Remembering the excellent

To show how much they've grown physically. These photos are almost exactly 2 years apart.

Today was NOT a good day. In fact, I'd say today was an epic fail on both a parenting and more general level. It started with the fact that I'm on day 5 of my own with the kids. Then Gordon was up for hours last night and I woke mentally and physically exhausted. Patience? I had none.

This is what happens when kids don't nap. Spontaneous pillow & blanket party on the floor. They actually did this themselves.

The kids were too overtired to nap. By shower and bed time, it was meltdown city. Including Mom. I'm not proud of the way I handled things today, but I know a lot of it was simply being overwhelmed and exhausted. And I've vowed to do better tomorrow.

So now that's been established, I'm getting to the *real* point of this post. I'm taking a few minutes to celebrate the good that happened today and the ways my kids have grown.

Walter - This little man is talking SO much. He has everyones names down pat and is always calling for his brother and sister to come play with him.  He's also very social. He doesn't like to play alone, ever, and if one of the kids is playing with something, Walt wants in on it immediately. He's a complete snuggler and if we're watching a show, he's the one pressed against my side on the couch.  He's so quick to laugh and loves playing games with his Daddy in person and on FaceTime. And he's so coordinated. He sometimes scares me with the things he does and attempts without a care to the consequences because he just has so much coordination.

Walter wearing Mommy's new hat

Gordon - This little man (Or My Buddy, as he prefers to be called) decided on Friday he didn't want to wear diapers anymore. So he's been in underwear ever since. We've had a number of accidents and he hasn't gotten the hang of knowing when he needs to go, but overall he's doing fantastic.  Gordon has also taken a big leap (pun intended) with regards to steps and stairs. About a month ago, he decided to jump off a tiny step in the garden and since then he's been getting more and more confident going up and down steps. Yesterday I was watching him and noticed he didn't even hesitate, he just went up, turned around and came right back down the front porch.  Verbally, Gordon blows me away.  He's starting to tell me things that he did earlier. He's starting to describe thoughts in his mind.  And he's very able to clearly articulate most of his requests. Don't even get me started on how cute he is when he *reads* one of his books.

My buddy, Gordon

Adele - My baby girl is turning into such a mother bear.  When I go to pick her up at the creche, she immediately introduces me to the new baby (Thea) and the gals tell me that Adele's been very enamored with the baby.  When I get upset or overwhelmed, Adele's the one who comes over "Mama, it's okay" then she gives me a hug, pat on the back, and a kiss. She's very concerned when people are doing things they aren't supposed to or are upsetting to her and we hear a lot of "Stop it, Mama. Stop it, Walter, Stop it, Gordon." She also loves knowing where her brothers are. She & Walt could be off playing a game together, but if Gordon stays in the other room too long, she comes looking for him "Gordon, where are you? Whatcha doing?"

I was watching the last 10 minutes of Cars 2 when I let the kids out of their room. Adele immediately went and got their Lightning McQueen toy. Some people may scowl at the obvious marketing. I was just so excited to see her making the association that what she saw on television was the same/related to her toy.

This moment is the one I want to remember from this day

This just made my heart smile