Childhood

It only comes once. And once gone, never returns. We've been trying to make the most out of it...(and making up for lost time outside....mom+snow=minimal outside playtime.) 

 Brenden still loves all things trains. Even lines his cars up as a train...on any surface imaginable. Find a spot 1 in x 1 in ....and the cars will find its way. And if you happen to be on the favorite car 'track' on couch, then you will promptly be told to 'mooo' (move). Lots of places to visit and the train has a schedule to keep. Who am I to stand...or sit....in the way.

Here we have a perfect track for his black locomotive.

Baby girl was left for 2 minutes to take care of Brenden and all binders/papers on black storage bin somehow found its way to the floor with the culprit found happily playing with the new mess.

 

So she was chained to the table for due punishment.                                                                                            No, this was her sitting up exercises that she did voluntarily. I try to parent with some mercy....at least wait till they can walk and talk.

 

Carefully watching her older brother. Both wonderful and scary. Mostly wonderful.  

She likes to be right next to her brother...and he regularly requests for her to be in the same room as he is. As soon as she wakes from her naps, he says, "Mom. Sissy. Play. B's. Room?"   So she joins him and now would rather play with cars and trucks than any baby rattle toy around.

 

One morning, it was warm enough to enjoy some outside rays. Baby girl is just like her brother. She will stay on the blanket, no problem. Does not like the prickly green stuff that surrounds her blanket.

 

Balls, trucks, trampoline, sunshine. Great day.

White boy showing his moves. He enjoys the trampoline...so long as no one else is on to scare him by jumping and making him go up by more than 3 inches in the air.

Record height. 2 inches. Most definitely. (At least I think the heel was).

Skinny man with no jeans or shorts that fit adequately. Either fit on the waist but too short, or the length is right but he swims in them. Thank goodness someone invented the elastic inside the pants to cinch them. He still has a hard time with even those types of jeans.

 

Perhaps these two were wishing the other would join them. They kept staring and checking in on each other.

Lay out the blanket under the shade of a big tree, bring a book, sissy girl, and I admit, this is one of my new favorite things to do lately.

Oh, and our forest needed some help that grew while we were on vacation and the lawn mower was broken. This may have been my first time ever mowing a lawn. Don't judge me. It wasn't a prerequisite to finding a husband, so I didn't bother learning that trade.

 

My sister and I remember building forts in the dirt lots in front of our house in Scottsdale, AZ and finding turtles, lizards and horny toads. Riding bikes and trying not to fall into the cacti if we got too close to the neighbor's yard. Many fake drive-thru's in both AZ and Vegas homes. We always took turns being the cashier/cook and the driver with the neighbor friends. Mom used to take us to the kiddie pool in our Desert Shores house. And we had regular wrestling matches with all kids vs Dad right before getting tucked in. Mom used to read Steph and I chapter books. We used to love the Nancy Drew series as kids. I can't imagine reading several chapters at a time....after 2 stage one reading books, I give the next one to Brenden and tell him to read it...otherwise the kid would never go to sleep.  Dad would play catch with me and have me hit the same spot 10 times so that he didn't have to move his glove before we would go inside. I'm so glad he took time to play with me.

Some think this baby/young toddler stage is somewhat of a waste. Not a whole lot going on. Can't do much with the kids. But how essential of a time to lay down a foundation, a solid-hard one, that their mom and dad love them. Mine did that, and I'm all the better for it. Must pay it forward.

There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.  ~Elizabeth Lawrence