The Little Things...

Everyday I realize that little things that I do with the boys are a big deal in the sense that this time we have together is so precious and so fleeting. And because they're the little things, they are so easy to forget. So here are the past two days... just so I don't forget what the everyday was like...

Yesterday was a rough morning since Declan was up for an hour and a half in the middle of the night, protesting being in his crib. In his fury he would throw his pacifiers over the edge and then lean over and cry "paaa-ci. paaaa-ci." I was on the floor on a mattress that we keep in the room (the boys are in the same room now!) so that we can reassure Jack if/when he wakes up. Amazingly, Jack slept through the crying (as he does most of the time). We've learned that if Declan is crying and we're not in the room, Jack tries to reassure Dex, and will sometimes end up getting more upset himself. So we let Declan cry it out, but stick around so Jack knows he doesn't have to take control of the situation.

Yesterday morning we did our grocery shopping - fairly successful although also slightly stressful because I was letting Jack walk (run) up and down the aisles, and I felt like I must have said "no touching!" about a thousand times. We did lunch (turkey dogs - a surefire hit) and then Declan took his nap. I made sure to put him down awake and he went down without a protest.

After nap, we went to the Livingston Mall to meet up with Irene, Conner, Jake, Gail and Devon. We entertained the boys in Barnes and Noble for awhile - playing at the train table, dancing on the stage, playing with the noisy books - and then we took them to the food court for dinner. (Applebees closed! Say it isn't so!) Five boys in the food court was chaos, but fun. We were getting some crazy looks because the boys were running after each other in circles and such, but really... too cute. (Before kids, this scene may have made me crazy...) Carvel for dessert - Jack loved the ice cream, Dex had no interest.

At home I was able to make the "adult dinner" while the boys watched a show, and then when Javier got home we let the boys watch a show on the computer, while he and I watched Jeopardy and had a nice steak dinner. Boys went down fairly easy, although they get really hyper right before bedtime. They start jumping on the mattress and yelling "hic-boom!" and crashing onto the floor or into each other. Usually it's a wrestling match to get Declan into pajamas, and these days Jack puts on his "Lightening McQueen skivvies" (pull ups for bed - we're potty training!) - and then it's a story and the same five songs - Twinkle Twinkle, You are My Sunshine, Daisy, Tender Shepard, Our Father."