Okay, so I'm not as good at keeping up with this as I was. It just seems that now that I actually have time to do things, there are hundreds of other things that I want to do.
I stopped and thought today about where my kids are in life. I started this blog back in about 2007 or 2008. Back then my life revolved around bottles, diapers, and praying for sleep. I rarely sat down, the house was a disaster, and I felt like a chicken with my head cut off most times.
I'm sitting in my kitchen right now typing this as the kids play outside. I saw the neighbor boys go by to play football behind another neighbors house, so they followed. My boys are playing outside. By themselves. And I'm okay with that. If you would've told me a few years ago this time would come, I would call you crazy.
They also go to bed by themselves at night, gladly closing their eyes after we read a book or two. Sometimes they even tell me now that they are too tired for books, and just want to go to sleep.
Last week I started the bath, and had them both come in, one at a time, to take a bath. They bathed themselves entirely. They washed their own hair, washed their bodies, and then dried themselves off. They them, smiling, took their pajamas to the living room and got dressed themselves. Four years ago if you would've told me that, I wouldn't have believed you.
Its so neat to see them growing up, and how they change so fast. I also find it amazing how different my two boys are. I'm not sure they could be much different, but that's how they had to be in order to be brothers and best friends. One has to be in charge, and the other will gladly follow.
I wake up in the middle of the night now because I do - not because someone is crying. They tell me when they are hungry and even what they want to eat. They go to the bathroom by themselves, and (almost) wipe their own butt. That's kind of a big deal around here.
Every weekend with them is so fun to see what the activity will be. Today they have jumped between the XBox, the Wii, playing outside, and watching TV. Never spending too much time at one thing. Tyler will randomly ask me to make him some math problems, and Connor will want to read me a book. It's absolutely amazing that my boys can read to me me now.
Years ago when I cried for my sanity and wondered if I would ever sleep again, I wouldn't have believed you if you told me these days would come. I spent so much time living in that moment, that I couldn't even see something different in the future. But, I guess that's what I'm doing now. I don't want these boys to grow up or to change. I am loving just the way they are.
