Brotherly Love

Although it's been awhile since I've had much to post about....tonight is just a short and sweet reminder of "brotherly love."  Chris and I decided awhile ago to move the boys into the same room.  We certainly have nights where we regret the move (such as Monday night, when one would wake up crying and in turn, wake the other up....thus, leaving us awake all night).  But, those nights are few and far between (Who am I kidding?  They are a lot closer "between" than we'd like) and nights like tonight more than make up for the rough nights.

As the boys were going to bed tonight, I was "working" in the next room.  (I use the word "working" loosely, because really, I was sitting, listening to them try and go to sleep.)  This was the conversation I heard: 

Harper:  Warren?

Warren:  Yes Harper?

Harper:  I love you.

Warren:  I love you too, Harper.

Warren:  I love you more than anything.

Harper:  I love you three!

Warren:  Harper, can we just be quiet and go to sleep?

Never Grow Up

Just when I thought tonight was a wash...Warren and I had one of "those" conversations that money can't buy.  It all started when we made plans to finally get back to church on Wednesday nights.  Chris called and said he was stuck late at work and probably wouldn't be able to make it.  Plan A down the tubes. 

Being my positive self, "That's ok" I thought.  Instead, "I'll go run after the boys go to bed."  Harper picked the bedtime story, David and Goliath.  I think he enjoys it because he relates well to Goliath.  As I sat in bed reading to them, all seemed to be going well...or so I thought.  After we finished reading, Warren sat trying to explain something to me.  As he sat punching his fists against the bed, it dawned on me, I wasn't understanding what he was explaining.  And while I know he needs to learn to deal with his frustrations and anger, sitting in his pjs, with his clean combed hair, my heart just broke for him.  So, I went ahead and told Harper goodnight.  (And, in typical Harper fashion, so carefree, he went right to bed.)  And Warren and I went to the rocking chair to calm down and talk.  Had I known what our talk would involve, I would've skipped straight to the talk.  (And, if you're keeping track....Plan B down the tubes.  I can run any night.)

After we sat and talked about his frustrations, he started asking me how Daddy knew he wanted to marry me and how I knew I wanted to marry him.  He asked me what a husband was.  "When will I be a husband?"  "But Mommy, where will I live when I'm a husband?"  "Is Pj a husband?"  Then, we got to the "meat" of the conversation, starting with a stream of tears.  Not cute, fake tears.  Sad, honest tears.  "But Mommy, I don't want to wiv somewhere else.  Because, if I wiv somewhere else then I won't have my toy house."  So, after calming him down and assuring him that he was going to "wiv" right here for a very long time (although not too long), I  reassured him that he was not going to "wiv" anywhere else until he was a grown up.    "But Mommy, I don't want to grow up." 

I couldn't help but think of the sweet Taylor Swift song, "Never Grow Up."  All this, the day after a teenager was hit by a bus and innocently taken far too soon from her family.  So, while I didn't get to church like I had hoped...and I didn't get to run like I had hoped...I did get to rock my sweet five year old son, calm his fears and hold him tight.  And that...is priceless!

Never Grow Up audio and lyrics

So Much to Tell...So Little Time

In the spirit of Christmas, I wanted to share a heartwarming story from preschool.  This was the conversation on the way home from school. 

Warren:  "Mommy, you know what happened today?"
Me:  "What buddy?"
Warren:  "Well, my friend Kendall said this, 'Warren, you're a meanie.  And that wasn't very nice."
Me:  "No, it wasn't, buddy.  What did you do?"
Warren:  "Nothing.  I didn't even do anything, and she just said that."
Me:  "Well, after she said that, what did you do?"
Warren:  "Well, I just hugged her, that was all."

If there's one thing Warren has learned, it's to turn the other cheek.  He truly has a heart of forgiveness.  While we are blessed to have such a warmhearted little boy...I hope it doesn't translate to "You're a weanie" when he gets bigger.  There's a fine line, ya know?  Especially when you're destined to be a band nerd!

Harper, on the other hand, is large and in charge!  He doesn't let people push him around or walk over him.  In fact, he's usually doing the walking and pushing.  I can just picture them in middle school and high school.  Harper will be the one standing up for Warren.

Like everyone else, we are excited about the Christmas season.  We are especially excited to see Pj and Amy!  A couple of nights ago, Harper felt the urge to send a video greeting to my brother and sis-in-law.

Meanwhile, we spend a lot of time at my grandmother's house on the weekends.  We usually eat at least one meal together, with my mom, grandmother and mother-in-law.  There's never a dull moment, as you can imagine with two boys.  The boys have a boogie board that they love to "ski" on, while Chris pulls them through the house.  Often times, Harper rolls off and ends up just running after Warren (while Warren and Chris lap him, many, many times).

To be fair, Harper wanted a turn on the "sled."  However, we found that he couldn't sit cross-legged on the board, because his little legs wouldn't stay crossed with his big belly.  So, "difficult times call for drastic measures."  (Chris, who is by no means an avid water skier, was never able to get up on a knee board.  So, he created and, I must say, perfected, ab-boarding.)  And, just like his father, Harper created a new version of boogie boarding.  I give you, "back boarding."