This has been a particular challenge for me lately as I have been quick to snap at the boys, frustrated when Lia won't nap and a touch on the errr... well... grumpy side. While I normally pride myself on being able to tolerate sleep deprivation pretty well, I have apparently reached my limit. My children, in a misplaced attempt at thoughtfulness, have decided to alternate their sleeplessness. But instead of focusing on the fact that my sons have learned the fine art of pinching each other hard and quickly when I'm not looking or the fact that Lia has learned to stick her fingers in any bathroom door opened even a little bit to open it enough to squeak through and then dive immediately toward the toilet water (eeew), I'm trying to consciously focus more on the sweeter moments.
The other night the boys were getting out of the bathtub and were all squeaky clean and smelling sweet with damp hair and Jack turned to Gavin out of the blue and said "I love you Gavy" and threw his arms around Gavin who instead of pushing him away like he'd probably normally do, actually put his arms around him and squeezed him gently and responded "I love you too" with a sheepish smile. Awwww. (Never mind that as I'm writing this I can hear him tell Jack in the next room "Get out of my way stupid." Ugh.)
And Lia loves the stairs. This in itself is not quite sweet, in fact it's a little terrifying since the boys have a bad habit of forgetting to close the gate behind them. But what is sweet is that when she makes it to the second step before I get her she'll stop and giggle softly to herself and look up at me with the proudest grin.
I love it when the boys engage in imaginative play together. Today they were apparently real estate moguls, using the laundry baskets (which I hate to admit we have a million of since the clothes don't always make it from there to the dressers) as houses and shopping for and selling them to each other. Then they spent a long time 'furnishing' their selections with toys and play food.
All three kids are going through interesting conversational phrases (by "interesting" I mean both amusing AND annoying!). Jack is in the "But why?" stage. "But why can't we live underwater?" "But why aren't there furry monsters?" You get the idea. It is his favorite bedtime delay strategy- to befuddle me with strange non sequitur questions. Gavin is obsessed with what he is and is not old enough to do. "When can I go in a submarine?" Ummm... how to answer that one... "When can I go in the roof?" You mean the attic? "No, the roof." Like where the insulation is? "Yeah." Well, why would you want to? "For fun." Aah. Of course. Directly followed by "When can I go down a really big hill?" We were in the car at the time so I convinced him that the highway on-ramp was a really big hill. Lia is our parrot. You say something enough she'll say it too. One of her first words was "turtle". Yup, that's right. The boys were playing Wonderpets and she picked up Tuck. My Mom told her it was a turtle several times and from then on she was obsessed with turtles. She'll hunt the whole playroom for Tuck and then proudly proclaim "turtle". I kid you not, I am very impressed by her tenacity. However, you have to be careful what you say because it's likely you'll hear it right back at you and the boys are not so appreciative of her "copycat" tendencies.
The boys have had a particularly good day today (which is probably why I'm able to stick with the positive attitude for a whole blog post), playing together well and being solicitous of each other! Jack is still figuring out comfort and sympathy though. Gavin was upset that he struck out twice in his last baseball game (he's never done this before and took it pretty hard) and Jack put his arm on his and said "Brutter, you have to watch the ball and just swing." Hee hee. I don't think Gavin appreciated that but it was funny! Perhaps every day should be Rakhi day because apparently our talk about appreciating siblings today (even though we're not really celebrating until the weekend) sunk in!
Lest I have gone too far in the opposite direction and my children sound unbelievably sweet and you're totally jealous- remember they DON'T SLEEP (and the boys have both called me "mean Mama" at least 3 times in the last 24 hours)!
The other night the boys were getting out of the bathtub and were all squeaky clean and smelling sweet with damp hair and Jack turned to Gavin out of the blue and said "I love you Gavy" and threw his arms around Gavin who instead of pushing him away like he'd probably normally do, actually put his arms around him and squeezed him gently and responded "I love you too" with a sheepish smile. Awwww. (Never mind that as I'm writing this I can hear him tell Jack in the next room "Get out of my way stupid." Ugh.)
