"I'm going off the rails of a crazy train!"

My sweet boys on Mother's Day :) "Happy" indeed!!! No, the boys don't quite understand 'it's mommy's special day, be really nice to her' yet and still want everything to be their way...but I still enjoyed my day just knowing it was a special day because of these little dudes!

We decided to give Emit his first haircut with a full blown BUZZ cut :) He was sooo good with the buzzer. Joss used to get pretty nervous, but Emit sat their like a brave little soldier with his Big Brother supporting him and telling him "it's okay, see, I have my very own buzzer too!" (while holding the little beard trimmer one). With Emit's hairdo, everyone thinks for sure these guys are twins when they are out and about. But... even when Emit was a newborn they'd say they were twins. Where's the logic??? 

This shot above is a typical view for me, everyday! Playing in the street on the speed bumps is a very big deal to these guys. I'm so impressed with how Emit maneuvers this little red bike. He can't quite pedal it himself yet, but he pushes it from behind like you see him doing and he goes sooo fast. He can steer it and knows how to get it to go right where he wants... as Joss would say, "it's kinda tricky!", but he does it like a pro.  

I know.. I'm not the best mom to let my kiddos run around in their "big boy pants" (underwear) and diaper all the time... but I also don't like to put up a fight just to get them to wear more clothes to run around outside in that will essentially get extremely dirty and add MORE to the laundry load. So, yes... they run around like this a lot with the hot weather :) Privates covered and shoes on are the essentials for playing outside!

My friend, Ann Ligon, made this sweet necklace for me for Mother's Day! She's working on selling jewelry and has been doing lots of little projects... I just LOVE it! Joss does too...he's all the time telling me it is time for me to share it with him :) 

I seriously think we opened up some extra spunk in Emit when we cut his hair :)

He is my little rebel right now. If I ask him to do something or if he wants something and he chooses to answer "No" to it... he doesn't just say, 'no'. His response is always, "No-we, no-we, no-we, noooo!" I'm really not sure where he picked that up, but he's said it for as long as he's been talking. Maybe he heard us say "No-way!" and has added his own twist to it or something... but I just love it! It's all EMIT. 

He has recently learned the word "happen". If we're watching or reading something (or doing anything where it could occur) and he doesn't understand something he'll say, "happen?" for 'what happened?' I think it is pretty amazing how much these guys can communicate with me. I am used to carrying on a 12 hour conversation with these guys (minus 2 hours if they take a nap) pretty much everyday, so I guess I get somewhat used to all their chatter. When we're out and about and running in to folks in the stores or somewhere and the boys start talking, people get amazed at how well they talk and understand things. Makes me pretty proud that all the chatter really pays off :) And according to a book I'm reading about toddlers (that I'm really enjoying) the communication is the biggest factor in obedience and discipline. If they don't understand what I'm expecting them to do, then how can I expect them to obey?? 

Joss has been so funny with the movie How to Train your Dragon lately. He is always asking us to play the "doot doot doot doooot, do do do doooot dooot doot" part. If you're at all familiar with the movie it is the really great part on the soundtrack when Hiccup is flying with Toothless in the rocks and cliffs over the water. He gets so excited at that part and starts singing the "doot doo's" whenever it comes on. I turned on the soundtrack on the computer the other day and got to that part before I turned it up loud enough for him to hear. I just turned the volume up without saying anything to see if I'd get a reaction, and sure enough his head shot around looking for the source :) 

In Joss' world, doing something for 5 more minutes is a LONG time! He'll say stuff like, "I want you to read for FIVE more minutes, mommy!" or "Let's play for FIVE more minutes and then we can go inside and play rock band!" Always emphasizing the '5'. But when he really wants to do something for a long time he'll spout off a bunch of numbers by saying "let's do this for 14, 20, 2, 5 more minutes!" Almost always starts with a 14 and a 20 :) 

Emit always wants to hold the 'whole fing' (whole thing). It doesn't matter if it is a cracker, a candy, a 5 gallon water jug...he wants to hold it and he wants the whole 'fing'! Sometimes if he isn't allowed to he'll throw his little head straight back and give me this fake little cry and then drop on the floor like it is the end of the world. Ah, to be so passionate about holding the whole pack of M&M's!

