and soft. Her head is soft and warm, her hair growing longer and more downy. She is putting everything into her mouth. She sees me now and knows me and wants me to hold her... not that she grows fussy, but I can tell by her body language that she needs me. She spent the whole trip home from Charlevoix in her carseat, with no stops. That's a new record for our kids. I'm telling you, she's perfect. There's no love song that doesn't apply to her, and if there were, I would just change the words to make it fit.

Today we met Grandma Jo Anne and her two friends at the park. William made new friends and spent the whole time having adventures with them (I overheard something about killing a "giant spider monster"). Barrett spent a good deal of the time in my arms at the picnic table, while Grandma "JoJo" held Neva. It was nice to hold my baby boy in the shade! When he finally went to go play with Will, he got into trouble throwing wood chips and had to have a time out, through tears. Despite not having gotten enough sleep the night before (their faults, not mine!) the boys were very good.