Subtle vs Not So Subtle

So our 3 year old is one sneaky little ninja. 

He very quietly will sneak into our bed at night, 

and Matt and I are completely unaware of his presence. 

He has his little tricks. 

I found this out, as I was up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, 

and saw him walk in one night. 

So I decided to watch.

He opens our door, and doesn't close it. 

He walks veeeerrry sloooowly to the foot of our bed. 

In literal slow motion, he climbs up, 

Matt moved around a little bit, 

and he FROZE and dropped down. 

(It was hilarious)

then he waits...and tries again. 

Then he crawls over the blankets, like a lion hunting prey, 

 then snuggles down into the blankets and lays his head down on a pillow.

Cracks me up.

...AND then there's our 5 year old. 

Kid is not subtle. 

I can hear their door shut, him stumble/stomp all the way down the hall way. 

He opens and shuts our door. 

(As if nobody was sleeping, and it wasn't 3 in the morning)

stomps right over to me, inches from my face, 

and in a completely normal voice, 

(he doesn't believe in soft voices at 3am apparently)

and says, 

"MOMMY? I need a tissue."

or 

"MOMMY! I had a bad dream"

or whatever it might be.

Thankfully the not so subtle kid very rarely wakes up, 

as he is a sleeper like his Daddy. 

Kid falls asleep in literally seconds, something I will always envy about them! 

Rhett is like his Mommy, takes him a while to settle down, 

and is a very light sleeper. 

Thankfully we've been working on this habit for the last few weeks,

started thinking it might be time, 

as I will up with a tiny hungry newborn all night soon, 

and we need the boys to sleep in their own beds. 

:)

Snow Days

Our county has had eight snow days this month! 

Preschool has missed four! 

Since all the snow, and dangerously low temps all happened right after our Christmas break, 

it literally felt like a lifetime since we have been to preschool! 

We had one week back, and then it was fa-reeeezing again. 

Too cold for school buses, and for little ones to be out. 

Which meant we have pretty much been home bound...and getting pretty bored! 

One of the boys favorite things to do is turn out ottoman into a slide, 

this month that ottoman has been a little bit of a life saver for this Momma! ;)

Oh my word. 

LOVE these wild boys, 

their crazy faces, 

and the the fact that a simple ottoman turned slide can bring them so much joy!

PURE joy!

Keeping Up With The Boys

Lately, the boys and I, have been hitting up the parks around here like crazy. 

 Rhett is at the point where he can pretty much tackle any playground obstacle thrown his way. 

He is fearless, and no stairs, climbing structure or slide is too big or too scary. 

Case was a teeny bit more careful, and cautious at this age. 

Don't get me wrong, he would definitely tackle them, 

he wouldn't let anything hold him back, just might take him a few more times to try it out.

Rhett, however, always trying to keep up with his big brother, causes him to quite literally have no fear. 

Also makes him one tough cookie. 

That kid, seriously, amazes us with his ability to bounce back from an injury.

He can fall flat on his face, bust his knee, bust his lip, smash his finger in the toy box...

cry for a maybe one minute...and be on with his day. 

He's crazy.

Case is crazy too. 

They're crazy. 

Our crazies. 

We love them so much. 

Since Case man has been in preschool, having so much fun by the way. 

(more on that later)

Rhett and I have had lots of special little dates. 

Visiting pet stores, having mall play dates, shopping, and of course visiting parks. 

That last picture, is SUCH a representation of him. 

A knows he's cute, little stinker! Just ornery! 

...

The boys have become such best friends. 

Best friends who are so close, do everything together, and who inevitably fight as well. 

I told Matt, just tonight...they just play SO hard. 

They are non stop, wild little men. 

Sometimes it drains me to absolute empty. 

I told Matty tonight, sometimes I feel like I start the day with a 3/4 full tank, 

and by the end of the day I am literally running on fumes. 

They test me, they challenge me, they make me think and worry all the time about being a better person. 

Not only a better Mom, but a better everything. 

A better wife, a better friend, a better role model, a better Christian.

A person with more patience, a person who can roll with the punches, a person who will kiss them, snuggle them, discipline them, forgive them , teach them, pray for them, pray with them, guide them, 

and love them with everything I have.

