An Mid-October update

Last night Paul and I collapsed onto the bed after a particularly challenging and chaotic day of parenting.  Paul sighed and said,

Well, another day in the books. 
(pause...)
We're one day closer to the kids moving out.

I busted out laughing.  He said it so casually and matter-of-fact-ly.  The days are long and the years are short. That is what we've been told again and again.  It seems to be true at times, although from the perspective of a sentimental mom I would argue that the days are short, too, especially as I see the boys growing up before my eyes.

Ben will be 2 1/2 on November 1.  He just seemed to be one, and now he will be closer to three years old than to one year old.  I can't capture his personality or bottle up the amazingly "Benny" things he says and does fast enough.  Everything out of his mouth makes me smile, laugh, feel pride, love him more. I remember feeling that way about Luke at age 2, too.  It's a special time of learning and growth and particular cuteness.  I already mourn the 2 year old Ben every day as he becomes closer to the 3 year old Ben.  I am excited for who he is each day and love each day, but I realize how easily things slip from memory as the days pass.  For example, I can hardly remember Luke as a 2 year old.  It makes me extremely sad to know that the 2 year old Luke is virtually gone from memory.  And so it will go with Ben I fear.  Thank goodness for pictures like these to help jog the memory:

Shoes on the wrong feet, undies on backwards, shirt tucked into the undies, cowboy hat.

Always wearing the goggles.  He went potty next to Luke in the woods.

Some other Ben things: He calls lemonade "ellowmade" and fruit snacks "snoot snacks."  If I tell him it's nap time he says, "No snot, mom."  He is actually saying no its not, mom but it comes out like no snot, mom.  He heard a song in the car the other day that we had never heard before, it had a techno beat, and he said "this is my favorite song mom."  It doesn't sound funny as I type it, which is the problem with blogging my memories.  Years (even just months) from now I won't understand what was cute or funny about some of these things simply because I can't capture Ben's funny face as he says it, or his cute little voice, or his "TWO-NESS" that just makes everything coming out of his mouth so precious and adorable, like his new favorite techno song that he'd just heard for the first time a second ago.  We were in the golf cart a few weeks ago and a bee was chasing us.  I said, "Get out of here, bee."  Ben asked, "Why mom?"  I said, "I don't like bees. Bees sting."  He said, "Bees don't stink mom."  I said, "Sting, not stink!"  :)  If Luke won't clear his plate from the table Ben says, "I will clear Lukey's plate, Mom" and away he goes with it.  If Luke leaves his backpack in the middle of the kitchen floor and I ask him to put it away, Ben says, "I will put Lukey's backpack in Lukey's room, Mom" and away he goes to put it away.  The other day I grabbed him to kiss his little cheeks and he squirmed and said, "No give me smooches mama!"  I love that he called them smooches.  So many more Benny stories...if only I could capture them all.

Meri continues to grow like a weed, we have her weighing in at 14.6 lbs with clothes and diaper on.  She is not quite 4 months and has almost doubled her birth weight (they want babies to double birth weight by 6 months old).  She coos and smiles and is close to giggling.  She takes a bottle like a champ and sleeps great at night.  She gets smothered with kisses from her brothers and gets hit in the head by them quite a bit, too.  Here are a few pictures of little Mer-bear.  She is so cute I can hardly stand it.

And Luke, he is growing up quickly.  He loves school (which was not the case the first few weeks and was very heavy on my heart).  He only wears shirts with collars and he likes to pop the collar.  He fights battles in the living room with imaginary people.  He loves to watch TV and movies.  He is a picky eater and eats PB&Js for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.  He is a bit of a Cliff Claven with all sorts of crazy facts that he picks up at school or from Grandma Annie, like today's fact - "Did you know that pumpkins float, Mom?"  These things may all change, but right now, this is my four and a half year old Luke.  And I love him to pieces.  He has less kisses and hugs for me, which is sad, but understandable.  He is busy imagining and playing and growing up.  Here are a few pictures of the collared shirts:

Playing with friends, Liam and Tommy

Life is busy and chaotic and there are fights and tears, but there are heart warming moments that balance out the chaos.  I was in the shower tonight and Luke and Ben were in the living room with Meri in the jumper.  Benny came barreling into the bathroom, "I need wipes, Mom!"  I said, "Oh no!  Did you pee or poop on the floor? What happened??"  He said, "Nope, they're for Meri.  She spit up mom."  He grabbed the wipes and took off to clean her and the jumper up.  Sweet Ben.  And today after school Luke saw that Ben was wearing his favorite spikes and he said, "Oh, those look cool Ben.  That's fine.  They are too small for me and they look good on you."  Sweet Luke.  And tonight Meri was screaming and screaming and when I got close to her and she heard my voice she stopped screaming and gave me the most adorable, loving smile - letting me know she was thankful for me being near.  Sweet Meri.

I love these kids and every moment of screaming, chaos, fighting, hugging, loving, sharing, smiling, and growing.