For youth is the smell of innocence...

If you raise your children right... those flowers above were picked for me by Cylas. He came in and handed them to me proudly, "Mahma, you so bleuu-ful". My heart melts every time he does that. He prides himself in being a skilled flower picker. He'll find weeds that have flowers and he'll gift them to me and I make sure to place them in water and set them out for all to see. There are so many thoughts that flood my mind when he does special things like this with me specifically in mind. It shows he loves me and I'm not too far from his thoughts. Is this type of gift giving love on the road to respect for me and his papa? For some reason, I think that love and respect go hand in hand. Yes, he's only three but he's learning what it's like to care for someone and be concerned for someone he loves.

I may be his mother, but Romalise is definitely his little sister. He shows his love and concern for her in different, more violent ways. Well, not always. If she's crying, he'll come to me and say, "Get her, mahm. Take her." And if she looks bored, he'll take every stitch of clothing, sheet and or stuffed animal and pile it on her until it's a writhing mass of toys and stuff. She'll be screaming/crying/laughing and I'm running through the house trying to find out where she's at. Then I'll spot the convulsing pile of stuffed animals and rescue her. Of course, Cylas thinks it's the greatest accomplishment in the world to bury his little sister in all of his worldly possessions. Ahhh, yes. And then there is the curious obsession of sitting on her and seeing how long he can get away with it. Why? Squashing your sister like a helpless bug is never a good thing. But for Cylas it's pretty stinkin' cool. He'll grow out of it soon enough, right?

With all of these fun adventures and new lessons to learn and teach, I pray that I can continue to cultivate this love and respect for me and David in my children and that respect for others will be second nature. What more could a parent ask for than responsible citizens and true Christians.

Rythms & Patterns

At only seven weeks, I'm astounded by the differences between Romalise and her big brother when he was this little. Where Cylas was a malcontent, she is a sweet little smiler and while Cylas had the tendency to thrive off of scheduled eating patterns, Roma is all over the board. She'll sleep through her "scheduled" feeding only to wake up an hour later screaming. Right now she is sleeping through the night only waking around 5 in the morning for a quick breakfast. She likes to sleep until 9 or 10 and then wakes up all smiles and keeps me busy for about an hour or two before decides she's tired. Her naps last three to four hours and she takes two. The second of which Cy's nap coincides with. That means that I have about 2 hours to myself during the day! It's really nice. I would say that my favorite times of the day are: the early morning when my husband kisses me before he leaves for work, shortly thereafter my little boy comes in and wants me to play trains with him (and I'm always Gordon while he is Thomas) and lastly, I wait anxiously for the evening time when Roma is finished with her second nap and my husband is home for dinner. We all sit down and everyone eats...I mean everyone including her.Cylas is at the stage where he is honing in on different toys that interest him. When he was younger, everything was interesting and he was easily distracted. Right now, he loves planes, helicopters and trains. His books are never far from his finger tips and are still a major part of his life but his train track is definitely in second place. More times than I can remember, he has fallen asleep at the train table with toys or books in his hand. I'll try to take a picture of it next time.
My little girl has the rythm of a small row boat slipping through placid waters, while Cylas is the wind that picks up the small pile of leaves twirling them into a miniature tornado. And, amazingly enough, between the two of them there is a balance so perfect that it makes each of my days so wonderful and very much anticipated.

So many little things that make your life special to you

I was thinking about all of the many thing that take place in my life that are unique to me and my family. It really made me smile! There are no other children in the world like my mine. They have a certain smell, sound, look and a way about them that makes it possible for me to identify them in a crowd of a million others. Now that Cylas is a little older, he has developed a few distinct qualities that are so special to me. He likes to walk around on his tiptoes sometimes hence a very affectionate nickname bestowed on him by my mother "TwinkleToes". When he talks, he tends to salivate and therefore slurps his saliva as he is telling you something. He reads his books on the floor, legs crossed and with a ramrod-straight back staring down intently at the pictures. He sings songs like: The wheels on the bus go round and round, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, Jingle Bells and Old McDonald had a farm. He is extremely mischievous and is constantly hatching plans to escape out the front door. A good arm and back rub are always in the top five super important things that mommy MUST do for him...next to having a cold tippy full of milk this is paramount! He MUST have his hat, jacket and gloves on before going outside...choke the pants.
He loves his little sister and is very concerned for her welfare. For instance, we were trying to leave the other morning and I had to go out to warm up the car. I took him with me so I could strap him in. As I pulled the van around to the front of the house, he asks in a worried little voice "Wheh Womah? Beebee?" Translated : Where is Roma? Baby?
I smiled and told him that we were going to get her and not to worry. And every evening he has to make sure he kisses her goodnight. If she isn't in her bassinet, he looks for her to make sure she's close by. Just this morning I told him to go potty and he took a detour into our bedroom to check on his little sis before his final destination. Roma, on the other hand, has just started cooing and gurgling. She is a very happy baby and loves to talk. Next to sleeping, it's her favorite thing to do! You can tell that she loves her papa a lot because she responds so well to him by burbling and making gaga sounds. She burps for him too! She enjoys being held high up on your shoulder so she can see the world. And if you look at her and say "Ah-gooo" she will respond likewise. I love the way she stares at me so intently. She doesn't have words yet but I can feel her telling me that she loves me.
My life is uniquely mine and I love it!