the good stuff

I know what you're thinking with that post title. A narrative about Oreo cream filling.

Winks. ;)

(Mentioning Oreos makes me go back to this yesteryear picture of Rad and an Oreo. Nom nom nom...nasty.)

So.

Where am I going with this intro you can file under miscellaneous?

A conundrum for the masses I'm sure.

Lemme tell ya.

Diatribe time.

I always go back and forth and back again about how honest (or I believe the buzz word these days might be, "authentic") I want to be on the blog (or "this space" as some might say). I should probably rein it in but I'd hate to give you a watered down version of the fun around here. But! I have this fear that whenever the boys manage to learn to read and coordinate their phalanges enough to find this space...these boys that I love will only see that were very skilled at finding my last nerve standing and having a stomping contest all over it.

Which more often or not it true...but there is a lot, no, so much good that I want to pen a little post to that idea.

 - The other day Rhett spontaneously hugged me and declared "You (meaning me) are the greatest woman I've ever loved."

- Rad started play-school. Twice a week in the mornings. I should (of course) dedicate an entire post to this but here's a teaser...he loves it. I was talking about how great it was for him the other day when Jake interrupted to say that the person it was really great for was...Julia. And it's true - I can't deny that. And as much as I love dropping him off, I actually do love picking him up and ask him the cliche "What did you do today?" he actually responds (unlike grunting Rhett) with gems like "I eat popcorn!" "Pway toys!" "I fight!" < this one...we're working on the "hugs not thugs" way of childhood.

- Beck has started lifting his head during tummy time. He knows as the third in line to the throne he's got to keep up and he is pulling out all the stops. Next to grocery cart sitting...it might be my favorite milestone. I love seeing that noggin bobbling up to greet the great and spacious rug.

- I sing to Rhett every night. If it seems out of character for me, it is. But I do. He sleeps on the top bunk (Rad has decided to shake up the ol' bedtime routine and go back to his beloved crib) and the ritual consists of standing by his pillow, hold his hand and watch him close his eyes. There is nothing both simultaneously sweeter and of higher creeper status then watching your child sleep. Last week, his eyes opened abruptly (creep factor X 100) and mumbled "When you sing to me I want to cry...because I'm so happy." Kid is killing it with the sweet talk lately.

- Rad requires very very little sleep lately and it mostly drives me a little bit crazy but he loves nothing more than to stay up late with Jake and I after Rhett and Beck have gone down. If he's in his crib he calls out "Honey...come down?" "Mama, snuggle?" If he's in his bed, we hear him galloping down the hall and like clockwork we see his head pop around the corner into our room. He gives us his best smirk, our hearts melt and then he climbs into our bed.  He's so happy to just puppy dog around and say 3-4 word phrases that I do not understand but pretend that I do. He's going through the "most exasperating but most endearing" child phase - also known as, "being two years old."

- Beck's standard for quality entertainment is pretty low...as manifested by his love to sit in his bumbo and watch his brothers run back and forth in front of him. He giggles like a 5 month old every time and not much makes me happier then when the fellas aren't feuding.

^^^ I don't know where this body language ranks of the stages of sibling acceptance scale, but I imagine it's somewhere between "The Sniff Test" and "Diabolical Planning." Either way, it's my new favorite picture. Tears rolling every. time. I. see. it.