Some days I just feel so selfish, for wanting time by myself. 

For example, the other day, I was cleaning out the downstairs closet. 

Pulling out the gloves and hats from the storage bin. 

I was trying to hang a few jackets and coats, and put the vacuum cleaner away, 

the boys were running around with their trucks and wagons, 

and  kept running into the closet door, 

fighting, fussing at each other about taking turns with the trucks. 

I found myself thinking,

"How would this night have gone if I didn't have them here tonight?

I would be cleaning the house probably, as I was in the mood to organize. 

I would have my music turned up loud, I would probably be sitting on the floor really gutting the closet, 

instead of just putting a few things where they needed to be. 

I would probably be relaxed, and not stressing about the fact that they hadn't eaten much of their dinner. 

Not thinking about looming bedtimes, and the routines..."

then...

I stopped, looked around the corner to their innocent, wide grins as they ran as fast as they could around the corner...and I just thought, 

"Oh but I am so thankful that they are here. That they are ours. That this is our life." 

True story. 

Just a Few Pool Days

This summer, we have only gone to the pool a hand full of times. 

I had a feeling this year might be a little more difficult, 

having an active 3 1/2 year old and a 1 year old non stop quiet wanderer on my hands.

So here is some proof that we did go...even if this was one of just a few...

I promise little guys, we'll go more when it's a little easier on your Mama. :) 

The Boys

Oh my word, I love them so much it hurts!

The Boys & Their Dog

I was looking through my pictures the other day, and found all sorts of sweet pictures of the boys and our big ol' sweet Gunner. 

The boys love their big dog so much, and I think the feeling is pretty mutual.
 

Things I Want To Remember

Case: 2 and a half years old.

He has to read his ABC book and the Going to Bed book before bed time. 

Anytime he find a toy that has a scratch, or a sticker is peeling off or anything he says "Uh Oh! Gunner eat it" (cracks me up!)

He gives hugs and kisses like crazy

His "Love you" sounds like "Luh oh"

He can play with his blocks, cars, airplanes and puzzles for hours

He still hates getting his hair washed

He says "Good night"to outside and to the park

He loves to make Rhett laugh
Says "Okaaaaaay" all of the time, and if you ask him to do something. So funny.
Love his stuffed animals. Current favorites are: Bob of course, Horsey, Monkey, Doggy (used to be Griffin's, this is his new favorite!) Teddy Bear (2) and two random little fish.

He is so into movies, he laughs in the right parts and stays so still and quiet in the intense scenes

Loves ovaltine and waffles

Speaking of movies, his favorites are Toy Story (all three), Curious George and GeoTrax (the movie that came with his Train toy from Mamaw and Papaw)

He knows all of his letters and a ton of shapes

Has the sweetest heart

Says Good night and gives kisses to everyone in the family before bedtime (including Gunner)

Oh, and he likes markers...

Guess Mommy shouldn't leave him with markers as she turns over laundry upstairs...oops! ;)

Rhett: A few days shy of 5 months old

Happiest baby EVER

Laughs and smiles and anything and everything, melts my heart

I constantly catch him just cheesing at me as I'm doing chores

Best napper and sleeper ever

He goes to bed around 8pm and sleeps until around 10am most days

 Goes with the flow, always up for anything

Biggest bluest eyes that always make me smile
Touches my face when I rock him for a few minutes before laying him down for a nap or bedtime

I just want to cuddle and squeeze him all day long! 

He LOVES his Daddy, when Daddy comes in the room it is NON STOP laughing and cooing and cheesing - also completely melts my heart!  ...and Daddy's too I think. :)

He is in absolute awe of his big brother, he tries so hard to keep an eye on him at all times, when I feed him his bottles and Case is running around he will twist and turn the entire time trying to keep him in sight- it's so sweet!

Obsessed with his hands (I know all babies are) but I don't remember Case being so enthralled with his, Rhett cracks us up! He will be cheesing and laughing at us, then his hand will get in his line of sight. Then he will literally almost cross his eyes trying to focus on it. He'll watch it so intensely then it he'll move it and it go back to laughing, then Oh...HAND and it will happen all over again. Funniest thing to watch, I'm going to try to get it on video soon!

On a happier note...

I have some pretty cute boys in my life...

Compare & Contrast