Sweet boys

There are days when the energy and noise level of two little boys (I say boys, but I think Kaitlin is actually louder sometimes!) can be a bit taxing to my Type A personality. But the truth is, I wouldn't trade them for the world and they are such sweet kids. So many things have happened lately that I keep wanting to remember to record and they are starting to pile up so I'm going to take a moment and see if I can remember them all.

First of all, my ritual "send off" by the boys. I need to video tape it because it is quite possibly the sweetest, cutest thing you could see. When I'm leaving and they are staying home with Dan they MUST first give me a kiss and a hug (or it is devastating to their little hearts). Then they run out to the garage and as I'm pulling out and the garage door is closing they stand in the garage and sign "I love you," wave, and then wrap their arms around themsevelvs and twist side to side like they are giving me an imaginary hug. Over and over they go through the motions and squat down as the garage door lowers still waving and signing until the last inch closes.

Precious.

Some day they'll probably just yell "'Bye Mom!" over their shoulder. Right now, I get a send off worthy of a queen.

And here are the other moments of cuteness.

On Friday night we went to see some Christmas lights (post coming). I got home and changed into pajamas, pulled my hair back into a band and took out my contacts and put on my glasses. I went in to help Andrew brush his teeth and as I was brushing them he said, "I yuv you Mama."

"I love you too, Andrew."

"You look beautiful."

In my jammies and glasses. So sweet.

Last night without prompting, he sat down and said, "Mommy, Thank you for this delicious dinner." I feel like my days are filled with reminders of "please" and "thank you" and other various teachings on social graces. So when these unsolicited words come from my children they are like shining jewels. Oh, it is such music to my ears!

And now for Matthew.

One day I was really frustrated with Matthew and Andrew. I was feeling so irritated when I turned to clean up the kitchen table where Matthew had been crafting and I saw the note that is scanned in at the top of this post. "God Bless Every One." My heart just melted. I have it hung up in the kitchen. It's not just a sweet message, but my own little reminder for me to be patient.

Matthew has a friend at school named Stephen. He really likes him and the two of them are pretty inseperable from what I've seen in the classroom. The other day Matthew (on his own--without any prompting or suggesting by me) made a card for Stephen that said, "Thank you for being my friend." He took it to school, gave it to him and told him to open it when he got home.

Stephen's mom called yesterday to see if Matthew was available for a last minute play date. Matthew misunderstood and thought that Andrew would be coming (he got to have a date with Daddy instead) and was instructing Andrew "When you meet Stephen you need to say, 'Hi. It's nice to meet you.'" I thought that was so cute.

Later, I ran Matthew up the street to Stephen's house. When I was leaving I looked up to see Matthew peeking through the window next to their front door. He signed "I love you," wrapped his little arms around himself to send me a hug and watched me drive away.

Sometimes I feel like the luckiest Mommy in the world.