One of Emit's favorite books right now is Cuddle for Little Duck. It has been at the top of his list for a while. He wants to read it almost every night. It is a really cute book, so I don't mind. He has little things he'll say on each page, but on the last page he always waves his little arm and says "nite nite duck" over and over until I close the book.  

Earlier today Joss accidentally did something (I don't even know what it was now), but he said, "it's okay mom, it was 'axa-deezy'." Soon as he said it, Dallas said 'Bloggin It!' which is our little catch phrase for something I want to remember to put on here :) 

The Christmas that Joss had just turned 2 he got a present from Jeremy & Heather. He got a battery powered moon to hang up in his room. You can put it on a setting where it phases or it can just stay on. Then it goes off after a certain time. That thing has been up in his room ever since, and he still LOVES it! I had to stop putting it on the phase setting while they went to sleep because it takes about 30 seconds for it to phase all the way and then it goes off for just a couple of seconds. They would get so excited about 1) it getting bigger, then 2) it getting smaller and then 3) 'uh, it's gone....there it is!" and the cycle would start over again. As you can see... it wasn't settling them down at night. So now at bedtime we turn it on, but it doesn't phase and it just goes off after about 15 minutes. It is a MUST every night and will not be missed. Emit loves it too, but if Joss happens to wake up during the night he'll start yelling "I want my moon on!!!" Definitely a present we have thoroughly enjoyed and will continue to enjoy for a long time!! 

Joss still says smiling like "smi-when" and says it in a funny little voice if he sees anything that looks like it's smiling. 

Each morning the boys wake up to a cup of chocolate milk. It is so entertaining to watch them drink their drinks side by side. They are TOTALLY brothers  in this aspect! The way they hold it, the way they tilt their heads, the way they chug, chug, chug until it is all gone.... so funny to watch them drink. I love the chocolate milk thing though because they each have their own way of saying it. Joss calls is 'choc-wate milk' and Emit calls it 'choca-me-ulk'. About 30 seconds out of the bed Emit starts pleading for his 'choca-me-ulk' as if they don't get some every single morning. 

Yesterday, my Nannie and Papa were so heavy on my heart. They have both passed away and I miss them both so much. I get so sad thinking of all the times they have and will miss out on. I was working on another wood project though and just got to thinking about my Papa because he used to always build furniture and play around with the wood crafts too. And then my Nannie was big in to the quilting. The little bit of quilting I've done in the past and any sewing I do makes me feel connected to her. I love having those little connections with them, if in no other way but it my heart. It makes me feel like they would be proud of those little areas of my life that I have in common with them. I love those moments, but yesterday it was too much to handle. I stood there scrubbing dirty dishes with tears just streaming down my face aching for them. I am so thankful that I will see them both again in eternity! They are just enjoying the party without me for now.

I love my little family. I really do... anytime you spend on here reading hopefully reflects that. From the moment Joss was born I have been with these guys. I took a two day break from Joss when I was in the hospital having Emit. Since then I haven't been separated from these guys for more than a couple of hours. I think I am getting to the point where I need and am ready for a day or two away with just Dallas. I hate to admit it and I feel really guilty for even thinking it/saying it, but I definitely need a little 'mommy down time'. Dallas and I hope to go camping for a night to celebrate our anniversary when my mom and dad come in 2 weeks... and then maybe a weekend on our own when we're back in the states again. I know it will be good for me and I know the boys will be just fine without mommy for a night or two. 

I get really annoyed when people say something like "I know everyone goes through this whether they admit it or not" because many times those very statements are untrue for me and my life. So, I won't pretend to assume that all mom's feel this way or go through this. I assume most moms (and dads) do and that for everyone a little time off is good to revive you again. For the past couple years it seems like we've been on a roller coaster though. I'll be doing really good and just truly loving every moment with these guys, and then it will kind of build and my patience will decrease and I'll hit a max point where I just can't take it anymore and I just need to get out for a few hours on my own without someone needing something from me or asking me something or telling me to do something. And usually a couple hours (even just an hour or two on my own at the beach with a good book) is enough to make me feel ready for 'Round 2'. Unfortunately, today was one of those days. I laid under the shower for about 45 minutes earlier and the entire time I just felt so guilty for 'needing a break' from the two little guys that I love most in the world. 

All I can say to end on a positive note is I can definitely tell a difference when I do not start my day out with time in the Word. Thankfully, "with God all things are possible!" -Matthew 19:26