There are so many moments every day that I want to remember forever.  There are also so many moment every day that I want to forget, or at least be able to look back on in 15 years and laugh at.

Sometimes Landon is grumpy--because I told him no, or because we can't go to the zoo, or because I won't let him drink my Cherry Limeade.  I try to cheer him up--tickling him, telling him knock-knock jokes, offering some other fun thing instead, but I can tell he's still mad at me.  This is where Spence comes in.  Spence immediately hones in on the situation and starts running around in a circle screaming at the top of his lungs with a huge smile on his face.

And Landon immediately bursts into giggles.  They chase each other around and around and around in a circle.  Sometimes even when they're supposed to be in bed sleeping.

But Spencer has a way of reaching Landon and making him laugh far better than mean ol' mom ever could.

I'm so glad they have each other.
I'm so glad I have them.

The other night, after we put them to bed, Landon kept yelling for us.  "Moooooooom!  Daaaaaaaad!"  We were already settled in watching some TV show (Lost, probably), but eventually when he wouldn't give up, BK went upstairs to find out what was so important.

He came back downstairs to report that Landon had wanted to know the words to the second verse of Love is Spoken Here because he was trying to sing it to Spence and he "forgot what came next."  Was this a ploy to get some added post-bedtime attention?  Absolutely.  But heart-warming, nonetheless.

Every day when I put Spence down for his nap, he giggles uncontrollably once I give him his "munchy."  (His blankie.  Because he likes to munch on it.)  He loves naptime.  I kneel next to his bed and sing him a song, and then if I stand up without playing "Wheerrrrre's Spence?" he quickly wraps his short, chubby little arms around my neck and pulls me back down.  He puts his chubby fingers over his chubby face and closes his eyes.  I say, "Whherrrre's Spence??" Then I tickle his tummy.  He brings his hands down to catch my tickling hand, thus revealing his whereabouts.  I say "There he is!!"  And he giggles and laughs and giggles and laughs. Then I kiss his chubby little cheeks over and over and hand him Munchy.  And he sings while he watches the fan go around and around and around.

I then set my sights on Landon to begin quiet time.  We bought him a little $5 digital clock a few weeks ago.  He carries it around with him wherever he goes.  He loves to know what time it is and what times things happen.  It usually takes me several minutes to find where he's last left it.  I find some books and a few cars and take Landon and Deedee (His blankie.  I have no idea why he named it that.) to the guest room for quiet time, with a silent prayer that it will actually turn into naptime, so that he won't fall apart right after dinner.  He likes it when I leave the blinds open so he can spy on the neighbors and enjoy the sunshine.  I write the end time of quiet time on a post-it note and stick it to his clock.  He knows that's when he can come out and play. Sometimes we read books together.  Sometimes he wants snuggies.  Sometimes he just wants me to leave so he can get to whatever imaginative play he's cooked up.  I let him choose.  Most of the time he falls asleep while watching the numbers slowly turn on his clock, a book open next to him, with a car on top.

Landon likes his alone time.  He likes to look at books and play with his cars without his younger brother destroying things.  He always has so much to tell me about everything he's been thinking about as soon as quiet time is over.

Then it's my quiet time.  A couple of hours to do whatever I "want" to do.  Usually I clean.  Or shower.  Or if I'm lucky, I make myself a yummy lunch and watch a TV show or two.  On really good days, I actually take a nap.

I love my life right now.  It's not perfect, and there's days I want to rip my hair out of course.  But mostly, I'm just loving it.  Because I know it won't always be like this.  Some day they'll grow up and go to kindergarten.  Some day they'll grow up even more and leave the house, and I won't have chubby cheeks to kiss or buns to pinch or naptime snuggies.

And I'm sure I'll love my life then for different reasons.
But I think I'll always have a soft spot in my heart for this season of life with my babies.

January

So, January.

As you know, the little boys and I went to North Carolina.  See?  Here we are at our hotel in Alabama:

And here we are at a McDonald's in South Carolina:

Then when we got there, the real fun began:

(Thanks for all the pictures, Mel!  I'm the lamest mom everrrr!!!)

 You have no idea how many "takes" it took to get this picture:

 Best dancing picture of Landon, EVER:

 The boys enjoyed chasing seagulls with sand shovels for at least an hour:

 Campfire!

SO MUCH FUN.

Then, another time in January, BK and I took the boys to the park:

 BK loves when I take his picture.

Landon climbed to the top of a rock:

But then couldn't get down:

BK decided to return the favor and took pictures of me.... great.

All in all, a good month indeed.

Things I wanted to write down before I forgot.