And Lia loves the stairs. This in itself is not quite sweet, in fact it's a little terrifying since the boys have a bad habit of forgetting to close the gate behind them. But what is sweet is that when she makes it to the second step before I get her she'll stop and giggle softly to herself and look up at me with the proudest grin.
I love it when the boys engage in imaginative play together. Today they were apparently real estate moguls, using the laundry baskets (which I hate to admit we have a million of since the clothes don't always make it from there to the dressers) as houses and shopping for and selling them to each other. Then they spent a long time 'furnishing' their selections with toys and play food.
All three kids are going through interesting conversational phrases (by "interesting" I mean both amusing AND annoying!). Jack is in the "But why?" stage. "But why can't we live underwater?" "But why aren't there furry monsters?" You get the idea. It is his favorite bedtime delay strategy- to befuddle me with strange non sequitur questions. Gavin is obsessed with what he is and is not old enough to do. "When can I go in a submarine?" Ummm... how to answer that one... "When can I go in the roof?" You mean the attic? "No, the roof." Like where the insulation is? "Yeah." Well, why would you want to? "For fun." Aah. Of course. Directly followed by "When can I go down a really big hill?" We were in the car at the time so I convinced him that the highway on-ramp was a really big hill. Lia is our parrot. You say something enough she'll say it too. One of her first words was "turtle". Yup, that's right. The boys were playing Wonderpets and she picked up Tuck. My Mom told her it was a turtle several times and from then on she was obsessed with turtles. She'll hunt the whole playroom for Tuck and then proudly proclaim "turtle". I kid you not, I am very impressed by her tenacity. However, you have to be careful what you say because it's likely you'll hear it right back at you and the boys are not so appreciative of her "copycat" tendencies.
The boys have had a particularly good day today (which is probably why I'm able to stick with the positive attitude for a whole blog post), playing together well and being solicitous of each other! Jack is still figuring out comfort and sympathy though. Gavin was upset that he struck out twice in his last baseball game (he's never done this before and took it pretty hard) and Jack put his arm on his and said "Brutter, you have to watch the ball and just swing." Hee hee. I don't think Gavin appreciated that but it was funny! Perhaps every day should be Rakhi day because apparently our talk about appreciating siblings today (even though we're not really celebrating until the weekend) sunk in!
Lest I have gone too far in the opposite direction and my children sound unbelievably sweet and you're totally jealous- remember they DON'T SLEEP (and the boys have both called me "mean Mama" at least 3 times in the last 24 hours)!
Cute and messy boy!
The boys at the ball game with a friend! The players were sooooo nice to them and gave them a ball!
Artistes! 
It's nontoxic I swear!
He is so detail-oriented!
The boys were away for the weekend and she greatly enjoyed having the playroom to herself!
Rare personal appearance (and not the best face) but I never wear hats and had to document!
Hot and happy girly partyin' away!
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6 comments:
Love this post and a glimpse, through words, of your children. They sound like a wonderful handful. Wow.. I can relate to "why?" I hear it a thousand times a day too. If that does not make a mother go gray...
Lia is a doll!! So so cute!!
Julie r
Thanks for keeping it real! I love how you include the real-life details along with the super-cute stuff. It makes me feel better when my boys are after each other. :o) And kids are always such a bewildering mix of adorable and, umm, high-maintenance.
Hope you're getting some better sleep soon!
-- Nancy
I love this post. I so appreciate the honesty and also the reminder to focus on the sweet stuff.
Augh Colleen...feeling you on the no sleep thing! Hard! I've found that I'm NOT a nice Momma when I don't sleep. :) Here's hoping things settle down soon. I loved getting this glimpse into your life!
Love this post,shhh,don't tell anyone,but I see some similarites!:) The pics are so cute. The hat picture is a mom's quick fixer upper. I never wear hats either,I guess if I ever caught myself in one,I'd post a picture too! HAHA. Have a great weekend!!... and get some sleep.ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ,Gidget
It does help to find the sweetness, huh? Lia is so cute and so are your boys! Simeon is all about squeezing through doors and slamming them too - lol! I hope you get some extra sleep soon!
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