What I love

     It occurred to me today while playing with the little ones that there will come a day when I am finished having babies...and my babies will not be babies anymore. I realize that I often bitch and complain about my kids and the always crazy, often mundane lifestyle of the modern stay-at-home-mom but I don't always mention the highly enjoyable, hilarious aspects of my life that have been enriched by the presence of our little ones. I wondered today if I would remember what I loved and cherished about my babies and what made them so funny and exasperating when they were toddlers. I might need a reminder of how much I loved being around my kids once they've morphed into alien beings also known as teenagers so I've started to compile a list that will either highlight how similar all our kids are...or demonstrate how ridiculous our brood is.

What I love about Babies and Toddlers:

1-The moment I fell in love with each of my kids and realized how much my parents must have loved me. (Nick: "Wow, do you think my dad loved me as much as I love Dryden right now?"
                   Me: "No. I think that's impossible.")
2- They smile in their sleep.
3- They fart unabashedly in situations that would be socially awkward for adults.
4- How pissed off they get when they have the hiccups (seriously, chill out, they're just hiccups).
5- The adorable and all encompassing stretch they do after one of their many naps- I would sell my left foot to feel that satisfied and refreshed after a nap.
6- They laugh at the dumbest things: the dog sneezing, a spoon falling off the table, the sound a bag of chips makes when it openings. And I'm just as dumb because I spend the rest of the day trying to recreate that sounds to hear him/her laugh again.
7- The first time they really looked at me and I know they recognized me.
8- How much they love their feet. No creature in the history of the Earth has ever been so entertained by, and loved their own feet like my children- and I must admit, their fat little toes are pretty fantastic.
9- The first time they reached up and held their bottle of milk...and I thought, "Thank goodness, one less job for me to do."
10- When they were very young and they nestled into the hallow of my neck and shoulder.
11- How the fit perfectly on my hip- making vacuuming that much easier.
12- The random positions that they fall asleep in: upside down, sitting up against the wall, on top of a music box (with the music blaring), under the dog's head, half on the bed, half off...actually, do they ever sleep normally?
13- The crazy language they spin before they know how to really speak. What's even better is when you have two of them together and they're both speaking gibberish. I often wonder if they're speaking the same gibberish or is it different dialects? Like, is one speaking German gibberish and the other is speaking Mongolian gibberish? Can they understand each other? Its hilarious either way.
14- How exaggerated their movements are when they first learn to feed themselves. They bring the spoon to their face super slow and open their mouth as wide as they can...and then at the last minute they turn the spoon upside down and the apple sauce lands on their lap. Now rrepeat 27 times...
15- How Dryden pretends to talk on the phone: "Umm...yeah...so...ok...yup...k..bye!" all the while talking with his hands like the true little french man he is.
16- When they learn a new word- and reuse it all the time, even when it is clearly out of context or they don't pronounce it properly. These little gems include "ka ka", "truck", "sit " (which almost always sounds like "shit" when Noelle says it. Kinda uncomfortable when she says it to my 95 year old Nana.)
17- When they finally get sleepy and rub their eyes and tug their ears. They've developed their own form of sign language that even their thick headed mom can understand.
18- The rare and random occasion when they climb up onto my lap and snuggle, sitting quiet and just enjoying my company before jumping down and continuing their rampage.
19- When they share their snacks with the dog. To be honest, anything they do with the dog is super cute.
20- How excited they get when Nick gets home. Its a mini freak out every time- their enthusiasm is contagious...they make me more excited for Nick to get home. My husband is slightly baffled by the three of us waiting by the door, fighting to be first to hug him.

     I will definitely add to this list later on. I missed my nap today so I'm kinda beat (as I rub my eyes and tug on my left ear....)
xo