• The other afternoon my mom called and asked if I minded if they popped in for a last-minute visit.  When they got here, my dad told me that he had gotten to his office that day and saw the boys' pictures on his desk and just missed them and wanted to see them.  So they came and hung out with us for a bit.  I'm glad that my kids live close enough to my parents that they can bring each other so much happiness and joy. (and BK and me too of course!)
• Yesterday all four of us were sick.  BK even stayed home from work.  It was one of the most relaxing days we've had in a long time, just lounging around, not allowed to go do anything.  We watched nature shows with the boys.
• Today Spence and I are still sick. Landon has been a good helper.  For such a stubborn little mule, he is also so caring and attentive to others' feelings.  During Spencer's nap, I put on a movie for Landon and came upstairs to lay down--Landon kept periodically coming in to check on me and give me hugs and kisses.  It was really sweet.  I love that little boy.
• I love Spence, too, but he's really mad at me today because I failed to realize he needed a diaper change (I have a REALLY stuffy nose) which thus led to a horrid diaper rash.  Hopefully he'll speak to me again, soon.  He kept screaming and calling out for "Dada."  Poor little Spence. 
• We bought a van!  I'm not really sure why, but all of the sudden I just really wanted one for the space and convenience.  I eventually talked BK into the idea of driving a van.  We found one we realllly liked, and it ended up working out perfectly.  BK is excited because he can hook up videogames to the rear entertainment system it came with--so, in his words, "Road trips just got AWESOME."  
• It was also a little bittersweet because we traded in Cecilia (BK's car) for the van.  That was our first car together, and we both felt sad to leave her there on the dealership lot, but we are grateful for her to keeping at least a little bit of value to be a lovely downpayment for us.  Thanks, Cecilia.  We'll miss you.

Umm, I just realized I haven't posted pictures since November. Oops.

So here's what happened in November:

Landon and his friends watched a garbage truck intently at preschool:

Rome came over to play cars.  Probably several times.

It's fun to have such a great buddy.

I have no idea where this picture is from.  ?????

I can't believe I never blogged about the camping trip we took Thanksgiving weekend! Not much to say except that it rained, and it's hard to get kids to fall asleep.  But we still had a good time nonetheless.

There was a playground at the campsite.  And suddenly Spencer looks like Landon??

Eating "smarshshmellows."

One time at the zoo, I accidentally let go of Spencer's stroller....

And he crashed.

And I laughed.

MOTHER OF THE YEAR.

We transitioned Spencer into sleeping in a "big boy bed."  Which has since turned out to be that most nights they end up sleeping in Landon's bed, like this:

Spencer.

Landon had a half-birthday.  I cannot believe he is 3 and a half already!  We made his apple bundt cake to celebrate!

And that sums up November.  PHEW.

Mud.

Today we drove to the bank to deposit some checks, and since the boys weren't going to be getting out, I didn't have them grab shoes before we left.

But on the way home, we stopped by to see Melanie, Roman, and Carmella and ended up going to the park with them.  Melanie let me borrow a couple of pairs of shoes for the boys, and then we were off.

The weather was nice.  Melanie and I had plenty to chat about, as usual.  The boys were playing somewhat nicely.  Then Landon and Roman ran off to go play in the grass in front of the Parks and Rec building by the park.  Melanie and I continued to chat, and then we noticed the boys were standing in the field looking rather guilty.

We walked over to investigate, and found them stuck ankle-deep in the middle of a huge pit of mud.  Melanie and I stood there, shocked by the mess and trying to think of what our next move would be.  Spencer of course stood by the mudpit, also threatening to go in.  A nice older hispanic lady walked out of the building and told us we should get our camera and take a picture because they "looked SO CUTE" stuck in the mudpit.  Then a younger guy with workboots on came out, and offered to unstick our children.  In that process both boys fell over, further coating themselves with mud.  Part of me wanted to laugh, part of me wanted to cry.  It would've been completely comical had it been someone's kids and someone else's mess for sure.  

The man finished unsticking our children, and I hauled both of mine into the building's just-cleaned bathroom.  I instructed Landon to sit in the sink and wash himself off, while I used the other sink to try to salvage the shoes Landon had borrowed, while Spencer ran around probably touching every toliet in the bathroom.  

Several office ladies walked in, and instead of rolling their eyes at the mess, smiled and told me how cute my boys are.  They laughed and told me again how cute the boys looked all guilty and stuck in the mudpit.  I laughed nervously, and continued scrubbing and shoes and the bathroom counter and my boys.  Eventually all items were clean enough for the car, and we walked to it.

I was mad at Landon--for making such a mess--mostly because I knew that even though I had tried to clean up that bathroom, they were probably going to have to mop it again.  But in my heart I knew I shouldn't raise my voice about it.  The mud will clean off, Amy.  It's not permanent.  

