His other half

Last night, I babysat for a friend. Originally, I was going to go over at 3:30 and Cam would bring the boys over to play when they woke up from their nap, but Nash decided not to take a nap so he came with me instead. We had been playing for about an hour when their 3-year-old Ben asked me, "hey, where's the other half of him?" pointing at Nash. 

I loved that. His other half. My boys are as different as they come. They have different likes and dislikes, different personalities, different looks, different mannerisms, different fears, different ways to show affection, different ways to learn, but it just feels right when they are together. They're best friends. 

Gray

Granger has taught me a thing or two. There are the big, character changes, like learning more patience, more unconditional love, deeper feelings in general. Both boys have done that over and over again. Lately, though, Gray has taught me some surprising things. 

The kid has a sixth sense for vehicles. The first few times he said 'plane!' And I couldn't see one I would say 'nope, no plane right now. We'll have to look some more.' And every single time, just a few seconds later, a plane would appear. 

Also, there is a freight train in the fireworks castle scene in the "Walt Disney Pictures" opening sequence of any Disney movie. Did you know? Gray knows. I was shocked. He would get so excited and shout "train! Choo choo! Train!" It took me way too long to see what he saw. 

Granger was the easiest baby ever, and as many moms attest, easy babies make tough toddlers. He is no exception. Lately, we are working on not biting, stealing toys, throwing tantrums, and the like. He is mischief incarnate, constantly getting into, destroying, climbing on, throwing, kicking things. Still, it makes it all the sweeter when he brings me his blankie and lays his head down on my shoulder for a quick cuddle. 

Songbirds

The boys are expanding their animal vocabulary greatly. Everything from a cockroach to a squirrel to a bird used to be a puppy. And now they can point out dogs, horses, cows, birds, ducks, cats, bears, tigger, and lions. I credit the book Brown Bear, Brown Bear for most of that. It is a serious favorite. And the highlight is the white dog, because it looks like our Molly.  Granger declares "Mowwy!" with gusto every time. 

They are also starting to string words together. It is the cutest thing. My favorites are "where is?" from Nash because he puts his palms up and shrugs with this confused look on his face and "mowwy at?" from Granger because he emphasizes the t in at and it is so clear and defined compared to the rest of their speech. We are also big into greetings and goodbyes. We say goodbye to everything. Planes in the sky, diggers we see on our drives, each other, the house, sandwiches, the baby, etc. They also use hi or hello to get each other's attention (or mine or Cam's!) and also to express affection to any particular toy they happen to be really enjoying. 

We are working on our morning routine and chores. The boys learn so quickly when they know what to expect every day! Right now they know how to make their beds, put their dirty clothes in the hamper, put the cars in the basket, throw their diapers downstairs to be tossed outside, set the table and put their dishes in the sink after they eat. This morning, Gray spilled a few drops of milk and said "uh oh! Mess!" And I said, "what do we do when we make a mess? Would you like a rag?" he said "yeah!" And I gave him a rag and he mopped it up and then tossed his rag in the sink! Such a smart boy. 

The boys, especially Nash, love to sing. Anytime he hears music Nash either shakes his bum or starts singing. I completely adore it. The hymns at church are my favorite. I can hardly make it through them. They get so excited about singing as soon as the organ starts playing and belt their little hearts out. By the time the congregation is supposed to start, they've lost most of their gusto. So they get a nice little solo at the beginning of each hymn. So funny. I hope they always love to sing. I love hearing it! A child who sings is a happy child. 

Also, it is very hard to want to get out of bed when miss T is kicking like crazy. Saying hello to her first thing is my favorite part of waking up. 

Lately

The boys have said "no!" for a while now, but they just started answering affirmatively in the past month or so. It never gets old. So cute, every time. Granger says "yeah" and Nash is a little more proper with "yes." I also love hearing it because it means the guessing game of what they want is over. 

I have started singing a few songs to the boys at bedtime. The deal is they have to stay in bed if I am going to sing. I stop as soon as their little feet touch the floor. Nash asks me for a "'ong" quite often. It gives me so much joy that they love hearing me sing. 

Nash is pretty interested in baby girl. He says hi to her all the time and "bye, baby!" when he puts my shirt back down. He loves to give her kisses. Granger likes to jump on her. But he also loves to talk about her with me. We all show love in our own ways. 😉

I looked out the back door to check on the boys yesterday afternoon and they were laying down flat on their backs talking and pointing up at the sky. It is a dream come true for me to see their friendship with each other! 

They are learning to carry their dishes to the sink after every meal. It's a pretty tough job but it always gets a celebratory jump or high five or "ha!" with a victory fist when it happens. They impress me every day with how quickly they learn. 

I feel like the boys have at least 3 head injuries a week. Hopefully this is just a phase, but I KNOW we are headed to the ER at least twice in the next year. Gray especially is a daredevil. He loves jumping off things and climbing anything he can see. Gives me a heart attack.