Simple Pleasures

My kids are really growing up.

When you have a child, everyone in the universe tells you to savor every moment, it goes by too quickly, etc. It is challenging to remember that when you haven't slept in 37 hours, are covered in sour milk, and are up to your elbow in the toilet rinsing a poopy diaper. At times, I felt like 20 minutes was 20 hours.

However, now that I get to sleep again, weeks are flying by without me even realizing it. I have been very focused on trying to slow down as much as possible and really enjoy the little things H and Ev do that make me smile, giggle, cry, and beam with pride every day. Here is a list of recent accomplishments, mishaps, and moments of pure joy:

#1 Holden can put on her own underpants. This is big. In the past, she has ended up with the one or both leg openings crushing around her waist or the whole shebang on her head (Don't even ask). It has taken only two days and I have taught her how to get them on right every time.


#2 Everett will give kisses...sometimes. If I ask really sweetly and he is in just the right mood, he will run over with his arms wide, his mouth open and dripping with slobber, and smear my entire face with the mess. It is a beautiful thing.

#3 Holden put herself down for a nap and fell asleep without me even knowing. I walked in and there she was curled up under her covers snoring away. The girl does enjoy her sleep.

#4 Everett will bring me things. I was hanging up a curtain rod the other day and the little scamp took off with my screwdriver. I was perilously balanced on a ladder holding the rod in place and I asked (begged) him to "PLEASE bring the screwdriver to mommy???!!!!" He slowly and deliberately looked at the screwdriver in his hand, walked over to me, and stood on his tiptoes to reach me and hand it over.


#5 Holden will sing, You Are My Sunshine to Everett when he is upset and is crying. Ian taught her all the words without me knowing and it is about the sweetest thing I have ever heard.

#6 Holden is completely potty trained for a while now. Which is 99.9% a good thing. BUT, she sometimes goes without telling me or me realizing it and her little potty sits...full...for a while. This could be very bad in many ways, like when I found Ev dunking my headlamp and splashing in the pee. All I thought was, thank god it was just pee!

#7 Holden is the loviest, huggiest, kissiest child in town. She is Queen Snuggler and she loves to settle chest to chest into your lap and nestle her head on your chest. She often looks up, grabs my face with both hands and whispers "I have a secret....I....love....mommy." or "I love you more than ...whole...wide....small...big....WORLD!" Which means I love you more than anything in the whole wide world. Tonight she got cozy with Ian and whispered into his ear, with heartfelt sincerity and seriousness, "merry christmas daddy!" We think she thinks it is another way to say I love you or something, anyway, it is darn cute.


#8 Everett LOVES to be held. Now, this can go two ways. Mostly I love getting my hands on him and smooshing big kisses into his chubby baby cheeks, but once in a while I have to do something, like go to the bathroom, make lunch, get dressed, etc. Or my arms get tired, he weighs as much as Holden! And usually this pretty much ticks him off. He will walk around forlornly whining, waah, waah, waah, like a broken record. Not even real cries, just really loud whines all through the house...FOREVER. He doesn't stop. It almost gets funny a times. Of course, I can't stand it for too long and I have to scoop him up and hold him while he flips light switches and pulls my hair.


#9 Holden loves flowers. We were at Costco the other day and I was trying to leave. Holden was running all over creation. Then she saw the flowers and felt like she had to smell every single one. For about a minute I was begging her to "come on" before Everett completely lost his patience. Then I noticed this 50ish looking man had stopped his shopping and was watching her and giggling. I thought to myself, and then he looked at me and said, "I guess she needed to stop and smell the roses." Just another reminder to slow down and enjoy it all!