I calmly told Landon in the car ride home that playing in the mud at the park was not his greatest idea.  I told him about getting mud all over Rome's shoes.  I told him about the poor guy who had to wade out in the mud to get them.  I told him about the poor cleaning person who would have to go in and redo that entire bathroom she just cleaned.  I told him about how we had to leave the park because of that, and that next time there was mud, he should stay out of it.  He seemed to understand, and I was left wondering, Do I punish him for this?  Have I even ever talked to him about mud?  I can't remember?

But in my heart, I felt Just let it be, Amy.  He understands. 

But really??  How do I know he understands?? Isn't this my job?? To teach him to stay out of mud??  Shouldn't I make him feel sorry about it?

We came home, and Landon stripped off his filthy clothes.  I made them lunch, and as I set down his plate of food, he said, "Hey Mom.  I'm really sorry about getting in the mud."

And I said, "It's okay.  It'll wash off.  But let's not play in mud from now on, okay?"

"Okay, Mom.  I won't."

I know without a doubt this won't be the last time my child gets stuck, ankle-deep in mud.  But I'm also grateful to know that he is starting to internalize the things I say.  He obviously thought about the things I said, and, on his own, decided he needed to apologize.  This means more to me than any apology I've ever forced out of him.

There are certain things I feel that Landon needs to comply and give me a forced apology, of course--because he is three and is still learning.  But I was grateful for this experience because mud really isn't that big of a deal, and it let him have an opportunity to do a real apology, and for me to realize he can do it.

It's nice when you have days when they "get" it, ya know?? :)

the lucky leaf

This is where my boys and I have been for the past week.

 See?  Here we are:

My lovely friend Melanie invited us to come out to her parents' beach house, and since I was dealing with post-Christmas-ineedavacation-ness, I pretty much hopped in my car and started driving.

Some of the miraculous events that occured on our trip to Topsail Island are listed below:

• Landon kept a dry pull-up for a total of 39 HOURS ROUNDTRIP in the car.  I wouldn't have even cared if he hadn't, but that's seriously impressive.
• Somehow Landon didn't die of dehydration since apparently he wasn't drinking enough to wet his pants in the car...?
• Anyway
• My kids were AWESOME on the trip to and from the beachhouse.  Seriously, I could NOT believe how GOOD they were.  I would do it again in a heartbeat, and it's the day after.  Who SAYS that the day after a roadtrip??  ME.  Because apparently my kids rock at roadtrips.  That's how we roll.
• Last night they slept in the car for the last SIX HOURS of the trip.
• Any crying ceased after about 5 minutes.
• We didn't run out of fruit snacks until almost the end of the trip.
• The coyote-deer-whateveritwas that tried to kill me on the last 45 minutes of the trip did not succeed.  
• I drove the speed limit last night all the way from Meridian, MS to Waco, TX.  And even below the speed limit.  (see above about the coyote-deer)
• It turns out 5-hour-energy drinks really DO work.
• The beach was, of course, magical.
• Landon: "Heavenly Father made us beaches, huh, mom."
• DOLPHINS.
• Melanie and I did NOT get hypothermia from going boogie-boarding in the waves.
• Because apparently wetsuits really DO work.
• My children shared a room even during naptime on the trip, and weren't acting like sleep-deprived maniacs MOST of the time!
• We ate AMAZING food.
• More specifically: nutella cheeseball, blooming onion bread, homemade pizza rolls, awesome birthday cake, and corndogs.
• Soooo many parks to play at.
• And maybe once the sleep-deprivation-dizziness wears off, I'll remember even MORE!!

Stay tuned!!

Can you tell my camera is out of batteries... AGAIN?

Sorry, another boring post without any pictures.  But I really do have pictures to share... Landon's half-birthday, home-improvement projects... I'll get to it, don't worry!

So far, December is proving to be the best month ever.  Here's why.

1. I already got my Christmas shopping done... way more than my naughty children probably deserve, but it will make my year to see their faces light up with joy.  We only buy them gifts on their birthday or Christmas (or when they're potty-training) and so I don't feel too bad about the haul they're about to get.  Oh well.

2. Last night we had several families over for a Dessert Night at our house.  I really didn't think many people would come... since it seems like December is always a busy month for everyone, but so many people came! I felt so blessed that we have been able to meet so many nice people in the short 7 months we've lived here so far. I was worried about having enough room to fit them all, but I think everyone had a great time, and there were SO MANY yummy treats to try!!  Which brings me to my 3rd point...

3. We'll be eating yummy treats and leftovers for WEEKS!

4. We have some good friends coming to visit in a few weeks!  We haven't hung out with them in a year and a half or so, and I'm so excited to have them come! I love having company!!  Especially during the holidays!!  Speaking of...

5. My sister Megan is coming to town soon.  And on Christmas we will get to talk to my missionary-sister, Sara.  Hooray.

Anyway, so far December is looking like an amazing month! Happy Holidays to you and yours!